Best Photo Paper

Finding the right photo paper can be difficult because there are so many different choices to choose from. If you want to buy photo paper and know the differences between the different kinds of photo paper, you have reached the right website. First, let’s go over the four factors that separate the different types of inkjet photo paper.

• brightness
• weight
• caliper
• finish

Another important consideration when buying photo paper is the opacity.  Opacity is the amount of transparency on the paper.  You want to make sure that your photos and images will need bleed through the other side of the paper.  Obviously, if you are printing on both sides of the paper, this is crucial.  For photo greeting cards, you may want to consider soft gloss HP Premium Plus photo paper.

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Brightness essentially marks how bright the paper is.  For example, the range between a yellow piece of paper and then you see another shade of yellow that is even brighter.  With photo paper, this usually comes down to the color white.  Obviously, if you have reviewed photo paper you know that one color of white can be different from another color of white.  This is where the brightness scale comes in.  The brightness scale for photo paper ranges from 1 to 100.  Look for brightness ratings before you “buy photo paper” because you want to make sure you grade is at least 95 or higher.  The last thing you want to have is a picture on a dull, white photo paper.  Since you can’t compare different photo papers side-by-side online, your the 1-100 brightness scale is your best bet.

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One brand of photo paper I recommend is Inkpress Paper.  Inkpress’ best features are its price and high-quality surfaces.  They produce great film papers and gloss and luster papers.  If you’re looking for cheap photo paper, then I recommend taking a strong look at Inkpress.  However, there is some other good brands of photo paper I will be discussing later.   If you are looking to matte portraits or other important color images of your family, people, etc., then this photo paper is good for people on a budget.  Essentially, you receive very good quality at lower quality prices.

Another positive photo paper review goes to HP Premium photo paper and Glossy HP Premium photo paper.  These advanced products really bring out the color in digital photos or text that you print out.  I have had very good results with HP, but price also enters into the equation.  Let’s examine a few more things you need to know about photo paper.

Choosing the right photo paper is vital to producing great prints.  This should be a consideration whether you’re a top professional or just looking to save money by printing out your digital photos yourself.  Thus, another important consideration is the weight of the photo paper.  Photopaper comes in pounds or grams (grams are usually expressed as g/m2).  Most inkjet photo papers come in 24 to 71 pounds.  Obviously heavier paper is going to be the more high quality choice.  Light paper is going to be less sturdy and look less professional.  If you’re on a 5 star project, it is imperative you choose the heavier grade of photo paper.

When discussing how to buy photopaper, we need to discuss what you are using it for.  Family albums, brochures, pamphlets, newsletters, scrap books, and other casual images are usual reserved for multi-purpose paper.  Clearly, sharing digital photos with loved ones is enjoyable for many family and friends.  Of course we want them to look like they came from the photo shop, but at the same time, we’re also not looking to pay for fine-art photo paper prices.  This is why we’re printing at home with a inkjet printer.  Keep reading to learn more about my photo paper tips and ideas to keep the quality high but not sacrificing vibrint prints of the people you care about.

The next stage is the “caliper” of the photo paper.  The multi-purpose paper type mentioned above is different than photo paper because it has a thicker and more dense matte.  The measurable difference between photo paper and multi purpose paper is photo paper generally has a higher number of  mils.  The caliper of paper helps to resist against tears, bends, folds, dents, and creases in the paper.

The great thing about online stores where you can buy photo paper at is the number of choices and best prices at your finger tips.  You can find great discounts available after doing a few quick searches at a number of outlets including office supply stores and laser printer discounters.  The problem is we see beautiful image samples on websites, but printing out great digital pictures can be hard to do at home.  However, by getting a professional grade of paper and carefully researching the printing process, you can produce quality images from home.

Here is a list of some of the major printer suppliers:

• Canon
• Epson photo paper
• Harmon
• Hewlett-Packard (HP)
• Inkpress
• Ilford
• Kodak photo paper

For best results these printer companies recommend using their own printers and photopapers, but this is not mandatory.  However, if you mix and match a low quality, cheap paper with a regular inkjet, you are subject to lackluster images.  An unprofessional image will not have vivid colors, may bleed, will have low-resolution, have detectable transparency, will fade over time, and other negative implications.  Shifting focus back to what comprises premium photo paper, let’s talk about glossiness or the gloss finish.

Photo Paper Reviews

Gloss finish gives your digital print outs a photographic feel to them (as opposed to plain office paper).  You can find quick-drying glossy paper but keep in mind that not all glossies dry that fast.  The slow dry is because of the glossy coating which prevents absorbtion of the ink.  There are many descriptions on the types of glosses you will see when you go to buy photo paper.  High gloss, gloss, soft gloss, satin gloss, and semi-gloss all tell you how much “shinyness” your paper will have.  This has high relevance to the level of performance you will get from your inkjet printer, plotter pape canon printer, laserjet photo paper and ink cartridges.

The type of ink used is another key consideration.  Inkjet printers use one of two types of ink: dye or pigment-based ink.  You need to know that the level of your paper plays a large role here.  Expensive, high-quality, premium photo paper can handle both types of ink, while lesser and some still even high grades only work to produce brilliant images with one or the other.  With that in mind, I recommend you buy epson photo paper for this type of project.  We’ll next look at matte photo paper and the brand of Epson photo paper in relation to high gloss photo paper and 4×6 glossy.

With a matte Finish, you are going for a soft, non-glossy surface, feel, and look.  So here we’re talking about more of a rougher texture paper that takes on a more musk finish and not the coat you are accustomed to seeing with the high gloss.  As mentioned, the finish of paper can be glossy, or embody a semi-gloss, satin and soft-gloss approache as well as matt. The coating is what makes all the difference when you are deciding which photo paper to buy.  In general, black and white photographs go the matte route and color photos end up on glossy paper.

100% cotton photo paper is ideal for breathtaking photos in the matte format.  Ideas for cotton photo paper include scrapbooking projects with clip art or quasi-journalism start-up kits for making a newspaper poster at home with headlines.  Typically when you buy canon photo paper, you can create beautiful backgrounds with feature images or patterns using your laser ink.

Photo Paper Sizes

Getting detailed, if you buy less expensive photo paper, air particles or even exposure to sunlight can cause deterioration and chemically alter the photos.  For high res printing, choose semi-gloss paper with high intensity coating on double-sided HP photo paper.  If it’s photo-lab imitation quality you want, go for a 4” x 6” or 13” x 19” sheets.  You can buy these photo paper sheets in bulk online.  13×19 is a good photo paper size for larger images like family portraits.  4 x 6 is for photos of a child that go on your desk or your dog by a lamp, etc.  The 11” x 17” is good for wider pictures, photos, or images such as a mini-poster printout.

One type I highly recommend for fast drying is Adorama Jet.  This is isn’t a heavy paper, but is water resistant and dries almost immediately.  Another characteristic you want to look for is acid-free paper.  Most brands are acid-free but you’ll want to check just in case.  Hyper technology has created warm finish and latex rolls which are cool new samples I’m eager to try out.  However, for now when I want a professional look, I go high glossy, fast drying, heavy paper.  I obviously want these to be water resistant and finger print resistant.

Best Photo Paper

• professional photo paper
• bulk photo paper
• double sided photo paper
• laser photo paper

If your needs are just daily prints from the computer, go for semi-glossy, cheaper, light weight paper.  I hope these reviews, explanations and information on photo paper has been helpful in choosing which is the best photo paper for your needs.  When you attempt to buy photo paper just keep in mind how professional the project is when determining how much to pay.  You usually won’t go wrong with standard HP or Canon.