Walk in a paper store, and you will be immediately confused by the range of the printer paper options. The options are so diverse it is hard to tell which among them will work best on your printer and project. But although it looks hard, finding paper for your printer is pretty manageable, especially if you consider the following tips.
- Read the printer manual for paper suggestions. The best way to know which paper is good for your printer is by consulting the printer manual. Surely, the printer manufacturer has detailed all the papers that are great to use with your printer both in ordinary printing activities and highly specialized projects. Also, remember to use only the papers specified for your printer. Thus, if your printer is inkjet, do not use papers for a laser printer.
- Take paper smoothness into account. The paper’s smoothness can tell how bright the text or image will be when printed on paper. This is because the smoother the paper, the brighter it is; and the brighter the paper, the brighter the print will be. So if you want to have particularly bright prints, choose a paper that is smoother than ordinary.
- Consider the weight of the paper. Weight is another important consideration. Especially for special printing projects, you want something that is heavy and think, because it gives you clearer printouts and prevents any color bleed. In general cases, though, a thick paper is rather expensive. Also, remember to take into consideration the paper weight limit of your printer. If you feed paper that weighs more than the maximum weight the printer can accommodate, it might end up seriously damaged.
- Find out if the paper absorbs ink. When printed on, some papers absorb and spread ink out of the printout edges, making the text or image look, at best, blurry. So to try to look for papers that do not absorb ink; or better yet, buy papers that are especially coated with wax. These kinds of papers prevent ink absorption and make clearer printouts.
- Determine the paper finish that you want. You can choose between glossy and matte. Glossy has a reflective surface and is perfect for one-side printing. Glossy papers are categorized further depending on the level of shine: semi-gloss, gloss, and high gloss, with semi-gloss as the least shiny and high gloss as the shiniest. Matte, on the other hand, is for double-side printing and is not reflective. It is velvety and silky. To find out which between the two is better for the project, try to do a print test and see whether a reflective or non-reflective surface creates a clear, color-precise printout.
Finally, consider the price. Remember that superior quality papers command higher prices, so if you are going to use the paper for ordinary printing purposes, like making reports and other office documents, you may want to settle for the ordinary white paper. But if you are going to print pictures, business cards, invitations, and posters, invest in high quality, special papers.
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