Whether you’re new to printing photos or you’re a photo paper whiz, you’ll be amazed by how great your photos can turn out when printed on premium photo paper. The standard finish of premium photo papers is considered to be high gloss, though a lot of companies have started to use premium matte photo paper and premium satin photo paper for business presentations and projects.
Premium photo paper usually comes in 4”x6” and 8.5”x11” but can also be found in 5”x7” and 12”x12”. It great for all projects that involve color images and will guarantee great quality, longer lasting photos than everyday photo paper. It is designed to bring out the best picture vibrancy and resolution possible. The recommended premium paper for printing album photos is 4”x6” high gloss photo paper because it will give your photos great longevity and picture quality.
8.5”x11” premium photo paper can be used to print full size photos for framing or for collages and also to print smaller size photos that can be cut off the initial sheet. Clicknprintgeo.com is an online design tool that offers such a capability. There, you can print on an 8.5”x11” sheet to make two 5”x7” photos, three 4”x6” photos, 8”x8”, 8”x10”, wallet photos, passport photos, photo greeting cards, and more. Since Click n’ Print is free to use with the purchase of a Geographics.com product, it is a great tool to take advantage of.
To keep the printing process simple and convenient, buy value-branded premium photo paper like Royal Brites, Geographics, Jet Print or Lexmark photo paper. For a higher price you’ll find power brands like HP, Epson, Canon and Kodak. The difference between value and power brands is that value brands are made to work well with all printers while the power brands are made to function well in a printer of the same brand.
Premium photo paper can be of two kinds: microporous paper (which dries instantly) or swellable paper (which makes long-lasting photos). Since microporous paper absorbs photo ink through miniscule pores like a sponge, photos can be handled immediately, framed or stored without fear that the photos will stick together or to framed glass. Premium photo paper produced using the swellable technology take longer to dry, from a few seconds to a few minutes, because the substrate swells and encapsulates the ink. Once dry, this paper will keep the image intact for a longer time since gases and environmental factors are blocked. But with proper storage, photos printed on premium photo paper can last for generations. Some companies also indicate that the ink you use to print your photos is additional factor of the longevity of a photo.
Since photos printed on premium photo paper are high gloss and professional-looking, they make a great addition to school projects, arts and crafts projects, and scrapbooking. Digitally editing and printing out old photographs on premium photo paper and framing them makes a great gift for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. Whether you are simply printing personal photos for an album or using photo paper for a large-scale project, you can’t go wrong with premium photo paper.