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Paper Buying Guide

A few years ago, buying paper for your printer was a no-brainer, but how things have changed. Today, choosing the best paper for your new inkjet printer can seem like an overwhelming task. So where do you start?

The easiest, and perhaps the safest, approach is to always buy paper made by the same company that made your printer. However, that is not always possible, and can be expensive. Besides, as the technologies of the printers, inks and papers have improved, so have the paper selections that will work well with most printers. There are five basic things you have to consider: size, weight, thickness, finish and application. All five will affect the final look and feel of your photos.

Paper Size

This is your easiest choice. Years ago, the photo lab offered you specific sizes to choose from: 3" x 5", 4" x 6", 8" x 10". Now, the good news is that you have all those same choices with photo paper for your inkjet plus many more. You can choose ID card sizes, postcard sizes and even roll-sized photo paper for printing out panoramas. Basically, you are only limited by what paper sizes your printer can handle.

Paper Weight

Paper comes in a variety of weights. If you want your prints to have the same feel as the ones you get from the professional labs, you should choose a very heavy paper. Different manufacturers rate their papers differently (either in pounds or mils) but they will list them as "heavyweight." Sometimes, lighter-weight paper may make more sense if you are putting them into a photo album, for example. Typical photo paper ranges from 5 mil (lighter) up to 14 mil or more (heavier). Equivalents in pounds run from around 20# up to 50# or more. Most quality business paper is 20# to 24# bond, while greeting card papers are heavier, typically in the range of 60# to 65# cardstocks.

Paper Thickness

The thickness of paper affects its handling and is most applicable to photo papers. Typically, thicker paper is stiffer and resists tears and creases. Thickness may be expressed as a unit of measure called a "mil."

Paper Finish

There's a variety of finishes available, ranging from extremely glossy to matte. Photo paper comes in matte and glossy with a variety of convenient print sizes like 4" x 6" for everyday prints and large portrait-size papers for enlargements.

• Each manufacturer rates their papers differently, but generally there are three basic finishes: High-gloss or premium-gloss surfaces give you the richest, most colorful photos. They are, however, most susceptible to damage from fingerprints, moisture and dust.
• Semigloss or satin surfaces don't give you the color richness of high-gloss, but do give you a lower contrast, which is often preferable for photos of people. The softer look is ideal for portraits.
• Matte surfaces have the lowest contrast of the three finishes, but offer rich texture and resist fingerprints. Matte is a good finish choice for black-and-white prints and vintage reproductions.

Application

So far, we have only talked about photo printing, but there is so much more you can do. You can buy paper for printing your own business cards, or paper with an adhesive backing for creating your own stickers. There is paper designed for custom tattoos, iron-on transfers, brochures and self-stick address labels. You can buy thick card stock, transparencies and multipurpose paper for everyday printing, copying, scanning and faxing. In short, if you can create it, you can print it beautifully.

Source: Tom Gamble and Melissa Winter, Paper Buying Guide, BestBuy.com