Best paper for inkjet printing?

[IndyJets]

What is the best kind of paper to print models on using a home inkjet printer? In terms of image clarity and color accuracy and ease of working and so on.

[rickstef]

I picked this pack of paper up at Walmart during their back to school sales, haven't opened it or used it. 150 sheets for around $5 or so.

But I have used everything from 20 lbs office copier paper, to 220 lbs stock.

Experiment with what is available to you

[Philip]

I use 160gsm ordinary office paper for just about everything: it's cheap as chips and lends itself to almost any task. But everyone has their own favourite types of paper and/or card, so you'll have to muck about for a while in order to find out what works best for you.

[CharlieC]

I've found there doesn't seem to be a noticeable difference between the print quality and different 160gsm papers. I would recommend letting the ink dry for a few hours and giving the printed sheets a light spray with matt acrylic. The spray stabilises the ink and seals the surface so glue drops and edge colours won't damage the printed parts.

Regards,

Charlie

[Wulf111]

Originally Posted by rickstef

I picked this pack of paper up at Walmart during their back to school sales, haven't opened it or used it. 150 sheets for around $5 or so.

i used this almost exclusively for my build of the Sulaco and others. i originally thought it was a bit thin but once glued up it is surprisingly strong. well worth the budget price. good for smaller models too.

[airdave]

Originally Posted by IndyJets

What is the best kind of paper to print models on using a home inkjet printer? In terms of image clarity and color accuracy and ease of working and so on.

In direct response to your question, the answer would be "white" paper.

Image clarity and colour accuracy will require white paper.

In a more general sense, your question is too vague since you have not specified:
- the type of card model you are building (some models require stiffer card for more rigidity in certain areas)
- the scale of the model (smaller models might benefit from thinner papers)
- whether the model has a lot of very small components or larger ones (again, thin or thick papers to aid in building certain components)
- whether the model is a full colour, or can use pre-coloured paper/card
- the capabilities of your printer (colour quality, paper sizes, cost of use)

You'll find many modelers use different cards and paper for different projects.
Or even different cards and papers within the same project!

The material I use more than any other is 65lb (176gsm) plain white premium cardstock.
Coverstock is nice (smoother finish) but can be thinner (same weight) and a bit more expensive.

*It helps to understand a little bit about paper/card weights and measures and how they differ between different types of papers/cards.
Just because two types of paper or card have the same "weight", they may not be the same finish, stiffness or thickness.

I also use 110lb cardstock when I want more rigidity and stiffness.
Thats the thickest I use for printing.

I also use 20lb (average quality) and 28lb (premium finish) copy papers for various print jobs
and for very small assemblies or when building any assembly smaller than 1/00 scale.

Then, there's personal preference.
If you get used to working with a certain type of paper or card, then you may ignore other's advice!

Oh, and paying extra for better quality stuff really pays off.
I used to buy a cardstock from a Craft store (because I could buy it cheaper in smaller quantities)
but the surface finish was rougher and the print quality was poorer...I was never happy with the printing.
I went back to my usual cardstock brand and was much happier.
Yes, I was forced to buy larger packs, but the overall cost was actually cheaper...and I was glad to pay the extra for better print quality!

[IndyJets]

Originally Posted by airdave

In direct response to your question, the answer would be "white" paper.

Image clarity and colour accuracy will require white paper.

In a more general sense, your question is too vague since you have not specified:
- the type of card model you are building (some models require stiffer card for more rigidity in certain areas)
- the scale of the model (smaller models might benefit from thinner papers)
- whether the model has a lot of very small components or larger ones (again, thin or thick papers to aid in building certain components)
- whether the model is a full colour, or can use pre-coloured paper/card
- the capabilities of your printer (colour quality, paper sizes, cost of use)

You'll find many modelers use different cards and paper for different projects.
Or even different cards and papers within the same project!

The material I use more than any other is 65lb (176gsm) plain white premium cardstock.
Coverstock is nice (smoother finish) but can be thinner (same weight) and a bit more expensive.

*It helps to understand a little bit about paper/card weights and measures and how they differ between different types of papers/cards.
Just because two types of paper or card have the same "weight", they may not be the same finish, stiffness or thickness.

I also use 110lb cardstock when I want more rigidity and stiffness.
Thats the thickest I use for printing.

I also use 20lb (average quality) and 28lb (premium finish) copy papers for various print jobs
and for very small assemblies or when building any assembly smaller than 1/00 scale.

Then, there's personal preference.
If you get used to working with a certain type of paper or card, then you may ignore other's advice!

Oh, and paying extra for better quality stuff really pays off.
I used to buy a cardstock from a Craft store (because I could buy it cheaper in smaller quantities)
but the surface finish was rougher and the print quality was poorer...I was never happy with the printing.
I went back to my usual cardstock brand and was much happier.
Yes, I was forced to buy larger packs, but the overall cost was actually cheaper...and I was glad to pay the extra for better print quality!

Thank you for the information!

What I will be building is an airport terminal in 1:400 scale. While this seems like a small scale, the building complex itself will be almost four feet from end to end when complete. There will be complex rooflines (including a rotunda dome combined with a sawtooth roof as seen here), Indianapolis International Airport (Weir Cook Municipal) (… | Flickr and several other overhanging sawtooth roofs. So I need a way to simulate the thickness of the roof while still having the ability to make the sharp folds. Indianapolis International Airport (IND) postcard - 1970'''s… | Flickr

I will also be making the jetways (boarding bridges). Several different ready-to-print kits are available for these but I will be custom-designing my own to better represent the styles used at this particular airport.

I tried to insert links to a couple of photos but the tags appear to be getting ignored despite the fact that they appear in the text when I go into edit mode.

[airdave]

I designed and built everything in my Airport Accessories kit (shameless plug) with 65lb cardstock.
But I built everything at 1/100.

For larger building structures, where you might need a bit more thickness and rigidity,
you can use heavier cardstock or double up the 65lb (use 3M spray Adhesive)
or back the cardstock with heavier cardboard.

For smaller scale vehicles and such, you might switch to lighter cardstock (there are lighter weights eg 40lb)
or use regular copy paper (20-28lb) if the cardstock is still too thick.

[rickstef]

Originally Posted by IndyJets

Thank you for the information!

What I will be building is an airport terminal in 1:400 scale. While this seems like a small scale, the building complex itself will be almost four feet from end to end when complete. There will be complex rooflines (including a rotunda dome combined with a sawtooth roof as seen here), Indianapolis International Airport (Weir Cook Municipal) (… | Flickr and several other overhanging sawtooth roofs. So I need a way to simulate the thickness of the roof while still having the ability to make the sharp folds. Indianapolis International Airport (IND) postcard - 1970'''s… | Flickr

I will also be making the jetways (boarding bridges). Several different ready-to-print kits are available for these but I will be custom-designing my own to better represent the styles used at this particular airport.

I tried to insert links to a couple of photos but the tags appear to be getting ignored despite the fact that they appear in the text when I go into edit mode.

Flickr has a different sharing system, they give you a shortened url of the page the image is on, not a link to the image.
So in the future, just drop the shortened link, or the regular url into your posts, and just keep writing.
I updated your links to just show the url, and the parsed version of the url.

Rick