When dealing with printers, most of us think about connections, drivers, ink cartridges, etc. -- but not many really think about paper. After all, what is the big deal? You run into your nearest Staples, pick up a ream of paper, and run out.
Or do you?
Walked into your local Staples, and you could go cross-eyed from all the different types of paper sitting there. There's inkjet paper, laser printer paper, all-purpose paper, business letter paper, high-quality paper -- and we're not even beginning to look at the paper for business cards, photos, etc., etc.
Rather than spend an hour trying to figure out what you need, here's a tip on how to approach it:
First, ignore all the marketing blather about inkjet paper, laser paper, etc. A few years ago, when inkjet printers were new, you did want to get special paper where the pulp was closely woven together, so that the ink wouldn't spread out and look spidery and poor. But with today's inkjets, that's not a problem. Instead, pay the most attention to two factors: weight and brightness.
Weight doesn't refer to the weight of a single sheet of paper, but of the weight of 500 sheets. Basically, for normal day-to-day work, a weight of 20 lbs. is the norm. You can get an 18 lb. paper as well, but you won't want to send that out for any kind of business letter. For resumes and other formal missives, 24 lb. is best.
Brightness refers to the light reflecting property of paper. You can really see a difference in brighter papers: the whites look whiter, the paper looks classier. A brightness of 90 or 92 should work fine for most uses.
Keept those two in mind, and you should be able to narrow down the selection considerably.
More Printers / Scanners Quick Tips
Or do you?
Walked into your local Staples, and you could go cross-eyed from all the different types of paper sitting there. There's inkjet paper, laser printer paper, all-purpose paper, business letter paper, high-quality paper -- and we're not even beginning to look at the paper for business cards, photos, etc., etc.
Rather than spend an hour trying to figure out what you need, here's a tip on how to approach it:
First, ignore all the marketing blather about inkjet paper, laser paper, etc. A few years ago, when inkjet printers were new, you did want to get special paper where the pulp was closely woven together, so that the ink wouldn't spread out and look spidery and poor. But with today's inkjets, that's not a problem. Instead, pay the most attention to two factors: weight and brightness.
Weight doesn't refer to the weight of a single sheet of paper, but of the weight of 500 sheets. Basically, for normal day-to-day work, a weight of 20 lbs. is the norm. You can get an 18 lb. paper as well, but you won't want to send that out for any kind of business letter. For resumes and other formal missives, 24 lb. is best.
Brightness refers to the light reflecting property of paper. You can really see a difference in brighter papers: the whites look whiter, the paper looks classier. A brightness of 90 or 92 should work fine for most uses.
Keept those two in mind, and you should be able to narrow down the selection considerably.
