A lot of budding photographers will invest in fancy gear and equipment. The enthusiasm for research should be the same when searching for printing paper. The quality of the photos will be determined by the quality of the printing paper. This begs the question, how do you determine the kind of paper to go for your photography needs? In this guide, we’re going to highlight some of the factors to keep in mind so that you’re getting quality printing paper for your photography needs.
Type of Paper
Printing paper is available in different finishes because they all have different uses. As a photographer, not all projects are going to be the same. That is why you could decide to go for one kind of finish over the other. The glossy finish is the most popular and can be spotted easily. The photo paper finish is versatile and can be used for different purposes regardless of the complexity of the project. The glossy finish makes images appear more vibrant and colorful compared to other types of finishes. If you’d like a contrast between the subject and the surrounding environment, matte finishing will be ideal. A semi-glossy finish gives you the best balance between the two options.
Longevity
If you use poor-quality paper, it won’t be long before you start seeing yellow around the edges. The majority of paper manufacturers use artificial whiteners. This makes for cheap products and you’ll want to avoid them at all cost if the quality of the photograph is to be preserved. One of the ways you can avoid such a predicament is to make sure that there are no artificial whiteners that have been used.
Type of Ink
The type of ink that will be used for printing will also need to be taken into consideration when shopping for paper. The color is likely to fade on the paper when you’re not using quality ink for the printing of the photograph. Even though fading is a natural process, it isn’t something that you’d want to see with your new photographs. It will be of no use if getting quality paper when the ink doesn’t hold up well.
Type of Printer
Most printers will provide recommendations on the best paper to use. You don’t want to be going for something else that is not compatible with the printer in question. It should be noted that there are some branded options that are likely to be more expensive compared to the normal paper that is used. The recommendations should be used as a starting point for the research process. You can always explore other generic brands that are of a higher quality and are also compatible with the printer.
Cost
Cost is always going to be an important role in any decision-making process and the same will also apply when buying printing paper for your photographs. Don’t go for cheap paper as you will always get what you pay for. You can do research online on the different providers to have an idea of what to expect in terms of cost. You also don’t have to buy the most expensive paper in order to get the quality that you’re looking for. One of the ways you can gauge the kind of quality that you’ll be getting is by testing a couple of options. Avoid buying in bulk when you’ve not tried the paper. The lower quality paper can be used for the normal day-to-day takes while the quality ones can be used for printing photographs.
Try Different Products
It could take a while before you find the exact product that suits all your needs. Since printing paper is inexpensive, there is nothing wrong with always trying new products. This will give you a wide variety to choose from and it will be easy to narrow down the best ones. You can read reviews from different photographers to have an idea of the products that you should be getting.
To Sum it Up
Shopping for printing paper for your photographs doesn’t have to be a challenging endeavor provided you know what to look for. Price shouldn’t be the only determining factor as it doesn’t always tell the whole story. If you’d like to take your photography career to the next level, you’ll need to look at all the tools and the equipment you use and printing paper is right up the alley. We hope you’ve found this guide useful if you’re looking for the best printing paper.
