How much time can be spent on choosing an inkjet printer is unknown. It seems that among all the variety, you can spend hours watching the emergence of new models.
But even with the choice of paper for an inkjet printer, you will have to fool around, because we have unusual equipment. He has his own requirements for both the paints used and the required material.
Device
Let's start with the printer itself. String is a relatively "experienced" type of device. It has a slow print speed compared to laser, but it effectively conveys image quality, midtones, saturation and colors.
Before choosing paper for printing on an inkjet printer, you need to understand the principle of operation of this device. It was taken over from the matrix apparatus. A picture on a sheet or any other medium is created thanks to dots.
If earlier heads with needles were used for this, now devices have acquired matrices with liquid dyes.
Sometimes cartridges with printheads are used, sometimes with a replaceable matrix. It all depends on the decision of the manufacturer and the design of the equipment.
Variety
Inkjet paper can be very different. In addition to the material recommended by the manufacturer, the carrier can be varied. So, in addition to ordinary paper, there is watercolor, with and without coating, luster film and for lighting, textiles, canvas and more. others
Of course, not all materials can be used in home devices. By doing such experiments, you can say goodbye to the printer forever. To understand what can and cannot be used, you need to know about the quality and behavior of drives during the printing process.
Composition
Inkjet paper consists of:
- base, which forms the structure, determines the mass and density;
- glue that is injected into the middle of the fibers or applied on top to bind or collect particles;
- coating, which most brands have and affects the quality of the picture, especially when printing photo.
Types
As you already understood, paper has many types, on which its use in a particular area depends. Have paper:
- high quality;
- for inkjet printing;
- coated inkjet;
- artistic.
You can also highlight the types of coverage. It happens:
- microporous;
- swellable polymer;
- matteor glossy.
Properties
Besides structure, any, even glossy inkjet paper, has its own properties. These include: size, color, weight and thickness.
Size, aka format, can be different. There is an established standardization that helps device manufacturers create universal products. This applies to both plain paper and photographic paper.
It is known that almost any material can be fed in sheets or rolls. This applies not only to production devices, but also to home equipment. Rolls are especially useful for non-format images such as panoramas.
As for the color, everything is also clear. Most often it is white. In this case, black ink is not distorted. Different grades of paper have their own tone of white. If the sheet is blue, then the picture will be cold, if it is yellow, it will be dull.
Among the characteristics, there is a specific weight. It can be different and is measured in g/m2. A more useful parameter is the thickness. Both indicators are interconnected with each other in some cases. So, if the paper is heavy, then it has an impressive thickness. Although this option is not always justified, since everything is determined by the variety.
Thickness or caliber is an important characteristic of the media. If you look closely at the parameters of a particular brand of inkjet printer, the manufacturer requires a special paper thickness. This indicator is measured in mils. It can be affected by: base, impurities and coating.
Now more detailsconsider each type of paper.
Top Grade
This option can be used in inkjet and laser printers. It contains wood and cellulose fibers. Lignin is the glue that binds fibers together. This type of storage is usually impregnated with resin to increase its density.
Some do not recommend this type of paper for inkjet. An exception may be solid ink devices. Quality may be affected by ink absorption. The paper itself is quickly destroyed by resin glue, which oxidizes and hardens.
Inkjet printing
This drive is better than the previous one. Such a first-class paper received an external coating. Therefore, its surface is "polished", white and accepts ink well.
It is important to understand that regardless of the inkjet paper size, this type is used for letters and charts. As a photographic storage device, it may lose out to other species.
Coated
Coated inkjet paper has proven to be the most requested. The surface is specially adapted for certain inks and the creation of a high-quality picture. Alumina, quartz, clay, polymers, etc. can be used for coating.
May end up with matte or glossy A4 inkjet paper.
Artistic
This is the paper that has been used by artists for decades. It can be printed with inkjet equipment, but it is better to use water-solubleink.
Art paper is also different: rough, cold or hot pressing. This affects its surface. This material is made from cellulose, which is obtained from wood or cotton.
The disadvantage of such paper is that it is not easy to use in an inkjet machine. The fibers collect a lot of dust and third-party particles that can clog the ink supply mechanism. Also, the paper itself is slightly uneven, so the printheads may be damaged in the process.
Recommendations
The paper size of the inkjet and laser printer for home devices is standard - A4. Larger sheets can also be printed on. But this is not the most important thing in choosing the right material.
There is such a definition as "native" and "non-native" paper. Of course, it is very important to use "native" materials. Then the image quality will be at a high level, and there will be no problems in the process.
But there is one caveat in this case. Such pleasure is not cheap. Therefore, users purchase plain paper for their home printing stations. Of course, nothing terrible happens. But if you print the same image on "native" and "non-native" paper for comparison, the difference will be noticeable.
But even so, don't be upset. In search of a cheaper option, you can try different grades of paper. Sooner or later it will be possible to find a suitable option, but for a smaller amount.
Also, in order to save money, you can try to buy a large amount of "native" paper. When a package contains more than 500 pages, it is inexpensive - about 2.5 rubles per sheet.
Formats
And finally, it is important to mention in more detail about paper sizes for an inkjet printer. A4 is the standard used for printing documents and abstracts. Sheet dimensions are 29x21 cm. In general, all formats starting with the letter "A" are intended for documents.
But the dimensions "B" refer to printing products. For example, B0 is 141 cm long and 100 cm wide.
There is a third format - "C". In international standardization, it is accepted as the size of the hopper for envelopes. Although the largest C0 format reaches 129x91 cm.
In addition to the international standard, there is an American one. In the CIS region, it is unlikely to be useful. It will be useful for those who correspond with colleagues or partners from the USA and Canada. Among the most used sizes are: letter, legal, tabloid.
Choice
To determine the specific paper size for an inkjet printer, it is better to carefully study the specification of the device. Usually there are indicated all the supporting sheet sizes that can be put in the tray. If A4 size is specified in the parameters, then most likely you will be able to install smaller paper sizes. But the A3 definitely won't fit there.
Conclusion
Inkjet paper can be very different. Not all printer usersthink about what type to use. Buying the cheapest paper may not always be painless for your machine. Still, manufacturers are not in vain advised to buy "native" material for printing.
