Paper for printing your own photos
Discussion
The other half has bought a printer/scanner on Groupon today.
I don't expect it to be much cop for printing photos but would be nice to be able to have a hard copy of snapshots we have and like.
Had a quick look for some paper this evening, seems to be a few options for what is sold as 'photo paper'
Is there a spec that is recommended for the best results?
Weights seemed to vary from 110 up to 250
I don't expect it to be much cop for printing photos but would be nice to be able to have a hard copy of snapshots we have and like.
Had a quick look for some paper this evening, seems to be a few options for what is sold as 'photo paper'
Is there a spec that is recommended for the best results?
Weights seemed to vary from 110 up to 250
but it works well with my HP printer. That said, I do very little printing, usually only sleeves for DVD cases.I use Hahnemuhle Baryta FB350 which I love.
Whichever you use try and either a) get it calibrated (some paper manufacturers offer the service) or b) use the ICC profiles for the paper ink combo you're using so that you get the results you're expecting. This also relies on a calibrated monitor.
Whichever you use try and either a) get it calibrated (some paper manufacturers offer the service) or b) use the ICC profiles for the paper ink combo you're using so that you get the results you're expecting. This also relies on a calibrated monitor.
ian in lancs said:
7 day shop has decent paper for a good price
This. I believe it's actually produced by the quality producers. However perhaps not all types form the same source. Their glossy 270gsm is nice. More glossy than some, not as glossy as the super glossies. Seems to perform relaibly. Usually availabkle at a good price.However whether they will ship to your part of the the world ... dunno and paper (or rather the plastics that are called photo paper) is heavy.
You may want to try some of the HP paper recommended for the new printer to start with. It will give you a base line to compare to.
Printing your own pics is convenient, so long as you don;t have to spend ages to get it to look how you think it should look, but not cheap when compared to commercial printing operations. There is a reason why the printers seem very cheap when you buy them. Have you got some spare inks yet?
Thanks all
It is a Lexmark one, I think based on the above I will get the heavier HP paper and give it a whirl when it arrives.
As I said I am not expecting award winning results, so if it is crap then it will be just used for printing/scanning documents, boarding passes and the like.
It also doesn't help that I use a laptop for all my PP work although I was looking at monitors in the same shop as the photo paper.
I think there will be a large amount of trial and error, no doubt once I get to an acceptable set up then I will run out of ink.
LongQ said:
This. I believe it's actually produced by the quality producers. However perhaps not all types form the same source. Their glossy 270gsm is nice. More glossy than some, not as glossy as the super glossies. Seems to perform relaibly. Usually availabkle at a good price.
However whether they will ship to your part of the the world ... dunno and paper (or rather the plastics that are called photo paper) is heavy.
You may want to try some of the HP paper recommended for the new printer to start with. It will give you a base line to compare to.
Printing your own pics is convenient, so long as you don;t have to spend ages to get it to look how you think it should look, but not cheap when compared to commercial printing operations. There is a reason why the printers seem very cheap when you buy them. Have you got some spare inks yet?
Not even got the printer yet, tbh I don't know why she bought it!However whether they will ship to your part of the the world ... dunno and paper (or rather the plastics that are called photo paper) is heavy.
You may want to try some of the HP paper recommended for the new printer to start with. It will give you a base line to compare to.
Printing your own pics is convenient, so long as you don;t have to spend ages to get it to look how you think it should look, but not cheap when compared to commercial printing operations. There is a reason why the printers seem very cheap when you buy them. Have you got some spare inks yet?
It is a Lexmark one, I think based on the above I will get the heavier HP paper and give it a whirl when it arrives.
As I said I am not expecting award winning results, so if it is crap then it will be just used for printing/scanning documents, boarding passes and the like.
It also doesn't help that I use a laptop for all my PP work although I was looking at monitors in the same shop as the photo paper.
I think there will be a large amount of trial and error, no doubt once I get to an acceptable set up then I will run out of ink.
Not sure that Lexmark are much into the photo printing market. Epson, HP and Canon are the ones that seem to have had, historically, the most photo oriented products and marketing.
I have a Canon - fairly old so from before the all-in-one devices became the normal choice. The cassette load works well enough but I find with photos, which one tends to print one at a time anyway, the top load with an almost straight path is easier to use than messing around with the cassette. CD/DVD printing is handy from time to time.
Be aware that ink consumption when printing photos can be extremely rapid and variable by colour. Does the printer have separate tanks for different colours? If not you may need to find a very low cost source of inks - possibly compatibles - and then you may be heading into unknown territory as far as being able to get consistent results is concerned. For a quick snap print at 6x4 this may not matter much but anything larger may induce a frustrating 'not quite right' result that will have you working through boxes of paper and a number of onk tanks as you try to get it how you want it!
In general modern printers can work very well BUT it's not 100% guaranteed for photos without some experimentation to get things just right.
I have a Canon - fairly old so from before the all-in-one devices became the normal choice. The cassette load works well enough but I find with photos, which one tends to print one at a time anyway, the top load with an almost straight path is easier to use than messing around with the cassette. CD/DVD printing is handy from time to time.
Be aware that ink consumption when printing photos can be extremely rapid and variable by colour. Does the printer have separate tanks for different colours? If not you may need to find a very low cost source of inks - possibly compatibles - and then you may be heading into unknown territory as far as being able to get consistent results is concerned. For a quick snap print at 6x4 this may not matter much but anything larger may induce a frustrating 'not quite right' result that will have you working through boxes of paper and a number of onk tanks as you try to get it how you want it!
In general modern printers can work very well BUT it's not 100% guaranteed for photos without some experimentation to get things just right.
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