Printing your own photos is a great way to save money and avoid a trip to the drug store, but unless you’re using the right paper, your photo printer may not be doing the best job it can. While it may seem like an extra expense on top of that fancy printer, using photo paper can make all the difference in your print quality. The team at Alpha Laser Richmond in Staten Island, NY, explains why.

What Is Photo Paper?

If you’ve ever had photos printed professionally, you’re familiar with photo paper. Most photo paper is heavy-duty with a glossy or slightly matte finish designed to let the details in your photos shine through. The paper itself allows more light to be reflected off the surface when you look at the photo. The end result is a clearer, more colorful image that looks as high-quality as the one printed by a commercial photo printing station.

Regular printing paper is incredibly porous and often causes the ink to spread when it starts to dry. This causes pictures to look blurry or low-quality. Photo paper is chemically treated to create a crystal-clear image by forcing the ink to dry where it hits the page. This way, you won’t get the characteristic spreading seen on most normal printing paper. This also helps extend the life of the printed image, giving you a higher quality photo for longer.

Won’t Photo Paper Work With My Setup?

Strictly speaking, yes, photo paper can be used in a non-photo printer. However, the image may not be as clear or as high-quality. While photo paper will improve the quality of the image, the quality of the device is just as important. Using a standard office copier to print your family portrait will give you a lower-quality print compared to using a dedicated photo printer.

If you’re looking for a reliable photo printer or need new ink cartridges for your current setup, stop by Alpha Laser Richmond today. Visit their website for more information and call (718) 317-1263 to inquire about their current availability.