All you need to know about Photo Paper
When considering which photo paper to buy you should consider a few things first before you commit to the purchase. These are,
What type of printing are you doing?
Knowing what type of printing your doing will help you narrow down your photo paper choices, i.e. photographic printing, graphical, presentational or displays. There are many different types of paper tailored for each application, knowing which type of printing you are doing is crucial and will help you make an informed decision on which photo paper to buy.
What size of photo paper are you after?
A paper sizes are the most common size of photo paper used, there are others which are used for envelopes and posters. A6 is the common size used in photography that you would get from a photo processing shop. A4 photo paper size is suitable for larger display printing of wedding photos and displays. A3 photo paper is good for poster and presentations.
What kind of finish do you need on your photo paper?
Modern day photo papers use a clay based coating to give you either a matte, semi-gloss, gloss and high-gloss finish on your photo paper. Some photo papers have a special coating and are known as coated photo paper. This special coating used on the photo paper locks in colour to make it fade resistant with some manufacturers claiming up to 115 years fade resistance. Special coatings on your photo paper also make your printing easier to handle, with special non-stick backs and coatings which make your photographs instantly touch dry after printing.
Different grades of photo paper?
Different grades of photo paper reflect the unit cost of the paper. When considering what grade you are after you should consider what it is needed for. There are many different grades of photo paper which tailor to each part of the market. There are specific photo papers which are designed for everyday photo printing all the way up to professional colour photography. Everyday photo paper is designed to give you better looking printouts of your web and snap shot photography. Obviously this paper costs a little bit more than normal paper but the increase in price is reflected in the quality of your printing. Manufactures have given different class names to their paper to reflect the quality of their paper and some have given them a star rating to help guide the customer in their choice of photo paper. Names such as premium plus reflect the top range of photo papers and names like ‘everyday’ reflect their intended purpose.
What weight of photo paper do I need?
The heavier a paper is the more it will cost. Photo paper uses a weighted measurement of grams per square meter (g/m²). A typical photo paper weight might be written as 180 g/m². In our website we express this weight measurement simply as gsm, for example 180gsm photo paper to keep things simple. Heavier photo papers have a higher density and stiffness and are more appropriate for posters and displays. Higher quality photo papers generally only come in higher weights; this is because of the manufacturing processes used on them to obtain a higher quality photographic paper.
Quality unbranded photo paper
Our quality unbranded photo paper is perfect for home, everyday photo printing and making your printing look great for a little more money. We have a broad range of unbranded photo paper to cover your needs and promise you will love the quality of your photography for the amount of money used to purchase your photo paper.
What now?
We hope that you found this article informal and that it helped you navigate our photo paper section a bit easier. A simple method of combining cost with need will help you find the right photo paper for you and here at Inkntoneruk we sincerely hope that you do.
