Selecting paper for your printer

Buying the printer and the printer ink or toner is not the end of it

When you buy your printer, your decisions about printing are not yet over. You may have the printer and the printer cartridge but if you do not have paper to print it on then the printer is practically useless. Paper is part of your total printing cost and there are a variety of papers to choose from in the market. If you do not know which printer paper is best for your printer then you are not going to get the best results.

Rules to observe when purchasing paper for your printer

The first rule that you have to observe is the printer paper match. If you own an HP printer then the best paper for it is HP paper. If you own an Epson printer then the best match for it is Epson paper. What happens if you do not use the paper that is matched for your printer? Some inkjets will produce smudgy results when you print in on paper that is not matched with your printer. In other cases, some printers will have misaligned results. The second rule that you have to observe when it comes to paper is the size. If you are printing using A4 format then do not try putting a Legal paper into your printer. If you use A4 format then put in A4 paper.

The types of papers available in the market today

Printer paper will fall under two main categories. The first category is the standard paper. These paper types include Oslo , bond, egg, and the like. These are the standard white, dirty white, or colored paper types. When you use a laser printer or a standard inkjet printer, print quality is optimized if you use the branded ones. Otherwise, be prepared to expect output that is a little less than optimal. The second category of paper is photo paper. This kind of paper is the glossy type of paper that is used for photos. When you look at a photo, you will notice that the paper type is different from any ordinary paper. If you are going to print on photo paper, the best thing to do is get the brand that matches the printer. Otherwise, not only will you expect less than optimal results but results that vary greatly from the standard. Stick to the brand when it comes to photo paper.