Go Mono - Black-Only Laser Printer

Today there are a large variety of photo quality inkjet papers on the market. However, there are really only five main differences in all these papers with four of these playing a critical role: brightness, weight, caliper, and finish. Below you will find information about how to choose the right paper for your specific needs based on these criteria.

Opacity

How transparent is the paper? The higher the opacity, the less that printed text and images will be visible through to the other side. For double-sided printing this is especially important. Compared to ordinary inkjet or laser papers, inkjet photo papers have a relatively high opacity usually around 94-97. This makes transparency less of a problem with these type of papers.

Brightness

How white is white? There are many different levels of brightness or whiteness when you talk papers. Brightness is expressed as a number from 1 to 100. Photo papers are usually in the high 90s. Since not all papers are labeled with their brightness rating, the best way to determine brightness is simply to compare two or more papers side-by-side.

Weight

Paper weight may be expressed in pounds (lb.) or as grams per square meter (g/m2). Different types of paper have their own weight scale. In the 24 to 71 lb. (90 to 270 g/m2) range you will find the bond papers which include most inkjet photo papers. Terms such as heavyweight do not necessarily mean that a paper is heavier than other comparable papers.

Caliper

Photo papers are thicker and heavier than typical multi-purpose papers. The caliper, which is the thickness, is necessary to accommodate the greater ink coverage typically found in photos. Photo paper usually has a caliper of 7 to 10 mils compared to a typical inkjet paper where the caliper may be anywhere from a thin 4.3 mil to a thick 10.4 mil paper.

Gloss Finish

The look and feel of photograhic prints comes from the coating of the photo papers. The coating keeps the photo paper from readily absorbing the ink and therefore some glossy papers dry slowly. Today, quick-dry gloss finishes are pretty common and the slow drying is no longer a problem. High gloss, gloss, soft gloss, or semi-gloss, are all descriptions of the finish reflecting the amount of shine.

Matte Finish

Soft and non-reflective images have been printed on photo matte papers. Matte finish papers are not the same as regular inkjet finish papers. Matte finish photo papers are specially formulated for photos and are thicker. Many matte finish papers are printable on both sides.