How Satin Photos Can Benefit Personal and Professional Projects

Satin photos are a unique style of photos in that they are both aesthetically pleasing and also serve some functional purposes.  When printing photos, it’s easy to stick to using an everyday glossy photo paper because it is a multi-purpose, traditional-looking paper.  However, depending on your project a different type of photo may work better for you than the typical glossy photo.  For example, are you concerned that the photo will have glare or pick up fingerprints?  There are benefits to using different types of photo papers—it just depends on your personal preference.

Satin photos have an appearance that looks like a mix of a glossy photo and a matte photo.  The photo paper is also known as luster paper because of the soft, smooth finish.  Since the coating is not sticky like a glossy or high gloss finish, satin photos are therefore better at resisting fingerprints.  Plus, they are more visible from a distance because the softer finish does not produce glare.  This is a great feature to consider when printing photos for presentations or displays.  In most cases, you can find satin photo paper in two sizes: 4”x6” and 8.5”x11”.

When it comes to printing photo documents, such as business reports or brochures, satin photo paper is an excellent material.  Look out for printable brochure paper; it usually features a matte-satin finish that is designed to bring out the colors and details of your document.  Once printed, your document will fold easily (if necessary), look highly professional, and protect from the wear and tear of handling.

At the end of the day, some people simply prefer the look and feel of a satin photograph to other types of photos.  You can use them in photo albums, scrapbooks, arts and crafts projects, and much more.  Satin paper is also a popular choice when making photo greeting cards or invitations.  With the help of a design program you can make classy and memorable photo cards for your loved ones—and printing them on satin paper is sure to impress! 

The great thing about satin photo paper is that you can usually find it in the same price range as everyday glossy or matte photo paper, so there’s really no disadvantage to trying it out.  If you like it, you may want to check out a professional quality satin paper.  Your photos will have all the benefits of the satin finish but they will also be of exceptional quality and are likely to last much longer.

Use Specialty Inkjet Photo Paper to Liven Up Your Projects

Specialty inkjet photo paper can add a great touch to holiday decorations, gift-making, scrapbooking, or arts and crafts projects.  Since it is such a diverse category, specialty photo paper can serve a lot of purposes for both personal and professional events.  Whether you are interested in specialty inkjet paper as a main material or as an embellishment for a project, you’ll be surprised by how much you can do using only specialty photo paper and a printer.

There are many types of specialty inkjet paper available that can make a project unique and eye-catching.  For example, hologram paper will give any image printed on it a sparkly, lustrous sheen.  Images printed on hologram paper make a great addition to a bulletin board display, an event banner, or a sale sign to draw attention to your cause.  Glow-in-the-dark paper can add a spooky, exciting appeal to a project—use it to make awesome holiday images for party invitations, scrapbooks, cards and much more.  Canvas paper is excellent for art projects and formal events—any image printed on canvas paper will look like it was professionally painted!  Use canvas paper to create traditional-looking images for scrapbooks, formal cards and invitations, and other projects.  Or, simply print out a family photo on canvas paper and frame it to create a meaningful gift in minutes!

Specialty inkjet paper can serve as a means to a fun and unique gift—all you need are some favorite photos.  Window decals are a great way to personalize your home, car, or office.  By printing your own window decals, you can make decorations for friends and family using your own pictures to make lasting memories.  Iron-on transfer paper and magnetic paper work in a similar manner—just print your images on the appropriate paper to respectively make your own t-shirts and magnets and you’ll have gifts that display your memories for all to see!  If you or a friend enjoys scrapbooking, digital scrapbook paper is an excellent material to easily make scrapbook pages in record time.  Using an editing program, you can customize your page and photos like a pro.  When you print, you’ll have attractive and personal scrapbook pages that will touch the hearts of your loved ones!

Choosing Photo Paper: Discover the Key to Printing Stellar Photos at Home

Trying to choose the photo paper that would be best for your needs?  Our society is well into the digital age, and computers are becoming more and more of an essential tool for photographers and not only, with each passing day.  Whether you’re just an amateur photo-taker or a total shutterbug, the days of drug store photo developing are nearly extinct.  Editing and printing your photos from home is a breeze with the right equipment, but it is vital to educate yourself about choosing the right photo paper to get the best results for your photos.

 You might think that the key to printing great photos from home revolves around your type of printer and its ink, but that’s only part of the process.  Photo paper comes in a countless number of finishes and weights; these include matte photo, satin photo, semi-gloss photo, glossy photo, high gloss photo, premium photo and professional photo paper, in different paper weights and sizes and even specialty photo papers such as canvas, magnetic paper, T-shirt transfer paper and more. With so many choices, there’s no doubt that you’ll find a photo paper that will suit your photo project.  However, before grabbing any photo paper that catches your eye, make sure that you read the product details to ensure that it will work with your printer.  For example, you’d think that laser printers would be best for color photo printing, but the heat that laser printers generate can be disastrous on some finishes of inkjet photo paper.

Once you know what types of photo paper will suit your printer at home, choose whichever type will be most convenient for you and best fits the purpose of your pictures.  For example, glossy photo paper is designed to show off the vivid colors in a photo, but may produce some glare due to the reflective finish.  If glare is a concern, satin or semi-gloss photo paper resists glare and fingerprints on a photo’s surface.  Professional photo paper typically costs more, but the paper itself is sturdy, dries quickly, gets a better quality print-out and it may possibly last longer. 

The art of photo-printing can be tricky to master. You will have to play around with the printer setting to get the best result. If you buy non-OEM brands, like instead of a pricier HP Photo paper you decide to go for Royal Brites Photo Paper, you have to choose the setting "Other Photo Papers" instead of HP Photo Paper. This is when you print using an HP printer. The same applies to all OEM printers.

Once you determine the right photo paper for your printer (and your lifestyle) and you master the best settings for that paper, you will have great photos that will last long enough to be shared by future generations.

How to Choose the Right Kind of Photo Paper

One of the best ways to capture memories is by photographing them as they're happening. Just think about how much brighter the special moments of your life are, when you have a photo snapped to remember them by, rather than those you try to recall with mental power alone. And you can't exactly show friends and family members what you're thinking of in your head, can you?

Of course you can't. Listen, the point I'm making is that photos add color to our lives. And that color burns brightest when the photo is printed out on high-quality photo paper. It's important to remember that not all photo paper is created equal. You can get it in a decent variety of different options, such as glossy, semi-gloss, canvas, fine art, wrapped canvas, matte and quite a few more. Be sure to have the type that best suits your project before you print out your photos.

Let's run down the unique properties of a few of the most popular kinds:

Matte is appropriate when you're striving for that elegant feel. It is used most often as the photo paper of choice for shots that are small or extra-large. That sounds contradictory, I know. However, matte paper works well for those extreme sizes because of its thickness.

Luster/Glossy stock makes for a glossy appearance, but not a reflective one. It works well for nearly any size photo and can be found in a plethora of color options. Another nice feature is that smudges and finger prints don't stick around on luster photo paper.

Premium photo paper gives your photos a nice glossy look that can withstand aging for up to 70 years. How's that sound for a lasting memory?