How to Print Perfect Photographs

The Paper Chase

Pick the right paper: Choosing the correct paper for a particular print job is half the battle. You'll typically find store shelves stocked with four different types of paper: plain ink jet, high-resolution ink jet, photo quality (usually nonglossy), and glossy. >>TIP To save money, use only ink jet or high-resolution ink jet paper for making test prints. You'll obtain optimum photo-printing results overall from glossy paper, but at about $1 per page, it's too expensive to use for anything but final prints.

Choose the right side: When you're dealing with glossy paper, you may have trouble telling which side to print on. Depending on the brand of paper, the difference can be subtle. If you print on the wrong side, your ink will smear or run, or your image will look dull and lifeless. >>TIP Look closely: The printing side is usually shiny, while the nonprinting side is dull or has a watermark. Other clues: Some brands of paper have a cut corner, and you must load that paper according to the instructions to avoid printing on the back.

Master two-sided printing: >>TIP If you use your printer to create greeting cards, and you want to print on both sides of the page, use nonglossy photo-quality paper to handle the task. Look for 24-pound (or heavier) stock; most ink jet paper is 20-pound stock. >>TIP If you plan to print color images on one side and plain text, say, on the other, you'll get sharper text by using a monochrome laser printer. Moreover, it's usually a lot cheaper to print 100 sheets of all-black text with a laser than with an ink jet printer. Just make sure to do the color ink jet printing first. The extreme heat from a laser printer can damage the coating on the ink jet side if you print the laser side first. >>TIP Load preprinted pages a sheet at a time to prevent paper jams.

Allow time to dry: Most ink jet paper dries by the time it rolls out of your printer. Photo-quality and glossy paper take longer. >>TIP Let prints on special paper dry for no less than 10 minutes before you handle them. >>TIP Don't leave prints sitting in the output tray if you're printing multiple copies, and keep them out of direct sunlight as they dry. >>TIP When stacking dried prints, place sheets of plain paper between them.

Protect and archive: Some vendors say that their latest ink jet printers deliver prints that will resist fading for decades--as long as you use their recommended paper and inks. Of course, verifying these claims will take time, but you still need to take proper care of the paper. >>TIP Prints can fade from exposure to chemicals, such as ozone; to reduce degradation, mount your prints behind glass or plastic. >>TIP Keep your original digital images so you can reprint them later.