The first thing to do when you want to print your photos on photo paper is to find the right printer. There are printers that will only work with certain types of paper, so make sure you know what kind you’re using. You’ll also need a computer with printing software installed and an internet connection. Now that we’ve got those covered, let’s get into the nitty gritty details about how to print on photo paper!
A photo is not just a photo. It is an art and also reflects your memorable moments. Printing a photo is not easy. You need to know how to print photo paper cautiously. If you do not know the proper process of printing, no matter how hard you try, you will fail. A proper guideline can make this task easier for you.
In this article, I will discuss every detail of photo printing. Here you will find tips for printing photos and handling a printer. Besides, you will learn how to set a printer before printing.
So, let’s start.
Importance of quality printers for work
Knowing the process of printing and having a good quality printer – both are necessary. A poorly printed photo damages your happiness, excitement, and impression. Be it family photos, academic projects, or business materials, and a good quality printer protects them from any damage.
People who are concerned about quality must use a printer of high-quality. Your business materials reflect your brand. If your printable materials are inferior in quality it will be helpful for you to grow your business.
You no longer need to go to a print shop if you own a good printer. Using this tool will save you both time and money. In order to do this you simply have to keep the appropriate type of photo paper near your printer.
How to Print Photos With Photo Paper- 7 Steps Guide
How many times have you taken a great photo and wanted to print it out? Maybe for your parents, or just as a keepsake. In this blog post we’ll write the steps to print photo at home.
1. Choose the Right Photo Paper

- Luster/satin paper – The semi-gloss finish of this how to print photo paper makes it a very versatile paper choice. Lustre paper is perfect for monochrome photos and all types of photos. You can expect your images to print sharply on lustre paper, with vibrant colors and deep blacks. Typically, this type is a top choice for photographers. What attracts them is its vibrant colors. Satin is also semi-gloss, lessens glare and shine, and makes the photo easier to see at any angle.
- Glossy paper – This is a super glossy paper with bold colors that brings out the best in your images. Because the paper is high-gloss, you might want to be careful not to have reflections on the image if you want it to be seen. Best match for professional-looking photos. This type of paper causes distraction yet creates a significant impact on a photo. Another disadvantage is, it delivers poor finishing.
- Matte paper – This paper delivers impressively rich colors and a smooth matte surface to reproduce blacks and tones as well as a range of colors that is impressively dynamic. The vibrant colors of this paper will make your images stand out. You can hang images on the matte surface because there are no reflections or gloss. Good for scrapbook graphics. It provides good contrast and fine details and does not create any distraction.
- Canvas paper – A photo printed on canvas paper looks more vibrant than matte paper. In terms of quality, the canvas is near to matte. Canvas enhances the color of a photo. As having a rough texture, canvas requires more care.
2. Choose A Printer
You’ve probably been there before – browsing through all of the different printers on the market, wondering which one is best for you. Do I go with an inkjet or laser? Which brand should I buy? What about color vs black and white prints? These are just some of the questions that may be running through your head when trying to find a new printer for your business, but they don’t have to be stressful! We’ve spent hours researching printers so that we could write this blog post.
If you don’t have time to read full blog we recommend you buy Canon IP8720 Wireless Printer.
The best of both worlds: create on-the-go and at home with the Canon IP8720 AirPrint And Cloud Compatible Wireless Photo Printer. The Canon ink system has smart features like high performance 6-color ink system technology for ensuring your memories come out crisp and bright every time. Plus, environmentally friendly pigments in these inks mean eco-friendly prints that will last a lifetime!
Canon is committed to making your printing experience as seamless and pleasurable as possible. All of their printers are designed with advanced colour management technology, providing true-to-life prints every time. Canon’s Print Assist app helps you get started by walking through setup steps while also giving video tutorials for the most popular functions such as scanning documents or photos from a memory card!
3. Choose The Appropriate ink
If you’d like your Canon printer to consistently produce archival quality prints and print with a high level of color precision, we suggest using genuine Canon inks. A staple of Canon printers, Canon inks deliver high-quality blacks and intense colors thanks to their oil-less fusing technology that produces exceptionally crisp, glare-free prints. With Canon cartridges, you can use your printer without damaging your printer’s toner. Additionally, they’ll clean your print heads and lubricate them, which are important to prevent build-up blocks.
4. Preparing Photos for Printing
Editing photos has never been easier with Digital Photo Professional Software. The software includes high-performance RAW image processing and works seamlessly across different cameras, printers, or devices.
The best way to prepare your photos for printing is entirely up to you, but there are a few techniques that can help make the process easier.
In order to get good results with any photo printer from an inkjet or dye-sublimation unit, it’s important not only have a well exposed image (which means avoiding contrast lighting conditions) and properly lightened shadows when needed; most importantly though they need color correction so as not overwhelm viewers’ eyes.
5. Print Photo From Windows 10 Without Photos app
In this guide, we’ll teach you how to print from your Windows 10 laptop or desktop computer. The first method for printing is without needing additional software outside of the printer driver but it does require a little more time and work on your part. The print sometimes gets messed up if your driver is out of date, so ensure that it’s updated before printing. If you’re looking for an easier option, then go with Microsoft Photos app which also requires a printer driver and will be covered in detail below!
- Locate the photo by using ‘file explorer.
- Right-click on the photo.
- Now, a pop-up window will magically appear; click the print
- Another pop-up window will appear again. Click printer to select the printer.
- Next, click the paper size button to choose the correct size.
- Go to the right, to choose quality.
- Then click on the paper type beside to choose the type of paper.
- If you want to print your photo without any cut-off, click fit picture to frame below.
- Click copies of each picture to specify how many copies of your photo you want. If you want more than one copy, then increase the number.
- At last, click Print.
- If you want to customize your photo more, then click Options at the bottom-right side before clicking
- Another pop-up window, titled printer properties, will appear. Here you will find more options.
- After setting all these, click OK, and printing starts.
With Photos app
- Right-click or double-click on the photo.
- A pop-up window will come. If photos are your default viewer, then just click open. If not, then click open with and select Photos app.
- After you open your photo with Photos, find and click the print button in the top-right corner.
- Again another pop-up window will come. Select printer, choose orientation, copies, paper size, paper type, and photo size. In the photo size menu, you can choose the size and margin.
- Click Print to print.
- You can customize the print settings here too. Click more options before clicking Print.
- After finishing, click Print.
Edit before printing
You can crop, rotate, add 3D effects or animations to your photo. To edit the photo before printing, just follow the steps written below –
- Open the photo with photos.
- Find the edit and create icon and click.
- Select the edit
- Here you will find options like filters, adjustments, light, color, clarity, vignette, spot fix, etc., to improve and fix your photo.
- Finish the editing. Click save as a copy
- Then click the print
Printing and customization are the same as before. Just follow the steps written in the previous sections and Print.
6. Print Photo In Mac
Photos, bundled with macOS is one of the quickest and easiest ways to print your memories on a Mac. Simply select what you want printed – whether it’s just a single photo or many photos at custom paper sizes- then hit ‘Print’.
- First, open the Photos app.
- Select the photo you want to print.
- Click File at the top.
- A drop-down menu will appear, then click the print
- Now select the printer added to your computer. Also, choose paper size, print layout, and ink
- Click Print to finish the process.
- Now, if multiple printing photos on a single sheet of paper is your choice, click a paper size and select others.
- There are multiple layout options you will find. Choose the layout you like.
- Click Print at the bottom corner.
If your photo is not located in photos, you can open the photo with this app.
How to Print with Photo Paper with different printers

No matter if you use HP or Epson, or Canon printers, the printing system is the same with any of them. Here, we will notify you of how to set the printer for printing.
Epson
The Epson printer came with a little, easy-to-follow guide book in the box. It was very well documented and made setting up my new device seamless for me!
- In an Epson printer, you will find an edge guide on the upper side. Slide that to the left first.
- Take a piece or a stack of photo paper; load that on the right side of the sheet feeder. Make sure to put the printable side up.
- Next, slide the edge guide to the right or at the left edge of the paper. Do not slide it too tight.
- Always place the paper vertically, not horizontally.
- Follow the capacity order of the printer and do not load extra paper by force.
- You must flatten the photo paper before putting it into the sheet feeder.
HP
- In the main paper tray, load a photo paper in the correct way. If the printer has a rear load tray, put the printable side facing up. If it has a front-load tray, put the printable side facing down.
- You must load the paper vertically.
- Set or customize the printing process, and click Print.
Canon
- First, you need to pull out the upper paper cassette.
- Then adjust the paper guides to load the paper stack.
- Place the paper stack keeping the printable side down.
- Next, place the upper paper cassette back into the machine.
- Open the paper output tray next.
- After setting the printing process in your computer, click Print, and get out precious photos coming out of the printer.
Tips for printing photos

- Use a high-resolution camera for clicking pictures. Captured photos with a high-resolution camera come out good while printing.
- Check the PC monitor first before printing. Fix the display color if necessary. Set the color settings as default. You can use any calibration tool to set the color accuracy.
- Be careful about setting color, brightness, contrast, etc., before printing.
- Do not make mistakes while placing a photo paper in the photo feeder.
- Use good quality photo paper. For a better experience, you should use photo papers made by the printer companies themselves.
- Different types of photo paper serve different functions. So choose wisely which type of paper you want for printing.
- Avoid printing multiple photos at a time; print one by one. Do not rush while printing.
- After printing a photo, keep it in the open air and let it dry. Otherwise, if you touch the photo right after the printing, the ink will smudge.
Maintaining photo printer

→ Place your printer in a clean and dry place where the airflow is normal.
→ Clean your printer regularly to avoid any damage and lousy performance.
→ A fresh piece of cotton cloth is a must to clean the printer.
→ Avoid using any oily, much old, or non-cotton cloth.
→ Do not use any kind of liquid while cleaning the inside of your printer.
→ Do not forget to clean the outside too.
→ Keep the photo tray clean always.
→ You can utilize vacuum cleaners to clean the dust stored inside.
→ Dried ink blocks the nozzles up and damages the printing. To remove dried ink, you should regularly print, even if it is a page.
→ You must use suitable ink cartridges. You can either use the original ink cartridges or the compatible ones.
→ Horizontal white lines on your printed photo indicate the problem of the print head. Apart from professional help, you can solve this problem by leaving your printer on.
→ Be careful while operating or using your printer. Do not try to fix it if any problem arises unless you have enough knowledge of mechanisms.
FAQs About Photo Printing
Which printer is the best?
People commonly use HP or Canon printers. Besides them, Brother and Lexmark printers are suitable also. Epson printers work well also, but not as much as HP, Canon, or Brother. To know which printer is the best, compare between all the brands first. See the functions and print cost of all brands and decide to buy.
How do I print two-sided photos?
You cannot print on both sides if you use photo paper. How to print photo paper consists of one printable side only. Yet if you want to print photos on both sides, use a regular sheet then. To print on both sides of a regular paper, select Print> more settings > duplex printing > Print on two sides.
How can I print photos from my phone without a printer?
To print a photo, you must use a printer. If you do not have a printer, try emailing the photos you want to print to yourself. Next, go to a store and directly print the photo there. To print photos directly from your smartphone, at first, you need to connect and add a printer to your phone. Then select your photo and send it directly to the printer by using WiFi.
What paper do professionals use?
Professional photographers commonly use glossy or semi-gloss papers for printing photos. Photobook makers use matte papers. Graphics designers prefer matte papers too.
Fine art paper is best for drawing. As canvas papers are entirely different, professional artists use them specifically for oil painting and acrylic painting. Backpack makers use canvas papers for making backpacks. Travelers make tents from the canvas.
Which is better between inkjet printer and laserjet printer?
Comparatively, laserjet printers are better than inkjet printers. You better use an inkjet printer for printing colored photos or school project photos. Laserjet printers work best for text-based documents. Inkjet printers cost much, whereas laserjet printers cost less. Deskjet printers are the older version of inkjet. They cost a little more than inkjets and are best for small to large industries.
Conclusion
This is all about printing with photo paper. I have tried to write everything simply and step by step. I hope you understand all of them. Now, if you follow these to-do-steps, you will be able to print any type of photo you want. In a word, you need to be cautious in this matter.
A photo represents more than it shows. A simple mistake in the printing process affects the significance of a photo deeply.
So never ignore the tips of qualitative printing. Before buying a printer and photo paper, do proper research and buy the best and compatible one. Print diligently, and feel the joy.
Excellent advice, thoroughly researched and simply laid out.. Will follow your other reviews too as I m really impressed
Thank you very much Jasmina mandic