I wanted to know what people thought about using black matte paper for my earring cards. I am using a heavy paper with silver gel pen for my business name and most of my customers like it, but I have had some comments that black is not a good color for showing off silver and beaded jewelry. What do you think?  Thanks!

 huh? black is universally used to show off silver. if you think it looks good I am sure it's fine!

I actually took a class for the business jeweller and was told not to use black.  HOWEVER, she was talking about not using black velvet for displays because it is 1) dated and 2) absorbs all light and therefore doesn't show silver to it's best advantage.  The recommendation was to use white, off-white or another light color that reflects the light back and makes the jewellry look sparklier.

That said, I would think if your cards are a matte finish they shouldn't absorb all the light.  I would try experimenting with putting your pieces against different color backgrounds and see what looks best.

I agree with Sparklebee and have some additional thoughts.  BRIGHT silver shows up better against black than it does on white.  It gets lost on white.  Antiqued silver, on the other hand, I think shows betters against white.  

My other 2 cents on white reflecting, black absorbing - it's O.K. for your background to absorb light, and you want the JEWELRY to be reflecting the light. 

So I guess the "real" answer depends on your set-up and how you are lighting it.