Buyers Guides & Videos - Printer Paper
- What type of printer paper do I need?
- How do I print photo quality images?
- What does ream-wrapped mean?
- What sizes of printer paper are available?
- What’s the difference between paper weights?
What type of printer paper do I need?
Whether you’re printing standard office documents, contracts, presentations, essays, spreadsheets or images, Euroffice offers a fantastic range of high quality and good value printer paper. The type of paper you’ll need will depend on what you’re printing and what type of printer you have but it’s also worth considering who will see and use your printed documents too. The main differences to look out for include paper size and paper weight as well as paper colour and finish. We’ve outlined all the printer paper options available below so you can find the right type of paper for your printing needs.
Standard printer paper for everyday printing is typically A4 in size, white in colour and has a paper weight of 80gsm. As the most common type of paper found in offices and homes, printer paper is suitable for general stationery use and is compatible with most laser, copier and inkjet printers.
Different paper sizes are available including A3 paper and A5 paper and paper weights can also differ with printer paper available in weights from 70gsm up to 180gsm. If you want an environmentally-friendly option then many brands offer recycled paper or paper made from sustainable forests.
Printer paper comes ream-wrapped as individual packages or as a box with five reams and there’s a huge range of brands to choose from including Euroffice, 5 Star, HP, Xerox and Canon.
Prestige paper, or executive paper as it’s also known, is a type of high quality printer paper that is suitable for business letterheads, CVs, formal proposals and other important documents. This paper generally has a paper weight of 100gsm and uses textured effects for a professional look and feel.
Wove executive paper is designed to give the effect of traditional hand woven paper and is typically quite smooth in appearance while laid executive paper has a more ribbed texture thanks to its use of horizontal and vertical parallel lines. Cotton fibre paper has a classic look and also provides increased strength and durability compared to wood pulp-based paper. For a modern finish, smooth executive paper is available and often incorporates discreet watermarks for added quality.
Typically executive paper is available in different variations of white finishes from diamond white and brilliant white to cream and vellum. These printer papers are ream-wrapped in boxes and are suitable for use in multifunction, inkjet and laser printers as well as copier machines.
Listing paper is predominately used in dot matrix printers and is recognisable by its perforated edges and lightweight paper quality. This continuous feed paper comes in packs of up to 2000 sheets and is available in single-ply or multi-ply carbonless paper versions. The paper has a tear edge that defines the top and bottom of each sheet and is ideal for printing price lists or engineering data.
For printing notices, posters or presentation documents, coloured printer paper provides a good alternative to standard white printer paper. Paper is available in colours ranging from blue and green to yellow and pink and is generally made with a paper weight of 80gsm or 90gsm. A4 coloured paper is most common but A3 paper is also available and both versions can be used in all types of printers.
Paper printer rolls are used in fax machines, tills, cash registers and even some calculators. Thermal fax rolls from 5 Star come in packs of six, include a 1m end of the roll warning strip and are available in two widths (210mm and 216mm) and three different lengths (15m, 30m and 100m).
For tills, cash registers and credit card machines, there’s a wide range of different sized till rolls and printer rolls available. These easily replaceable rolls are used mostly for printing receipts and it’s best to measure the existing printer roll first to make sure you buy the correct size of new rolls.
Calculator paper rolls are used exclusively in printing calculators and allow accountants, auditors or students to keep a printed record of their calculations. Rolls are available for a variety of different calculators and come in packs of 20 in either single-ply or two-ply variations.
How do I print photo quality images?
Photo paper allows you to easily print photo quality images from your inkjet or laser printer. Gloss, semi-gloss and matt finishes are available in paper weights of between 170gsm and 300gsm so you’ll be able to find the right photo paper for your images, artwork and photographs.
Gloss paper is the most popular type of photo paper available at Euroffice as it provides outstanding colour saturation and an excellent print resolution. The shiny finish and the sharpness delivered in the final print makes this paper perfect for printing photographs taken with a digital camera.
For images that require a less bright or shiny finish, matt photo paper and semi-gloss photo paper is available. Semi-gloss paper has a reduced shiny finish compared to gloss paper while matt paper has a non-glare surface that is typically used for printing flyers, posters or brochures.
Photo paper is usually manufactured specifically for either inkjet or laser printers so we recommend that you check the information within the product descriptions to make sure the paper is compatible with your printer. HP, Epson, Apli and 5 Star all offer fast drying and smear-resistant photo paper in a range of different sizes with single-sided or double-sided options available too.
What does ream-wrapped mean?
Ream-wrapped paper is 500 sheets of paper that have been wrapped together in one package. The paper within the ream is the same quality, same style and has been cut to the same size. Paper can usually be bought as individual paper reams or as a box with five paper reams.
What sizes of printer paper are available?
The majority of the printer paper that Euroffice stocks for printers, fax machines and photocopiers is A4 paper. Suitable for printing most types of documents like letters, invoices, reports and essays, A4 paper will fit in all types of printing machines including inkjet, laser and multifunction printers.
A3 printer paper is double the size of A4 paper and is generally used for printing out visual designs or documents that contain complex graphs or tables that require more space to be read properly. A3 paper can only be used in specific printers so please check your printer can use A3 paper.
The last size of printer paper available is A5 paper which is half the size of A4 paper. Printing on A5 paper is useful if you’ve producing mock-ups or booklets or your own leaflets. Again only specific printers will be able to print on A5 paper so please check you printer’s instruction manual.
Standard paper size details are included below for reference:
- A1 paper – 594mm x 841mm (23.4 x 33.1 inches)
- A2 paper – 420mm x 594mm (16.5 x 23.4 inches)
- A3 paper – 297mm x 420mm (11.7 x 16.5 inches)
- A4 paper – 210mm x 297mm (8.3 x 11.7 inches)
- A5 paper – 148mm x 210mm (5.8 x 8.3 inches)
- A6 paper – 105mm x 148mm (4.1 x 5.8 inches)
What’s the difference between paper weights?
Paper weight is measured by grams per square metre (GSM) with lower paper weights producing lighter, thinner paper and higher paper weights producing heavier, thicker paper. 80gsm paper is the average weight of printer paper but there is a huge range of other paper weights available.
Typically listing paper has a lower paper weight with options available from 60gsm to 80gsm paper. In comparison, prestige paper and photo quality paper will use higher weights from around 100gsm paper up to 300gsm paper to produce higher quality printed documents.
Standard paper weight details and their uses are included below for reference:
- 80gsm paper – suitable for everyday printing needs
- 90gsm paper – provides better quality colour prints but is also suitable for general office use
- 100gsm paper – a good quality paper for letterheads or executive mailings
- 120gsm paper – again is suitable for letterheads as well as documents for presentations
- 160gsm paper – for use in arts and crafts projects or for signs that are displayed on walls
Most printers can print paper weights of between 60gsm and 120gsm but we recommend you check what paper weight your printer can take as some will struggle to print on heavier paper and card.