What 180 gsm Matte Paper Actually Means
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Every print shop lists a paper spec, and almost nobody explains it. Here is what ours means in practice, and where the honest limits are.
180 gsm — the weight
Gsm is grams per square metre. It measures weight, which is a decent proxy for thickness and stiffness.
| Weight | What it is |
|---|---|
| 80 gsm | Office printer paper. Floppy, see-through. |
| 120–150 gsm | Magazine cover. Better, still bends easily. |
| 180 gsm | Our paper. Holds its shape when you lift a corner. |
| 250–300 gsm | Card stock and heavy fine-art papers. |
180 gsm is the point where a print stops feeling like a poster and starts feeling like an object. It sits flat behind glass, does not ripple when the room's humidity shifts, and survives being handled while you frame it.
Where it is honestly not the heaviest option. Gallery papers run 250–320 gsm. Those are thicker and more textured, and they cost considerably more. For framed work behind glass, the difference is felt in the hand rather than seen on the wall.
Matte — the finish
Finish decides how the surface handles light, and it matters more than weight for how a print actually looks in a room.
- Gloss — deepest blacks and most saturated colour, but it mirrors every lamp and window. In most homes you end up looking at the reflection rather than the image.
- Satin / lustre — a compromise. Some sheen, some glare.
- Matte — no reflection. Colour reads slightly softer, and the image stays legible from any angle and in poor light.
Matte was the right choice here because these are paintings, not photographs. Visible brushwork and muted palettes want a surface that behaves like paint, not like a screen. It also means the print survives a hallway ceiling light or a wall opposite a window — the two places glossy prints fail.
The trade-off: matte cannot reach the same maximum black as gloss. On a very dark image you would notice. On the palettes we print — sage, cream, dusty rose, warm earth — you will not.
Scratch and water resistant
The coating resists a wiped fingerprint and a splash. It is not waterproof and it is not a bathroom material. Treat it as you would any framed paper: keep it out of direct steam, and handle it by the edges before it goes behind glass.
How long it lasts
Kept out of direct sunlight and behind glazing, a print like this holds its colour for decades. What kills prints is not time but UV — a piece hung where afternoon sun lands on it directly will fade noticeably within a few years, whatever the paper.
If the only available wall gets direct sun, use UV-filtering glazing. It costs more than ordinary glass and it is the one upgrade that genuinely matters.
Printed after you order
Nothing sits in a warehouse absorbing damp. Each piece is printed once you buy it, in the USA, and dispatched within 10 business days with tracking.
Prints arrive rolled in a tube. Lay yours flat under a few books overnight before framing — see the framing guide for the rest.