Photo Paper

Photo Paper: What Parameters to Look for When Choosing

Type of Photo Paper Surface

Photo paper also differs when it comes to surface finish. Photographic paper can be matte, glossy or satin-matte, which is fingerprint-resistant. For everyday photography, a regular glossy photo paper is good enough. In contrast, matte photo paper is used when you want to bring out the character of specific images. Matte photo paper provides more vivid and sharper colours and is also used for printing enlarged photos. Satin-matte photographic paper is fingerprint-resistant and is mainly used for poster printing. High gloss photo paper delivers brilliant colours and skin tones and is suitable for portraits, framed photos or photo albums.

The Weight of Photo Paper

The grammage determines the weight of one square metre of paper. High-quality photo paper is thicker and heavier than ordinary office paper. Paper suitable for printing photographs has weights that range from 90 to 280g/m². Quality photo papers have a grammage of around 200 to 350g/m². Photo printers always specify the maximum permissible weight that the photo printer can handle.

Paper Format and Size of Photo Paper

Most home inkjet printers use A4 size photo paper, the maximum printable size. Photo printers also use special photographic paper in photo formats of 9×13, 10×15 and 13×18cm. Photo printers that can print A3+ format are also now more widespread, with these sheets of photo paper being in demand primarily for their "exhibition" size. Photo paper is also available in rolls from 12.7 to 152.4cm wide for inkjet minilabs and large format printers.

Photo Paper for Inkjet Printers vs Photo Paper for Thermosublimation Printers

Note that there is unique and unmistakable photo paper for each type of printer technology. Remember that a thermal sublimation printer has a pre-determined type of photo paper produced precisely for the printer model. In contrast, the range of photo paper for inkjet printers is extensive indeed.