If you’re not familiar with all the printer jargon and paper types, you may struggle to find the right paper when printing photos from home. There are different types, sizes and finishes for paper and each will improve the quality of your photos if the correct paper is used with your printer. Check out these tips to help you find the perfect one for you.
Types
High Gloss, Soft Gloss and Glossy
If you’re thinking of adding your printed photo to a frame then don’t use full glossy paper. This is due to the glare that the glossy finish gives off. Use this type of paper for scrapbooks, albums and cards as you won’t get a tarnished effect from bright lights.
Semi-Gloss and Matte
Use these two types of paper if you want to add your photos to frames or if they are being displayed near windows. You won’t get the glare that full glossy paper gives off.
Canvas
A quality canvas will deliver a matte like finish and when viewed from a distance, will give off a vibrant, quality finish. On the down side, canvas printing has a very rough finish so if being viewed from a close distance or if its struck by bright light, you will see a few lumps in the finish.
Art Paper
Art Paper gives off a high quality finish as it’s usually coated with china clay or a similar substance so you’ll get a smooth surface on your prints. Landscape photos with broad flat colors can work particularly well on this sort of paper.
Paper Size
4 x 6, 5 x 7
Perfect for photos if you’re adding them to scrapbooks and photo albums
8.5 x 11
Wedding photos, portraits and anything that will be held within a frame
13 x 19, 11 x 17
Calendars, posters and anything that is going to be enlarged.
Printer Paper settings
Although choosing the right paper is essential, choosing the correct paper setting on your printer is also a great idea to give you a better result. Go through your printer settings and adjust the print quality settings to the best performance and also choose the paper type you’re using as this controls how much ink will be laid on the paper.
So which paper is for me?
Consider all of the above points and work out what you’re printing and how the photo is going to be displayed once it’s printed. You may have to do a few tests at first to get the best results but once you have, you’re ready to go.
Daniel Whittaker looks after the content on the TonerGiant website and administers it. TonerGiant are leading suppliers of printer consumables in the Uk and offer a huge range of laser colour printers. In his spare time, he loves to analyse all forms of data!
