Choosing Printer Paper Doesn't Have To Be Hard Work
Your inkjet printer is only part of the printing puzzle because without decent printing paper you'll get nothing done. Using high quality computer paper under the right conditions is the key to success.
The first consideration is the density or thickness of the paper you're going to print on. This thickness is referred to as gsm. A 60gsm paper will be very light and almost like tracing paper. 80gsm is the accepted standard for office inkjet, laser and photocopier paper. 90gsm is normally reserved for important documents and presentations. 100gsm paper is almost a light card and is best used for items like resumés and similar documents.
Once you've chosen the thickness of the paper you then need to choose a type. Here you can select a paper from standard A4 paper all the way through to A3 glossy photo paper. The majority of home inkjet users will be quite happy with 500 sheets, also known as a ream, of plain A4 80gsm inkjet paper and maybe 50 sheets of glossy photo paper. Why? Because the majority of home and business inkjet users print documents primarily with photographs being a secondary consideration during any given day. Of course if somebody has just come back from their 2 week vacation they're going to be using a lot of glossy inkjet paper for those all important holiday snaps.
The Best Paper
So who makes the best printing paper? If you're shopping for A4 plain inkjet paper then go for a brand name like Xerox, PCLine or similar. Check the prices of each ream and then eliminate the cheapest option. Pay the extra $1 or €1 for the better paper - you'll thank yourself later.
When it comes to glossy inkjet paper there are many, many manufacturers but only a few leaders. In order of preference they are Epson, Hewlett Packard and Canon. Buying a glossy or matte photo paper from any of these companies won't leave you disappointed.
Finally some tips for storing your paper.
Don't store printing paper in damp areas. Damp paper will get chewed up inside the printer and also cause ink to bleed quite badly whilst printing.
Store paper laying on a flat horizontal surface. Storing computer paper in an upright position causes it to bend and wrinkle. This too can cause paper jams.
Don't open a new pack of paper until you've totally used up the last one. Left exposed to air and household grit that pristine white A4 paper will start to yellow and discolor quite quickly.
Epson Photo Paper
When it comes to choosing printable media, or paper as it's otherwise known, for your Epson printer you won't be short of choice.
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