You can use your inkjet printer and specialty papers to print all sorts of things that you used to have to take to a professional printer. Here’s the rundown on papers that will fire up your creativity and add polish to everything you print.
HP photo paper is specifically designed to produce high-quality, color-rich images that look like traditionally developed photographs.
HP photo papers come in a choice of matte or glossy finishes and a variety of print sizes, including convenient 4" x 6" for affordable everyday prints and large portrait-sized papers for studio-quality enlargements.
A sort of parchment, vellum is a translucent paper with a subtle texture and a smooth surface. Vellum paper may be solid, marbled, metallic, flecked with gold and silver, or embedded with flowers or leaves. Because you can see through vellum, it is often used to layer on top of other papers.
Vellum looks elegant, and is perfect for invitations, greeting cards, and creating envelopes for scrapbook pages. Because it's translucent, vellum works well for craft such as paper lanterns.
Iron-on tranfers are thin iron-on sheets with a paper backing. You can run them through an inkjet printer to print virtually any design. Then you iron the design onto a garment such as a plain white T-shirt.
Create personalized T-shirts for a sporting team, volunteer group, family reunion, or other event. Iron-ons may also be used on pillowcases, irons, caps, bandanas, and other materials.
Greeting card paper is designed specifically for greeting cards, is thicker, pre-scored for easier folding, and has a special coating to prevent smudging.
Use it for personalized greeting cards, invitations, and announcements. HP greeting card papers come in quarter-fold and half-fold, and include matching envelopes.
Thicker than regular paper, brochure and flyer paper is designed for double-sided printing. The paper produces excellent print quality in both full color and black and white. Use it for professional-looking brochures, newsletters, posters, and other business materials. HP brochure and flyer paper comes in 11" x 17" (glossy) and 8-1/2" x 11" (glossy or matte). Tri-fold is also available—perfect for brochures.
A fabric sheet is simply a piece of fabric bonded to paper. The paper holds the fabric stable as it moves through the printer. Once the ink is dry, just remove the paper and you're ready to use your printed image!
You can print just about anything on fabric: photos, artwork, scanned images, and much more.
For best results, use paper designed for your printer. If you have an HP printer, you can shop for supplies by printer model at the HP Home and Home Office Store. If you purchase paper elsewhere, be aware of papers that could cause printing problems, such as:
Heavily textured papers
Extremely smooth, shiny or coated papers
Iron-on transfer sheets in laser printers (Iron-on sheets are intended for inkjet printers).
Keep these other tips in mind for best results:
Give your printed piece plenty of time to dry.
Keep unused paper to its original package and store away from high temperatures, humidity, or direct sunlight.
Buying HP photo value packs is a great way to buy paper and ink. They’re made to work together and help you save money.
Change your printer settings to work best with different papers. Photo papers, for example, absorb more ink than vellum.