Betydningen av vekten på papiret av Christine Cora

So you’ve just installed your new cartridges and you are getting ready to

print your latest family photos spreadsheet etc. But have you thought about

what paper you are about to print onto?

For the home user, the type of paper to print on is often one of the least

thought about areas of printing – but can make a huge difference in quality

and cost. However there are more than a few printer paper options available

to you. In this article we will quickly look at the most common options

available to you.

Types of Paper

Most types of printer paper can broadly be split into two categories: coated

and uncoated.

- Coated

Coated has a very thin coating on the surface. Coated papers are typically

made by applying a fine layer of an calcium carbonate or china clay to the

surface of an uncoated sheet during manufacture. This coating may be

performed more than once depending on how smooth a finished surface is

required by the manufacturer. In addition the paper will usually also be

“milled”

smooth between hard rollers at the end of the process, as this will help

increase the paper sheet’s smoothness.

An additional treatment may be applied too, for instance if the paper needs

to be silk or gloss for photograph paper.

The Most Common Coated Paper Types Are:

Glossy – The most common type of photo paper, the glossy photo paper

has a glossy coat usually only on one side that has a more reflective finish

than other paper types, but because of the reflectiveness it can cause glare.

The glossy coating stops ink soaking into the paper so it sits on top and gives

sharp/vibrant colours. (You can purchase Gloss paper designed specifically

for either Inkjet and Laser printers).

Matte – Does not have a reflective coat like gloss so when printed on so the

ink penetrates into the paper and appears duller, the upside of this means it

doesn’t give of any glare.

Semi gloss or Satin – A mix and compromise of matte and glossy, has a

sheen to it but not as much glare as glossy and not as dull as matte.

In general the more coating added to a sheet generally means more

smoothness, which generally means it will hold the detail and colour better.

NB – It is also worth pointing out that adding a coating to a sheet changes

the nature of the paper in a number of ways. The most common is that it can

effect the

“thickness” of a sheet or paper. For example, an uncoated 160gsm will be

quite a stiff sheet of paper, but a 160gsm triple coated silk paper will thinner

by comparison, although both are the same weight. This is because more of

the weight of the silk paper will be taken up by the coating, which adds

surface weight but not thickness to the sheet.

- Uncoated

Uncoated paper as the name gives away is standard paper without a coating,

it is standard unfinished paper that you might use for printing letters.

Different types of uncoated paper generally have the same finish but with

different weights and quality (more on this later). Uncoated paper is normally

called a number of other names depending on the quality such as inkjet

paper, copier paper, economy paper, office paper or even just printer paper.

Specialist Paper Technologies

Many of the major printer manufacturers have invested in developing

specialist paper to work alongside their inks and toners.

There are also other specialist mediums to print onto such as:

Transparencies

Stickers and Labels

UV Gloss

Rough Wood Pulp

Recycled Paper

Iron on Transfers

you will need to check if your printer supports these media types.

Paper Sizes

It has the unique property that when cut or folded in half width wise, the

halves also have the same aspect ratio. Each ISO paper size is one half of

the area of the next size up. So, as an example, if you take an A3 sheet of

paper and fold it in half, you will have the size of an A4 sheet of paper.

A4 is by far the most common paper size today which measures 210mm by

297mm, this is the size of most business letters used in the UK. In the ISO

216 standard – paper sizes are: A0, A1, A2, A3, A5, A6, A7 & A8.

Photo Paper

When it comes to the size of photo paper for your inkjet printer, you will

often see non ISO 216 paper sizes being used.

For instance:

AGFA market a pack of Photo Premium Glossy Paper but the size is 10 cm

x 15 cm.