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Most of us can be forgiven for being unaware of the different types of printer paper available to us and the advantages that arise from choosing the right one. But did you know that 80% of your printout quality depends on the printer paper you use? Here’s a quick guide on choosing the best paper type for different documents:
- Brightness: A paper type described as ‘bright’ means that paper surface is smoother than average, making your images appear brighter. Therefore, brighter paper types are more suitable for printing image-heavy documents.
- Absorption: The more ink that’s absorbed by your printer paper, the fuzzier your images and text look. Coated paper counteracts this problem and allows for much more precise detail, as printers will print at a higher resolution on coated paper than standard paper.
- Finish: The 2 main finishes are ‘Gloss Finish’ and ‘Matte Finish’. Paper with a Gloss Finish looks and feels shiny, similar to traditional photo lab paper. Glossy inkjet photo paper gives the best possible results. Paper with a Matte Finish feels smooth and velvety, best suited to producing superior text results and for documents displayed under glass.
- Caliper: aka ‘Thickness’, ranges from 4.3 mm to 10.4mm. Photo papers are usually thicker than multi-purpose papers as they require greater ink coverage.