As Jeff Shewe states in the "Camera to Print" tutorials, any paper that is coated (also called RC papers, for resin-coated) is considered "glossy", and non-coated papers are "matte".
Any of the luster papers are glossy.
Fine art papers are matte.
If you haven't bought the Camera to Print, or Lightroom 2 tutorials, they are definitely worth the money.
David
Well, resin coated papers don't have anything to do with the actual inkjet receptor coating, which (as has been pointed out) is on all inkjet papers. This simply means the physical paper itself is resin coated. Resin coated papers evolved from silver halide photography, the purpose of the resin coating was to waterproof the actual fiber paper so it was easier to process and wash the resulting prints. It was found early on that inkjet receptor coats could be applied to very similar paper stock, and the resulting prints were very close to silver halide photograph. In fact the "luster" finish of Epson Luster papers is pretty much identical to the "E" surface from traditional photographic printing that has been around for a few decades.
For a long time, the use of RC papers to achieve glossy finishes was the only real option. Most other papers were "matte", and suffered when using PK inks. Then matte black inks came along, overcoming the weak blacks on these papers using PK ink, and the resulting leap in quality using this combination overcame most objections. The wide variety of paper choices began attracting many to this option.
That has changed dramatically in the last few years, and there are many papers today designed specifically for PK ink, thus achieving a higher gloss and indeed greater dMax, but these papers are fine art papers ... they are not RC papers. These are a welcome addition for those who prefer the look of glossier papers and want to use PK inks for most of their work but have been stuck with the RC papers for years. The RC papers are very good and have a great look but for many the plastic feel is a turnoff. I still use Epson Premium Luster some of the time, but I really like the look and feel of these newer papers and use them for all large high end prints.
A few examples are Ilford Galarie Gold Fibre Silk, Epson Exhibition Fiber, Hahnemuhle Fine Art Baryta ... these are just a few, there are many more. Each manufacturer will tell you which black ink the paper is optimized for. Those designed for PK ink are generally referred to as gloss or luster papers, those designed for MK ink are generally referred to as mat papers.
I believe many use a combination of matte and glossy papers, based on the actual image itself. Some images lend themselves to the look of matt papers, other simply look their best on a high quality gloss/luster paper.
