Photography print quality can vary dramatically from the prints you might purchase at your local camera or drug store, to those available from professional photography labs, to those you might purchase from a professional photographer. Knowing what you are buying is essential and so we feel it is important for us to explain how our prints are made, how long they will last, and why these are the best prints you can buy anywhere.

Print Types

We offer two primary types of prints:  photographic prints and canvas prints.  Photographic prints are produced on fine art papers while canvas prints are printed onto thick canvas.  All prints are made using a giclée printing process that results in the finest art prints available anywhere.

Print Lifespan

One of the characteristics used to judge the quality of a photographic print is how long it will last without any detectable loss of clarity, color, or other deterioration. This is referred to as the lifespan or permanence of a print. The lifespan of a print is normally measured in three different environments: in harsh conditions (the print is subjected to extremes of heat, humidity and ultraviolet light), in normal indoor display conditions (as you might have on your living room wall, for example), and in ideal conditions (where the print is stored in a dark, humidity and heat controlled location). For most people contemplating purchase of a decorative print the second category is the most relevant.

Most prints that are purchased from the local camera store (or drug store, etc.) have an effective lifespan in normal display conditions of approximately 10 years. This can vary somewhat, but in general the display life of these prints is almost always well under twenty years. At some time after this period you may begin to see slight fading or discolorations in the print. As the print ages it will naturally exhibit more fading and discoloration. The prints will last longer if stored in the family album, but even here they will begin to fade and discolor after only a couple of decades.

Prints that have historically been offered by professional photography labs have a lifespan of around fifty years. Some prints have a lifespan of sixty-five years, while others will last around forty years before there is any detectable change in the print. Because these are better quality prints they tend to fade much more slowly than the average camera shop print. It may be many decades after the print begins to fade before the print begins to take on an overall washed out or faded appearance.

These professional photography lab prints were the industry standard just a few years ago. They were the longest lasting prints available and were the standard by which other prints were judged. Some of these prints, including Cibachrome prints (funny name, great prints - the name has been changed to Ilfochrome), were considered to be the absolute best prints available. These are still excellent prints, but the quality of these prints has been eclipsed by the new guy in town, digital prints.

Digital Prints

While many still debate the relative merits of film versus digital technology, there is one area where digital technology is unsurpassed and that is in preparing and printing photographic images. Traditional film techniques pale in comparison to the quality that can be achieved through digital processing. The vast majority of professional photographers who make their living from selling prints now produce their prints digitally because these prints simply cannot be matched by any other print technology.

The typical professional photography lab print is made with a resolution of 300 dots per inch. This provides enough color dots per inch that your eye can blend them together into a smooth image. Without some form of magnification you cannot see this many individual dots in an inch. Digital prints are normally produced on high quality printers at 360 dots per inch, yielding an even richer and more pleasing print.

But, you are asking, what about the lifespan of these prints? The lifespan of a digital print depends, in large part, upon the paper used to produce the print. In nearly all cases, the lifespan of these prints far exceeds even the absolute best professional lab prints. Here are the papers and life spans that you can expect from our prints.

Ultrasmooth Fine Art Paper is made using 100% cotton paper that is much thicker than normal paper, lies absolutely flat, and produces exquisite prints. And, without resorting to spraying chemicals on the surface after the print is made, it is the longest lasting paper available today.

Canvas prints are made using 100% cotton canvas with a tight weave that is then treated to ensure longevity of the print.  Because it is a woven material there is naturally some loss of detail on a canvas print, but canvas often provides an artistic flavor to an image that cannot be duplicated by normal photographic prints.  Whether you select canvas for its artistic look or Ultra Smooth Paper for its increased detail is a matter of personal taste.

For open edition prints we normally use Premium Luster and Ultrasmooth papers because they are easier to work with and are simply fantastic papers. Where it is essential we will produce prints on glossy photo paper, though this is rarely necessary. It is virtually impossible to tell the difference between these various prints once they have been framed and placed behind some glass or acrylic glazing material.

The vast majority of professional photographers have either purchased a high-end digital photo printer, have access to one of these printers, or utilize a professional photography lab to produce prints on one of these printers. The prints are nothing short of stunning, they last longer than any other prints available, and they can be reproduced from a digital master image with absolutely repetitive certainty. It is a professional photographer's dream come true.

Absolute Best Prints

When you purchase a print from Munson Photographic you are purchasing one of the absolute best prints available today. We do not compromise on quality and this is most important at the very core of our products, our outstanding quality prints. You can be sure that any print you purchase from Munson Photographic will offer you unabated viewing pleasure for many, many decades to come.

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