Hahnemühle’s Postcard-Size Photo Paper

Outsourcing printing is an easy and often economical solution, especially since you’d rather be shooting than making your own prints. But Hahnemühle’s Fine Art Photo Cards may change your mind.

Perfect for mini portfolios, personalized cards for any occasion, value-added gifts for clients, handouts at exhibitions or smaller copies of your work at art fairs, these 4 x 6-inch postcards come in packs of 30 and are housed in a sturdy metal tin. Available in a variety of surfaces, Hahnemühle recently added the cover weight (350gsm) Museum Etching, bringing the total to four options. The other three are slightly lighter weight, including 308gsm Photo Rag®, 315gsm Photo Rag® Baryta and the 285gsm FineArt Pearl.

With its weight and texture, Museum Etching is—as its name implies—reminiscent of etching board. This 100 percent cotton paper is 99 percent opaque, offers a natural white point (no OBAs) and a textured surface that’s ideal for images that are more nuanced.

Of the four, Photo Rag® is probably the most versatile. At its core it’s a nicely weighted, 100 percent cotton substrate with a very low OBA content, so you’ll get brighter whites with the Photo Rag® media than the Museum Etching. And, if you don’t want or need a textured surface, Photo Rag® offers a fine, smooth matte finish.

With Photo Rag® Baryta, you’ll feel like you’re back in the darkroom (but without the hassle of mixing, or smelling, chemicals). This 100 percent cotton, OBA-free paper delivers a white, high-gloss finish with a hand-feel of double-weight paper. I prefer Photo Rag® Baryta for black-and-white images, but you’ll be pleased with color prints as well.

And, finally, FineArt Pearl: an alpha-cellulose paper with moderate OBA content, the bright white paper delivers when it comes to contrast—whether you’re printing black and white or color—and it has a lovely pearl finish.

Prices are modest, starting at around $16 for a set, plus the tin. If you’re ambitious, create your own paper bands to finish the presentation (use the Hahnemühle band around the tin as a template), or wrap the tin in a pretty ribbon.