What You Need to Know About Photo Paper

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In this modern world of digital cameras, digital photo albums, and digital everything else, it's easy to forget about the subtleties of printing hard copies of your photographs. While choosing photo paper used to be limited to simply checking a box on the local photo store's order form, the rising popularity of printing-from-home has led to a ridiculous amount of variety in how you print your photos.

However don't worry because here you'll discover some tips to choosing the right photo paper so you'll always know what type of paper is best for you.

Paper Basics

When buying photo paper, the first thing you should consider is how you want your pictures to look. Various manufacturers make paper that is specifically created for inkjet photo printers, but they vary in quality, material, and price. So regardless of what paper brand you choose, there are a few things you can look at that will help you determine how your prints will look in the end.

The first thing you want to look at is the thickness of the photo paper. Thick paper will show less bleed-through and will generally lend itself to longer lasting and better looking prints. In addition, the photo paper thickness is directly related to its caliper which is a measure of the paper's ability to absorb ink. Since pictures require a lot of ink, you'll want a higher caliper of paper to ensure the image is completely absorbed.

It is important to note that highly porous or "quick-dry" paper is more convenient than the normal variety, however the makeup of this paper will result in photographs that fade more quickly over time. Try to use non-porous photo paper whenever possible if you want your photographs to last years into the future.

And lastly, you'll need to decide on the level of brightness of your photo paper. Brightness describes how close to true white a paper comes, and is measured on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the brightness number, the more white the paper. But the best way to compare the brightness of different photo papers is to look at a few of them side by side.

The Two Types of Photo Paper Finish

Photo paper comes in two main types of finish - glossy or matte. While both types have their relative advantages and disadvantages, which you use is more a matter of personal choice than anything else.

Glossy paper is what most people are used to see from their local photo shop. This paper will be highly reflective and shiny and may take longer to dry than matte prints due to its glossy coating. Glossy paper will normally have one printable side, and one side without a coating.

Matte paper, on the other hand, looks smooth and doesn't reflect light like glossy paper. Matte paper is normally thicker than glossy and dries faster. Often the paper allows for dual sided printing.

The best way to choose between glossy and matte paper is to pick up a couple of 25 sheet packs from your local photo supply store and try printing on both. Since there is no real technical superiority that would put using one over the other, use whatever works best for you.

Choosing a photo paper can seem like quite a challenge. Between the various finishes, qualities, and manufacturers, finding something you like can seem like a real challenge. Don't be afraid to buy a few small packs of different kinds of paper to experiment; at the end of the day there is no "best" paper, only the one that you like the most.