Ink-Jet and Plotter Paper

Ever since ink-jet technology became the standard method for the reproduction of photographs and pictures in practically every household as a result of the success of digital photography, hundreds of companies have gone into the business of selling the various papers necessary for high resolution prints. Because not every paper from these companies produces the same quality of print on every printer, the customer is left to face a confusing assortment of choices, amoung them being: should the “original paper” recommended by the printer manufacturer be selected or can one of the usually cheaper versions offered by other firms “suffice”?

When we added a small number of ink-jet papers to our product range in 1996, we decided at first to disregard the “original paper” in favour of the versions offered by other various paper producers. At that time we were convinced that these paper producers would eventually take over the market not least because they were in fact the very ones producing the “original paper” for the printer companies.

In the meantime the situation looks different: besides the “original paper”, only the brand name product lines from a few companies have been able to establish themselves and these are neither paper manufacturers nor are they in the business of coating paper – in short, they are not paper “manufacturers” at all. The reasons behind this development lies primarily in the concentration of specialized stores (electronic stores) and their buying policies. Many paper manufacturers have meanwhile gotten out of the business of ink-jet paper production because their sales organizations were not financially capable of competing with those of the extremely large brand name companies dominating from the office supply realm. Other companies only produce directly for the printer manufacturers or for one of the many smaller companies that are trying to survive in the market. Then there are those that have decided to concentrate on market niches like, for example, so-called Fine Art paper (e.g. coated handmade paper or aquarelle paper).

Now that a long overdue upgrading of our ink-jet product line is at hand, we are confronted with the question whether we go with the meanwhile established products offered by the brand name marketers from the realm of office supply or with the less known of the remaining paper producers. We have finally decided to continue working with the paper producers and those that specialize in paper coating because we are convinced that these companies, by virtue of the control of the means of production, can guarantee that our supply of high quality paper will continue uninterrupted.

Even though the brand names from the realm of office supply have taken over a large part of the market, they cannot ensure that the goods in their packages are always the same because their business model is to buy only when demand exceeds supply and then from different paper manufacturers or coating specialists. Even though the grammage (grams per square metre) and the gloss level of the coating are normally as they should be, the compatibility with all different types of printers can no longer be guaranteed.

And so we come back to the question asked at the beginning: should the “original paper” recommended by the printer manufacturer be selected or can one of the usually cheaper versions offered by other firms suffice? All our paper from the manufacturers Tetenal and Felix Schoeller are of extremely high quality and can be used with all established printers. Both of these companies coat at their own plant all the paper they have on offer and take their commitment to quality extremely seriously. The fact that compatibility with the largest possible number of printers is their first priority goes without saying.