Which photo paper?

[tobysmum]

Hi all, I was just wondering what photo paper you use to print your own photos? I am using Epson paper at the moment which is, of course brilliant but, now that I am doing PL, I am printing lots more photos so I was hoping someone could recommend a good quality cheaper glossy photo paper.

Thanks in advance xxx

[gwyneth 123]

Is your printer an Epson Sarah? If so I would stick with the Epson Paper and ink too. The three are calibrated to go together so you'll get much better quality photos and they'll be still there in years to come.

[Kitty Crafts]

I use an Epson printer, Epson inks and used to get photo paper from PC World but now I just buy it from Poundland ! I get the glossy and the matt and have never had a problem (and I have printed hundreds of photos) also - a while back they did a 'Polaroid' canvas effect paper and it was brilliant ! (A4) they haven't had it in recently but you can still buy it elsewhere ... it's just a bit more than £1 !

[renosparks]

I second KittyCrafts! I have been using Fuji paper from Poundworld and it is in between a matt and a glossy. I've found it to be great, a really good quality. And for 20 sheets too it's a great price!!!! It comes in a great packet with their stationary stuff. I have a Brother printer and they seem to be getting along just fine!

[Fifi-T]

We have a UK discounts in Aberdeen and I got some Fujifilm 5* paper 20 sheets for 99p which is stunning - love it, I've got a Kodak printer and ink and was unfussy as to brand but have always bought 'good' photo paper (4 or 5 stars from epson, kodak, hp or fujifilm) and I can't say I've noticed a difference between the brands

[Soul-Ann]

I tend to use Canon paper nowadays as I've a Canon printer. Used to use discount brands and with most, the quality of photo was equal to the more expensive printer-specific paper. Turned out to be a false economy for me, as I mostly make LOs for family/ancestry albums which need to deteriorate at the slowest pace possible.

But a few yrs down the road and I can go through an album and know what paper I used to print a photo, as over time the less-pricey paper has faded...quite spookily in some cases. It seems to average about 3yrs for the fading/blurring to begin to show...or so is my experience.

Way I look at it is that it boils down to how long you want the photos to remain sharp. Some projects are hardly ever looked back on, others need to be able to stand the test of time. HTH xxx

[JaneH]

From all I've read, the general advice is to use whatever paper (ink, too) as the brand of your printer as they're designed to work together. I have used Fuji paper and Kodak paper, and thought it looked fine, but it has faded considerably. Fading can be due to other factors, though. I think scrapbookers should probably buy the best paper they can afford. After all, why spend money and time creating a great layout, then scrimping on a photo that will go off in 2-3 years? I also buy acid-free tape and use it for most everything. It's not pretty when you open an album and see it's all discoloured or worse... deteriorated!

[PinkSparklyScrapper]

I am using Epson paper in my Canon printer (with Canon ink!) as I did have an Epson printer that broke down so I changed to Canon but I had 2 new packs of paper. Quality is pretty good but obviously I don't know how it will last.

Epson paper was on special in Staples a couple of weeks ago.

[gwyneth 123]

It's thetype of ink used that determines the long term durability of the photo and the resistance to ultra violet light mostly.
Dye based ink will fade much much quicker than pigment ink. Epson has always used pigment ink and that's why their ink is more expensive on the whole than some of the other ink out there, it's more expensive to produce.
I've got an epson and a canon printer. The epson still works but it's only compatible with my desktop PC with windows XP. They don't make a driver for windows 7 so I can't use it with my laptop so I use the canon if I want to print with the laptop. I use canon ink with the canon and epson ink with the epson but like you Karen I do use my stock of Epson paper with the canon and it's fine.
I think it's false economy to use cheap dye based ink for photographs.

[jackinthebox]

It's thetype of ink used that determines the long term durability of the photo and the resistance to ultra violet light mostly.
Dye based ink will fade much much quicker than pigment ink. Epson has always used pigment ink and that's why their ink is more expensive on the whole than some of the other ink out there, it's more expensive to produce.
I've got an epson and a canon printer. The epson still works but it's only compatible with my desktop PC with windows XP. They don't make a driver for windows 7 so I can't use it with my laptop so I use the canon if I want to print with the laptop. I use canon ink with the canon and epson ink with the epson but like you Karen I do use my stock of Epson paper with the canon and it's fine.
I think it's false economy to use cheap dye based ink for photographs.

I have an Epson printer and Windows 7...and they work ok!! I wouldn't be without my Epson....I use Epson paper for my photos and if I want to print something on glossy for a card for example I use £shop paper!!!

[gwyneth 123]

I have an Epson printer and Windows 7...and they work ok!! I wouldn't be without my Epson....I use Epson paper for my photos and if I want to print something on glossy for a card for example I use £shop paper!!!

I wasn't suggesting that all Epson Printers don't work with Windows 7. My Epson is a quite few years old but a fab printer and Epson don't make a driver that's compatible with windows 7 for it.

[Eileen C]

I always use Epson inks for my Epson printer, but do use Kirkland paper from Costco which has had great reviews and is 'apparently' compatible with Epson inks. I hope I don't live to regret it!

The thing that bugs me most about my Epson printer / inks is the difficulty in recycling the cartridges. Most recycling bins (shops etc) say 'no damaged or Epson cartridges' and if I send off to Epson for their free recycling envelopes they send me four. For a printer which takes six cartridges! I've asked Epson about this, but they said they can only send four as they are automatically generated, they can't send a bigger bag, and I'll have to take them to the nearest 'support' centre - and the website gives a vague address on a small industrial site. So, a seperate trip in the car to recycle some ink cartridges - how eco-friendly is that!

Rant over ....

[renosparks]

Kitty, I've just picked up some of the Polaroid photocanvas paper you mentioned before! I saw it in Poundland today and remembered you said it was good! Now I need you to give me some good ideas how to use it!