I’ve decided to go with the matte finish on all of my Star Saga novels and to stick with glossy finish for my lone Mystery title. The decision to stay with glossy on the Mystery was largely based on readability of the currently uploaded cover file. The matte version of the book was hard to read the blurbs on the back. I felt the zero and ones in the background were too prominent, too in your face. The glossy version was more subdued and easier to read the blurbs.
You can see this affect if you look at the photos below from the back of the book. I could fix the cover art but that would require some effort on behalf of my cover artist and layout guy. I’d rather have him work on the next book than tweak a perfectly fine older book.
The code in the background seems to overtake the text in the matte version.
The same enhanced imagery seems to work out much better for the Military themed Space Opera novels.
I did a destructive test on one of the matte finish books. I poured water on it and was able to wipe it off without damage. I split the corner and there was no separation of the finish. On the glossy covers you can peel off the glossy materiel on a corner. Sometimes just normal wear and tear will cause that glossy layer to come off.
I also broke the spine to get the familiar crack line and I folded it long ways to fit it in my pocket. Both of those tests resulted in the same behavior as any paperback book.
So there you go. Anyone else have experience with matte or glossy finishes?