Good print jobs depend on the paper

By Thomas Schoerner Dec 18, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Munich - Whatever your print job, there's the proper paper for it: high gloss or recycled, primed for laser or ink. Your choice of paper extends from the discount variety to luxury sheets that can endure for decades.

It's important, because the paper plays just as important a role as the printer and the ink when it comes to deciding the quality of the printout.

The problem is that the market for the right piece of paper is not very transparent. There is a slew of quality levels, special and photo paper and special materials for specific printers. But which paper is right for you and your job?

Basically, there are two kinds of printer paper: that for ink jet printers and that for laser printers. Key with laser printers is making sure the machine can process the paper in question.

'Laser printers tend to have a problem with thicker paper graded at more than 160 grams per square metre,' explains Torsten Neumann of German computer magazine Chip. 'And paper with a plastic layer can melt in a laser printer and gum up the feed tray.'

But there is special paper out there for laser printers, says Neumann. 'It's a little thicker and the surface glistens, meaning the printout looks like it's higher quality, both to the eye and to touch.'

But paper can't really affect the basic quality of a laser printout. Normal copy paper is perfectly adequate for good print quality with laser printers.

Paper selection, however, plays an enormous role with inkjet printers. The right kind depends on the type of ink used. The packaging should tell you for which ink the paper is designed. For example, the dye-based ink used in most photo printers doesn't stay on the surface. Instead, its absorbed into the paper.

'If the ink stayed on the surface, then you'd loose the glossy look, because dried ink tends to appear matted,' explains Neumann. But dye ink can run in normal paper. That can make borders and elements like letters appear sloppy.

Pigmented ink printers should clear away this problem, but will produce more of a matted look. Combination printers are an attempt by manufacturers to compensate for the drawbacks of both kinds of ink. 'Pigment ink is used for printing text on normal paper while dye-based ink is used for photo printing on special paper,' says Neumann.

Next there has to be a decision about the grade of the paper, or its weight. 'The question of weight depends on the kind of printing,' says Gregor Geiger of the German Pulp and Paper Association (VDP).

If you just want to archive some forms, then you can get away with standard copier paper with a grade of 75 to 80 grams per square metre. But if you're printing ads or greeting cards with an inkjet printer, then you'll want to consider inkjet paper, which has a weight of 90 to 100 grams per square metre. That will include some brighteners, but also special layers to keep the ink from running.

For demanding print jobs, there's photo paper or glossy paper. If you need even higher quality, then there's fine art paper, which is supposed to endure for decades. Of course, that means it's not cheap, with prices ranging from 1.88 to 3.50 euros (2.50 to 4.65 dollars) per page of A3-standard paper, according to the magazine Macwelt. But most high quality paper performs well in reviews.

On the cheaper end, discounters often have deals along the lines of 1,000 sheets of paper for 5 euros. That's certainly an option for people who want to save money. Otherwise, 500 pages of standard printer paper tend to cost between 6 and 8 euros.

Other people lay more weight on the environmental sustainability of paper. That means no bleach, which, in turn, means lower contrast. There are review guides that list the best kinds of such paper. The VDP also recommends virgin fibre paper. 'Virgin fibre paper, whose fibres come from sustainable forestry are all comparable,' says Geiger.

A lot of manufacturers also offer paper cut specially for their printer. But there's no point to that, says Geiger. 'The paper isn't produced by the printer maker, but just marketed under their label.' Normal users have no reason not to try out other brands.

But that means testing which paper delivers the best results with which printer. And remember, warns Neumann, that laser printers can be damaged by the wrong paper. 'That's why you always need to pay attention to instructions on the packaging and ask the manufacturer if there are questions.'