Printing photos on an HP printer, but ..... I don't want to buy their overpriced paper. Is there someplace to get paper that makes good prints for less money. Could be semi gloss or...

HowManyPicturesHaveWeTaken Loc: CO

I don't want to buy their overpriced paper. Is there someplace to get paper that makes good prints for less money. Could be semi gloss or glossy. Guess I should also ask what makes photo paper (for printers) different. Thanks

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I get luster Ink Press paper at B&H.
They have bulk boxes.
But my serious printing is done by Costco on photographic emulsion paper.

FairwayPhotos Loc: Massachusetts, USA

Red River Paper. Great product line, good pricing. Just Google them

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

HowManyPicturesHaveWeTaken wrote:

I don't want to buy their overpriced paper. Is there someplace to get paper that makes good prints for less money. Could be semi gloss or glossy. Guess I should also ask what makes photo paper (for printers) different. Thanks

Costco has 8 1/2 x 11 photo glossy paper at very reasonable prices. Paper quality is very good and have never had issues with longevity.

DNW

Walmart.

Papa Joe Loc: Midwest U.S.

I get very satisfactory results using Sam's Club's glossy photo paper, (100 sheets to a box), for most casual photo printing. Reasonably priced and good quality.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Red River Paper is what I use almost exclusively these days. Great product at a good price. Even a better price when they have a sale. Best of luck.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

HowManyPicturesHaveWeTaken wrote:

I don't want to buy their overpriced paper. Is there someplace to get paper that makes good prints for less money. Could be semi gloss or glossy. Guess I should also ask what makes photo paper (for printers) different. Thanks

I have an HP Photosmart 7525 inkjet printer that I’ve been using for years to print my 4 X 6, 5 X 7, and 8 X 10 prints. For me, I discovered that when I used NON HP photo paper in my photo tray for 4 X 6 and 5 X 7 prints, the printer just wouldn’t take up the paper from the photo tray. In the main tray, NON HP photo paper worked just fine.

When I use HP photo paper in my photo tray, everything works fine. I’ve read somewhere that that the HP photo paper has some sort of coating on it that allows the rollers in the printer to grab onto their paper better than third party paper. I don’t know if that’s true ... I just know that third party paper doesn’t work in my photo tray. The rollers just spin and I get a message over and over again to load paper when there’s plenty of paper in the photo tray.

So, before you go off and buy a ton of third party photo paper at a good price, try it out first in your printer. What I do is stock up on HP paper at my local Office Max when they have half-price sales. Good luck.

blue-ultra Loc: New Hampshire

Not sure if anyone mentioned it yet, however, Staples carries a line of photo paper with their name on it. Both in Luster and High Gloss, both are Ultra types of paper and I have used them for years with no issues.

HowManyPicturesHaveWeTaken Loc: CO

I really appreciate all the good replies. Fredrick taught me something though and I'm going to look at the printer because printer rollers can get glazed. There must be a way of getting them super clean which would give them more grab. Experiment after that

dragonlady9947

Red River paper. You can buy 2 types of sample boxes. Great selection/ prices/ delivery.

dick ranez

Another vote for Red River, fine paper in by far the widest variety of sizes. Also second the endorsement of Staples house brand. There are only a few photo paper manufacturers - and HP, Epson and Canon are not any of them. All their papers are only private labeled for them. Another reason to try Red River are the excellent profiles they provide.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

HowManyPicturesHaveWeTaken wrote:

I really appreciate all the good replies. Fredrick taught me something though and I'm going to look at the printer because printer rollers can get glazed. There must be a way of getting them super clean which would give them more grab. Experiment after that

Can’t believe I never thought to clean the rollers! I will also try that. Probably clean with isopropyl solution. Thanks.

mrpentaxk5ii

you can get cheap paper but you may not like the results. some of the cheap paper is thin and may not hold up. Like Cic2 and dragonlady 9947 my go to paper has been Red River. Some times Office Depot or Staples will have photo paper on sale, again stay away from the thin paper.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

HowManyPicturesHaveWeTaken wrote:

I don't want to buy their overpriced paper. Is there someplace to get paper that makes good prints for less money. Could be semi gloss or glossy. Guess I should also ask what makes photo paper (for printers) different. Thanks

I use Epson and Red River papers. If you find paper you like that gives the look you want, it's not over priced but just right. Any paper that doesn't give you the right look is over priced. Find what you like and buy it. Even the most expensive paper is not that much and the wrong paper is always too much.
...Cam