Overview

I got bored one day and decided to compare different "premium/pro" quality brands of inkjet printer paper, to see which ones faded the most when I stuck them in my livingroom window in the cruel Texas sun.

This page shows you the before and after scans, along with some other arbitrary comparisons like how much the papers curled, how stinky they were, texture, hue, etc.

This is the comparison tab. The "Testing Info" tab outlines my highly scientific and rigorous testing methodology and the "Interesting Facts" tab is just a collection of stuff I've learned about printing and inkjet paper.

HP Premium Plus Glossy Photo Paper  (5/5)
Specifications Weight: 75lbs Thickness: 11.5 mil Cost: 5.00/20: 0.40 ea Impressions mild vinyl smell Slight green cast This paper seems to resist fading far better than all others!	Day 1	Day 400

OfficeMax High Gloss Professional Plus Photo Paper  (4/5)
Specifications Weight: 66lb Thickness: 12 mil Cost: 11.99/30: 0.40 each (2 for 1 deal!) Impressions Had an average paper smell. Not unpleasant. Below-average saturation No watermark on back (makes it seem less like normal wet-processed photo) Curled considerably more than other brands right of the printer, but the curl was completely gone by the second day	Day 1	Day 400

Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy (high gloss)  (4/5)
Specifications Weight: 17.91lb Thickness: 10.5 mil Cost: 18.30/20: 0.91 each Impressions Mild sweet/chemical smell; not particularly unpleasant Package reads that the weight is 17.91 lbs, which is a mistake; this is the weight for Canon's 4x6 paper of the same type; it seems they mistakenly printed the 4x6 weight on the 8.5x11 package. Its nice and heavy. No color cast; prints looked very similar to images on screen Lays perfectly flat after printing, unlike Canon's Photo Paper Pro Very smooth texture	Day 1	Day 400

HP Premium Plus HP Photo Paper (soft gloss)  (3/5)
Specifications Weight: 75lbs Thickness: 11.5 mil Cost: 19.99/25: 0.80 ea Impressions mild vinyl smell Slight green cast Feels a lot more like vinyl than other brands This was the only non-gloss paper of the 10. I changed the print settings to matte for this image. Curled a lot more than the other prints At 400 days, fading to unpleasant green	Day 1	Day 400

Canon Photo Paper Pro (super high gloss)  (3/5)
Specifications Weight: 65lb Thickness: 9.6 mil Cost: 24.99/30: 0.83 each Impressions Mild sweet/chemical smell; not particularly unpleasant No color cast; prints looked very similar to images on screen Very smooth texture At 400 days, fading to unpleasant green	Day 1	Day 400

Epson Glossy Photo Paper  (2/5)
Specifications Weight: 52lb Thickness: 9.4 mil Cost: 9.99/20: 0.50 ea Impressions Rather strong chemical odor. Stronger odor than the others.	Day 1	Day 400

Sihl Photo Glossy Film  (2/5)
Specifications Weight: 39lb Thickness: 6 mil Cost: 5.99/10: 0.59 each Impressions Doesn't tear...it's more like a type of plastic than paper It's very thin...output does not seem at all like a photograph Pearl finish is very noticable; nice if you want that effect, but distracting if you do not. It also gives the print a yellowish/silver cast Takes longer than others for the ink to dry 500 years of paper making experience?! At 400 days, this paper has curled considerably more than any of the others	Day 1	Day 400

Fujifilm Premium Plus Photo Paper (glossy)  (1/5)
Specifications Weight: 65lb Thickness: 9.5 mil Cost: 11.99/20: 0.60 each Impressions Unlike the other papers, this one had no smell whatsoever Smoothest paper of the bunch. Extremely glossy and smooth Very saturated colors, more so than the others Before printing, this paper had a very subtle gray cast to it No watermark on back (less like a normal wet-processed photo) Post-it notes dont stick to the back of this paper for some reason This started out as my favorite, but is fading considerably more that the others	Day 1	Day 400

Kodak Premium Picture Paper (High Gloss)Failed at 400 Days
Specifications Weight: 59lb Thickness: 8 mil Cost: 18.95/15: 1.26 each Impressions Strong chemical smell right after printing but it went away quickly Very slight gray cast Not as smooth as Canon paper Very expensive Paper surface peeled considerably in under 400 days	Day 1	Day 400

Kodak Ultima Picture Paper (satin) Failed at 400 Days
Specifications Weight: 71lb Thickness: 10 mil Cost: 12.99/20: 0.65 each Impressions This one had an odor that I can only say smelled slightly like dog poo! It wasn't very strong, but it was definitely less pleasant than the others. The texture of this paper was somewhat more smooth than the others This was the stickiest paper to the touch, especially on the back Paper surface peeled considerably in under 400 days	Day 1	Day 400