Printer Paper Exposed » brightness

Choosing the Right Printer Paper

The Paper Expert — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:20:45 +0000

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:

The brightness of the paper.
The weight factor.
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.

Video About the Features of Printer Paper

The Paper Expert — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:16:50 +0000

If you’re unsure about the printer paper you should be using, this video gives a very quick, easy to understand comparison of the features of printer paper and photo paper.

Cardstock

The Paper Expert — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:55:45 +0000

When finding the perfect paper for you project, cardstock should be your number one choice. You can find cardstock in a variety of different colors, weights, and finishes. Cardstock has always been a favorite for people looking for paper for scrap booking, postcards, business cards, and related things. Found in every color of the rainbow, reams of cardstock can be purchased online and at your local retail store.

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.

HP Photo Paper

The Paper Expert — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:04:12 +0000

If you haven’t tried HP photo paper before you’re missing out a realm of amazing printed pictures. You’ve probably noticed the difference in quality of result when you compare printing on copy paper and photo paper. Well just like there is a major difference between copy paper and photo paper, there is also a difference between brands of photo paper too. Printing with HP photo paper will be much different than the results you may get from printing on Kodak brand paper.

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.

Copy Paper

The Paper Expert — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:48:55 +0000

There are a lot of things to know about copy paper and you can be at a serious disadvantage if you don’t know them. There are a combination of features that go into good printer paper and so you should know those features before buying paper online or in the store. While sometimes all that information can be a little overwhelming, with proper research and an open mind, you can find the copy paper right for you.

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.