American Photo: How To Get The Most Out of Your Photo Printing Paper

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.popphoto.com/howto/2250/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-photo-printing-paper.html' target='_blank'>http://www.popphoto.com/howto/2250/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-photo-printing-paper.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"If you have a Canon, Epson, or HP inkjet printer and you use Canon, Epson, or HP ink*jet papers with it, you'll get more or less pre*dict**able results. Each printer's driver is expecting its own company's papers, and its inks are made to interact with them. That's great -- unless you want to mix it up and print on any of a huge variety of interesting third-party inkjet papers. In the chemical darkroom, unless you're will*ing to invest time and effort hand-coating paper with light-sensitive emulsion, your choices of both surface and image tone are increasingly limited. But one of the advantages of inkjet printing is that you can print on almost any surface thin enough to fit through your printer. Products from independent inkjet paper makers include everything from reflective metallic and cloth canvas surfaces to heavyweight matte. When you find a paper that piques your interest, how do you make it work with your printer? You probably won't find third-party offerings pre-installed in your printer's menu of paper profiles, which auto*matically tell the printer how to distribute its ink for best results."</i><br /><br />If you're keen on printing your own photos (I still prefer it to most online services), this article is a must-read: it delves into a variety of papers, their properties, and how to best take advantage of each one.