When shopping for paper to print your holiday pictures, you will realize that you have a wide variety to choose from and it can seem overwhelming. There are different types of photo quality inkjet papers that are available from different manufacturers. When shopping for the paper, you need to do some research so that you can find out the best option for your specific needs. Knowing the features of the different paper types will help you to make an informed purchase decision. The features or qualities play a major role when it comes to the results that you get.

1. The paper weight

When looking at paper types, you will notice a difference when it comes to weight. The paper weight is often expressed in pounds or grams per square meter and different types of paper have different weight scales. It helps to know the weight that you need depending on the type of prints that you want. Whether you want to print the photos on cards or you want simple photos for your album, will determine the most cost efficient decision. The different paper weights come with varying price tags.

2. Paper brightness

When it comes to choosing paper, white is not always white! This means that two white papers can look very different when placed side by side. There are different levels of brightness or whiteness and the shade that you choose will have an effect on the print results. The paper brightness is usually expressed as a number ranging from 1 to 100. When shopping for photo papers, you should be looking in the high 90s. It is, however, important to know that not all papers are labeled using the brightness rating.

3. The opacity

When you hold up the paper, how see-through is it? This is the opacity factor and the higher the opacity, the better the results and this is because you have less chance of colors or images bleeding through. This factor is especially important when you require double-sided printing. If your text bleeds to the other side of the paper, it means that anything printed on that side will not be legible. Inkjet photo papers usually have a relatively higher opacity than regular inkjet or laser papers.

4. The caliper

Photo papers are thicker and heavier than regular multi-purpose papers and this quality is described as the caliper. This thickness is required to handle the greater ink coverage that is typically present in photos. Regular inkjet paper caliper is quite thin compared to photo paper and this is what makes it unsuitable for photos. If you try to use the regular paper to print your photos you will get very poor quality prints in terms of texture and colors.

5. The paper finish

The finish of the paper is a very important factor when it comes to photography. The main types of finish are gloss and matte. Gloss finish gives your photos the shiny look and you can choose between high gloss, soft gloss or semi-gloss, with each reflecting a certain amount of shine. Matte paper results in images that are soft and non-reflective. Unlike with the gloss, they are not shiny and in many cases, the papers are printable on both sides.