which glossy paper to use?

[g3-4me]

I should be receiving a Canon i950 printer in the next couple of days.

I want to know which glossy 8 1/2 x 11 photo paper gives the best results.

I looked on eBay and found some ranging between $30-$50 for about 200-300 sheets for Fuji and Canon.

Can someone recommend some very good paper?

I don't print that many pictures (probably less than 5 a week), so I wouldn't mind spending the money on quality over quantity.

Thanks for your help.

[John_T]

The best is the Canon Photo Paper Pro PR-101 in my experience. After printing, you do have to wait 30 minutes for the colors to show right and 24 hours for it to fully harden, but it is worth it.

For less critical stuff which also looks good, I use Ilford paper. It's good to download their printer settings sheet for your printer.

http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/homeng.html

I have found, for example that HP paper, as well as others, don't all work well with my Canon printer, so it is important to use the right paper with your printer

[g3-4me]

I believe you are referring to this paper?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3424337052&category=25349

[ryuwulf]

Photo Paper Pro all the way.

Ive used the Kodak paper and for some strange reason the ink blotches up. I think canon purpose made their paper to work the best with their printer. Unfortunately it costs a lot.

I have the canon s900

[g3-4me]

OK, think it's this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3425157731&category=1246

Is 75 sheets for $50 good or can I get it cheaper somewhere else on the net?

[CyberDyneSystems]

I just did a rather exhastive test of papers on the i950 :)

Exhaustive because I had a bunch of paper allready on hand,. AND NONE OF IT WORKED!

Here is what works really well;

1) Canon Photo paper plus glossy (obviously)

2) Epson "Glossy Photo Paper"

3) Epson "Premium Glossy Photo Paper"

4) Epson "Matte Paper Heavyweight"

The Epson papers really work great. The Matte is a particualrly handy apaer.. it gives a totally different "feel" to the image,. I like it for black and white a lot as well as more earthtoned images.

The apaers I ahd disasterous results with were Hammermill,. Kodak,. HP,.. and RoyalBrite.

These papers all worked well on an HP,. but the HP was nothing near as good a photo printer as the canon.

I am thinking there are two basic formulations.. the Epson/Canon compatible papers and the HP compatible papers... just a guess.

[John_T]

Yeah, Photo Paper Pro. You are saving perhaps $10.

I only buy paper and ink from places I know. I don't want old or ever-so-slightly-damaged stock. I'm not an e-bay fan in any sense. Nobody is selling stuff on e-bay they either aren't trying to get rid of or make money.

Take a look here:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh5/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=1118&sb=bs%2Cds&sq=asc&pn=2

Paper tends to be ink specific. Try Ilford.

[g3-4me]

great link John_T

question...do I want "glossy" "luster", etc?

[John_T]

Many brands use different names for more or less the same thing and it can be confusing. There are several variations of glossy, does lustre mean matte or textured, etc. This is something you are going to have to experiment with to your own taste. It's worth going through the trial and error 'cause you learn a bunch of other stuff on the way.

Ilford, for example, has a sample pack so you can try them all out. I don't know if other brands have sample packs, but some photo shops may sell or give you single sheets to try. It's worth the cost in the beginning to save yourself from buying the wrong stuff later.

[slejhamer]

If you search this forum for "Office Depot" paper you will find a post in the EOS board from Longwatcher - he ran some exhaustive tests of this paper vs. others on a Canon printer. I use the OD glossy and satin on my Epson printer and think it's great. The OD satin is very similar to Epson's ColorLife paper.

[viewfinder]

Photo Paper Pro.....nothing else compares with Canon's own recommendation for the best quality with their own printers.

[kb244]

Yep Definitly Photo Paper Pro, Getting the Photo Paper Plus is nice too if you want more casual shots, rather than the absolute "best". And yes I must agree about epson paper working well too. If you try their Glossy and Premium Glossy they seem to work great in just about every current brand or printers, and they dont cost that much either. The worse paper in my opinion is HP ( price too high for what you get ), and IBM ( quality just plain sucks, even on paper that they rate as "Ultra Glossy" , isnt all that glossy ).