So you’re at the store and you’re trying to figure out the type of photo paper you should get.  What will get you the best results for the cost?  What are the differences between glossy and matte paper?  While you know you’re looking for photographic paper, you’re completely unsure about the minor differences between each style and brand.  And also, besides the normal choice between glossy and matte photo paper, what’s the difference between semi-gloss (satin), and the other types of photo paper?

When you go to the developer for photographs with your camera, you typically get glossy paper back.  This slick-surfaced paper is what is generally thought of when thinking about photos.  There are many factors that have influenced the continued popularity of glossy photos.  First, the paper is really shiny which makes the photos more appealing to look at.  Second, a lot of glossy photo papers make the colors of the picture “pop” out.

Matte photo paper, on the other hand, tends to be used for more formal types of pictures.  While not as fancy as glossy paper, matte photographic paper has its advantages.  If you’re displaying photographs in a really bright room, you’ll find that glossy papers to reflect light a lot more.  This leads to viewers of the photograph having difficulty seeing the picture because of a glare from the bright light.  Matte paper doesn’t have as much of problem with glares, which makes the optimal for settings with lots of lighting.  Matte paper is also much better for gray scale and black and white imagery.

The final major choice for photo paper is semi-gloss paper.  This is the intermediary between glossy and matte photo papers.  The surface of satin photographic paper is not quite smooth and flat like matte but it’s also not as shiny as glossy.  Colors printed on semi-gloss paper tend to be much more vibrant and gorgeous.  It also doesn’t have the disadvantage of generating a glare like glossy photo paper.  Semi-gloss paper is traditional used by many portrait studios.  If you’ve ever had your pictures taken at Sears or at school, often the results are printed on satin paper.

The paper you choose for a given project can spell the difference between making it a success or a flop.  There can be so many types of paper to choose from, however, that it can be very difficult for the average person to decide.  Many articles on the internet are very poor at helping you determine what may be right for you.  You can try to ask your local office supply business and come up even more empty-handed than you did on the internet.

So, in order to help you make the right decision for your printer paper, we prepared this article to solve your problems.  There are three things you should know about printer paper:

1. The brightness of the paper.
2. The weight factor.
3. The type of finish used on the printer paper.

To begin, the brightness of the paper is a measurement of how much light is reflected by the paper’s surface.  The higher the brightness, the more white your paper will appear and the better printed blacks and colors will look.  Most copy paper starts at 92 bright.  In the United States, you can expect your paper to be the brightest at 99 bright.  If you need paper for everyday printing that you will end up throwing away, 92 bright is all you need.  If, on the other hand, the paper is going to be used for a marketing or business presentation, you’ll want paper that is 96 bright or higher.Next, the weight of your printer paper is another important factor of the paper choosing process.  The higher the weight of the paper, the more substantial and better quality it will feel.  The cheapest copy paper will be about 20 pounds for paper weight.  20 pound printer paper is very thin and will show through when printed double-sided.  For most business documents, you will want paper that’s around 24 or 28 pounds.  If you’re printing in full color, you’ll want 32 pound paper.

The finish of the paper is a rating that runs from matte to glossy.  There is also a major difference in the finish used in laser paper and ink jet paper.  Ink jet paper’s finish is scientifically designed to allow ink to dry faster and be more smudge resistant.  Laser paper, however, is designed for toner use and will make the text and color appear much sharper when used with a laser printer.  It’s important to choose the paper designed for your type of printer.  While multipurpose paper is a good all-around paper for offices with both ink jet and laser printers, you’ll discover that specifically designed printer paper will work better in the long run.

Besides ink jet and laser finishes, there are also printer papers made with different materials.  Business stationary, for example, are made from special linens and often have a much higher cotton content.  This type of finish is designed for people seeking high quality paper for resumes, letterheads, and documents branding a corporate identity.

This article only covers the basics of choosing printer paper.  Besides the three major factors that determine the quality of the paper, their are tons of things to look for–especially if you’re printing glossy photos or brochures.  If you want to know more about finding the best printers and paper for printing, check out the rest of this website.

First, you’ll want to turn off your printer and unplug it.  It would be terrible if you electrocuted yourself while trying to get the paper free.  Next, find where the printer paper is stuck.  If it’s stuck inside the printer where you can’t see it, find an access panel on the printer.  Access panels are easy to reach “doors” found on the side or the back of the printer.  Once you’ve located the paper, firmly grasp it with both your hands and pull it out from the printer.  Don’t pull in such a way that you’ll tear the paper which can make the printer jam worse.  While pulling the paper, you can try to rotate any of the internal gears to help the paper through.  Once all the visible paper, and the scraps, are cleared from the printer, turn the printer back on.  If the printer still says there is a printer jam, repeat the above steps and find the paper.  If, without a doubt, you cannot find any paper jammed and the printer still has an error, contact the manufacturer for a repair.

If you are visual learner like me, this video will help you see how to get rid of a printer jam.

As one of the most important parts of the printing process, the paper you choose can make or break it.  Paper comes in three different varsities, cheap everyday stuff, medium grade stuff that is designed to impress, and the highest grade, premium printer paper that will make whatever is printed on it golden.  Most consumers use the everyday paper, but professionals, like successful real estate agents, use the best printer paper.

First, let’s talk about what makes “everyday” paper.  Everyday paper you find at the store for a few dollars is typically 20# with a 92 brightness.  The weight: 20# describes how flimsy the paper is when you feel it.  The higher the weight, the more substantial the paper will feel to you.  Paper weight will range from about 20# to over 110# (which is cardstock).  The brightness of the paper refers to how bright the paper itself is.  92 bright paper is very dull and will give dull, everyday results.  98 bright or higher papers will give much lively, reactive results.

Choosing the best printer paper is very important.  Typically, when you’re looking at premium paper that will be used for fliers or marketing materials, you’ll want to lean towards a paper with a weight around 44#.  If you need paper to put into a binder for a presentation, 24# is the weight you’ll want for optimum page-turning results.  Many paper manufacturers will have products that state what they’re good for.  HP papers, for example, will have right on their label their purpose.  HP brochure papers would be, of course, for people printing brochures.

The brand of paper you choose is really based on your preference.  While HP is definitely a highly recommended brand by many printing professionals, you can find many other premium papers from manufacturers like Hammermill and Boise Cascade.  So when choosing your brand, find one that meets your printing needs and budget.  The most expensive paper you can buy may not be the one you need and so keep your mind open while shopping.

No matter what your planning on using cardstock for there are weights and different finishes you need to keep in mind.  65# cardstock is the most commonly used of all the weights available.  The reason why people choose 65# compared the heavier weights like 90# and 110# is 65 is much easier to manage and fold.  If you’ve ever tried to print on really heavy cardstock, you’ve probably experienced a lot of jams.  Some people have even damaged their printers through wear and tear caused by the super thick stuff.  When folding cardstock, 65# weight will look much better than 110.  Basically what happens when you fold thick cardstock, you often get a distorted spine that looks very tacky whereas with the medium thickness cardstock, you don’t have that problem.

When it comes to cardstock colors and finishes, you have almost an unlimited amount of choice.  Whether you’re planning on using on using cardstock as a binding cover for a marketing portfolio or using cardstock to highlight the photographs from a scrap booking project, there is plenty of choice out there.  When choosing cardstock, the finish and color is all about personal preference.

A great brand of cardstock that I’ve always had good luck with before is Wausau.  They’re a famous paper company that has a great line of paper products developed with you in mind.  If you want some worry-free, quality cardstock Wausau papers will always deliver.

Choosing to buy cardstock online is a very important thing if you don’t want to end up getting cheated out of your hard earned money.  Whether you buy just a few reams of cardstock or want to use an online print shop to print on cardstock for you, you need to make sure you pick from a reputable store.  Saving a couple dollars on a ream of paper isn’t worth it if the company take 2 weeks to ship it to you.  So with that in mind, you’re going to want to choose from either local retailer or an online retailer with a strong name.  Before buying online, always research and make sure they’re a company you want to deal with.

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HP has a broad line of paper products on the market for printing photos.  No matter your skill level or what you’re planning on using the pictures for, there is paper made by HP great for you.  They are deeply respected in the printing industry and with their prices compared to their competitors, they can hardly be beat.  If you’re looking for consistent, reliable photo paper, HP is the brand for you.

HP makes their photo paper in a variety of different qualities based on what you’re going to be printing.  For example, if you’re planning on printing every day photographs that will be passed from person to person and then thrown away afterwords, HP Advanced Paper will be the best for you whereas HP Premium Plus Paper would be great if you are planning on keeping the photos you printed for many years or if you’re going to be selling your printed pictures to people.  There are some other grades of quality of HP paper products in between those but we’ll mainly focus on the two mentioned.

HP Advanced Photo Paper comes in many shapes, sizes, and finishes.  Based on the size of paper for your printing needs, you can get it in 4×6, 5×7, 8.5×11, and 13×19. Also, HP Advanced Photo Paper comes in both glossy and matte finishes.  The quality of this photo paper is roughly equivalent to what you can get from any Sam’s Club photo developing center.  The glossy photos you can get with this HP paper is quite amazing and so you really can’t go wrong for the price.

HP Premium Plus Photo Paper is the best photo paper you can purchase from HP.  If you’re looking for simply spectacular photographs that you can keep and share with others, this is the paper you’re looking for.  This is professional grade paper that you simply can’t beat for level of quality.  Backed with HP paper technology, HP Premium Plus Photo Paper has a special coating that gives it resistance to fading over time plus color that will remain vibrant for generations to come.  Found in all the typical photo paper sizes and matte and glossy finishes,  you just can’t go wrong with this quality paper.

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The photo paper you may use for your trip to Hawaii will be much different from the photo paper you’d use if you’re a wedding photographer.  For example, if your photos are just going to be thrown away after you show them off to everyone, do you really want to spend a lot of money on your paper?  Whereas on the other hand, if you’re a photographer and you sell the pictures you take, you’re going to want have photo paper that looks and feels like quality.  Presentation is key with photo paper and the differences between glossy and matte photo paper will help you with that.

Glossy Photo Paper

Glossy photo paper is important for people who need some flashy pictures.  If you’re in doubt with which type of photo paper you’re going to choose, glossy paper is the best for most situations.   The results of glossy photo paper you print at home will match or exceed the photos you’re used to getting from a developer.  The slick, stylish presentation will dazzle everyone you show the paper to, from your family members to important clients.

Matte Photo Paper

Matte photo paper, while doesn’t have the flashy pizzazz of its glossy cousin, is another type of photo paper that can get you amazing results when printed on.  Matte paper doesn’t have a lot of the problems that you can get from glossy photo paper.  For example, glossy paper reflects light a lot.  In really bright environments, you can have difficulties seeing the picture if you have a bad viewing angle.  Matte paper, on the other hand, doesn’t have the problem.  Another great thing about matte paper, especially at looking the premium “studio quality” brands, is the paper simply feels like a million dollars.  With great matte photo paper, you can print for less than a couple dollars at home, results that look like they cost you $50 dollars at a photography studio.

Quality Photo Paper Brands

There are many brands of photo paper out there that you can choose from.  Some brands you’ve probably heard of like HP, Canon, and Epson, and others you’ve probably haven’t heard of as well like Meritline.  Photo paper quality does vary between brands and it also varies between the brand of printer/ink you have too.  Photo paper brands will give you the greatest results when paired with its brothers.  For example, if you have an HP inkjet printer, you’re going to want to buy HP brand ink, as well as HP brand photo paper.  HP, and other companies as well, will research and design their products to work and look amazing with each other.

One of the first things you should think about before buying copy paper is what you’re going to be using the paper for.  If you’re going to be using the paper to show off your new business portfolio, you will want to choose printer paper that is much higher quality than paper that your kids are going to print on and then throw away.  Many things go into the quality of copy paper which include:  brand name, brand technology, paper weight, and brightness.  Believe it or not, but Hammermill copy paper will be much better for certain print jobs whereas say Staples brand copy paper may be better for others.  It’s all about what you’re using the paper for.

Paper technology varies from brand to brand.  As an example, HP paper has technology that works very well with HP brand ink.  When printing on their brand of copy paper, you’ll see much more brilliant color that is resistant to water damage and running.  Even though their paper can be a little more expensive compared to the competition, you’ll see much better results if you’re printing off some impressive marketing stuff.  On the other hand, off-brand or store brand paper will have little to no added “technology” and their price will reflect that.  You’ll want to choose off-brand paper when you’re looking for decent looking but cheap copy paper.

Next, paper brightness and weight play a major part for choosing the right copy paper for you.  In terms of paper brightness, the brighter the paper the greater the “pop” from a marketing persepective.  If you are printing a resume, you’re going to want paper that is nice, white, and bright.  Paper brightness varies from the lowest and cheapest (88 bright) to the more expensive high (98 brightness or higher).  Also, another factor in choosing paper is paper weight.  While paper weight isn’t very important for paper you’re just going to throw away, it is important if you’re making a presentation.  For a good paper weight you’re going to want to have about 28 lb paper.  Paper weight in copy paper will range from about 20 lb to over 32 lb.  If you go any higher for paper weight you’ll end up getting cardstock which is a whole other topic.