Have you ever wondered why that photo paper works so much better?
Surely, paper is paper, right?
What can be so special about it?
Isn’t Photo Paper a Ripoff?
Everything associated with home printing is priced at a high premium—most notably ink cartridges.
What is There to Know About Paper?
Like many aspects of graphic arts, paper has its own set of complicated esoteric terms.
Don’t expect a ream of 32 pound typing paper to weight 32 pounds!
Paper weight is simply an offhand way to measure the density of a paper.
It is a very common way to distinguish amongst paper types, even for ordinary retail papers.
Points are one thousandth of an inch, with heavier papers having higher point sizes.
Business cards are often printed on thicker stocks, for example, 14 pt stock, or 0.014 inches.
Brightness: Brightness is the amount of light that is reflected off of a blank page.
The brighter a page, the better color range is achievable, allowing for brighter colors and higher contrast.
Naturally, the brighter the paper stock, the better.
Brightness is measured in values from 0 to 100.
Some papers have a color tint that leans warmer, yellower, or bluer.
Uncoated papers are often called “matte,” although this is a bit of a misnomer.
Why is Coated Paper Better than Regular Paper?
Inkjet printers fire ink at pages in small liquid drops.
What’s the solution?
Images stay clean, by microscopically controlling the absorption of inks into emulsified surfaces.
Why Do Brighter Papers Have Better Color?
Fewer colors are available, and these will tend to be duller.
Is High Quality Paper a Guarantee of a Great Print?
Simply said, no.
They are a very important part of that equation, however.
Can good quality photo paper improve the quality of prints from your injet photo printer?
Will photo papers safeguard against human error,uncalibrated monitors, or poor quality printers?
Simply said, no.
Don’t be discouraged by this, though.
Image Credits: Staples Paper byDavidPitkin, available underCreative Commons.
The Paper Heroes Photo Album byroadkillbuddha, available underCreative Commons.
Photo and Specialty Paper bymag3737, available underCreative Commons.
Sphere-itize me Captain bydb photographs, released underCreative Commons.
Canon Matte Photo Paper byCt, available underCreative Commons.
