Paper hasn't been just "paper" since the days of papyrus. Today's technologies have made a vast array of multiple-featured media available that can satisfy virtually any application request you receive. While plain paper was probably adequate in the early days of pen plotters for CAD applications, today's graphics applications require highly engineered, coated inkjet media to meet the needs of your customers. Because media has become highly sophisticated, your selection of media for your printer is probably the most critical decision you will make.By using system components manufactured by Hewlett-Packard , you are assured a higher level of reliability and are less likely to experience compatibility problems. Hewlett-Packard testing is among the most rigorous in the industry so you can be confident that you're receiving the highest quality and dependability.
The HP C6831A Premium Plus glossy photo paper is an extra-thick, glossy photographic paper designed for use with all DeskJet, DeskWriter, and PhotoSmart series printers. It can also be used with the HP 100 and 200 color-copier series.
This premium photo paper will allow you to print photographs yourself, while producing the true look and feel of traditional glossy photos. It lets you customize and personalize your photos right at home for clear, sharp, professional-quality output.
1 Great photo paper (and there is a fix)
I agree with the other reviewers that this photo paper produces superb photos. I use it on the HP 7960 and the images are outstanding.
And, I have found a workaround (my wife, who spent many years as a film photographer suggested this) for the problem with pictures sticking to glass or photo album plastic covers: use a hair dryer to dry the photo.
2 Excellent Pictures but Major Problem
Like others have said, this paper prints great pictures BUT as soon as you put the printed pictures in a photo album the ink "sticks" to the plastic. This happens especially with darker colors (mostly any black areas in your picture). Considering my wife has black hair and wears a lot of black clothes, this creates some problems and ugly photo albums.
However, I don;t believe this is an issue just with the HP paper as I tried switching to Kodak and experienced the same problem, though not as bad as HP. I will try a fixative spray as others have recommended and see if that works
3 "Disappointment"
Yes the color of the print on this paper was very impressive. The thickness was also nice. Then the problems start. I have let the photos dry for 3 weeks. They still got screwed up when I put them under a glass frame or in a photo album.It is like the ink never really dried. You would think for what they charge HP could make a gloss paper that works.To top it all of if you get just a tiny bit of moisture on the printed photo the ink wipes off. Save your money and ink!
4 Great pictures, but the print ink sticks to everything!
This paper yields excellent pictures using my HP. However I've had a lot of problems with the INK sticking to things, even after weeks of drying. In a frame you can see where the ink is "sticking" to the glass. Putting the photos in the plastic sleeve of a photo book yields the same effect but even worse. The photos, if placed photo side together, even stick to themselves!
My brother has the same printer and paper. He told me that spraying the picture with "fixative" solves the problem. It's a clear enamel found in art supply stores. Hope this helps...
5 All that glitters is not gold
Original review:
I just bought a new HP PSC 1210 All-in-one, and printed 4x6 photos on the free sample premium plus glossy photo paper. The result? Astonishing!! There's no way anyone can tell that the photograph is a computer printout and not developed on kodak paper.
True, developing 4x6 can be as low as a quarter per print at some places, making this paper uneconomical, but I'd highly recommend this for printing larger photos. (5x7, 8x10)
Amendment:
HP Glossy paper and HP's ink together have something wrong.. the photos are awesome, but they stick to the album plastic, and look awful.
6 Thicker, Non-Stick, and 75 Year Archivability
HP has improved the quality of their excellent Premium Plus glossy photo paper. This is the 8 ?" x 11" size, and this is my paper of choice when making enlargements using my HP Photosmart 7550 printer.
HP has increased the thickness to 10 mil. They've textured the back of the paper so that the photos won't stick to each other when stacked (which one invariably does with enlargements). But, most importantly, using this paper will extend the archival life of my photos out to 75 years when using HP's new six-color printing system (available on the Photosmart 7550, and other current generation HP ink jet printers), which was verified in independent testing by PC World magazine in their November, 2002 issue.
Who says ink jet printed enlargements can't be archival? With HP's new and improved Premium Plus 8 ?" x 11" glossy photo paper, I can now print digital photos - which will be enjoyable for many generations to come!
7 Excellent photo quality prints
After buying several paper brands I found the HP Premium Plus the best. I was very dissapointed with Canon and Epson. Paper thickness is very close to lab photos. The only negative point is that the ink smears (less in matte than glossy) specially dark colors. This is more noticeable when you cover the photos with glass. I hope HP can correct this "minor" issue. The price... something to be improved.
8 Pictures Deluxe
Use this paper if you want exceptional brilliant photos - better than anything else I have used!
9 Excellent results, but what about alternatives?
I have gotten excellent results from this paper on an HP color officejet printer. I print 4 on a page and cut with paper cutter or even with scissors (carefully). Amazon has been out of stock on this paper. Does anyone have a suggestion for a similiar quality paper that is more readily available?
10 About as close to actual photographic print you can get
without actually being a photographic print...
This is, as others have mentioned, the best quality photo paper (and the matte finish premium plus is just as good) that is available (that I have discovered). The colors are brilliant, the paper feels like very close to the same as good photographic paper, and, for all intents and purposes, the final prints will have everyone convinced that it's a "real" photo, not a printed photo.
However, I agree with statements from others - the HP inks, when printed on this paper, can be smeared. Absolutely in the first couple minutes after printing it is very easy to smear the inks. Be careful taking the prints out of the printer, and don't let one print land on top of another in the printer tray or you might see some of the ink of the first print end up on the back of the other. Since we are all probably used to having prints with wet ink for a minute or two after printing, this doesn't really bother me, but even hours (days, maybe) after printing, the ink on the paper can still be smeared. I have not been able to smear the ink on the cheaper HP photo papers, so this surprises me.
But, if you are careful, I don't think you should have any smearing problems. And let's face it, if you really need to have a photograph that is going to last a long time, you shouldn't be printing it with an inkjet anyway.
You do have to weigh the advantage of a really sharp, really color-perfect photo-like print with the disadvantage of having a print that is possbily smearable and runny, though. Hopefully HP can fix this problem, and give us super-paper that holds the ink *and* has super-high color rendition.
11 impressive paper
i use this photo paper with my PhotoSmart HP P1100 - and the results are excellent. i rarely print 8x10 prints, but still use this paper to print multiple images (various sizes) on one page. then i trim the photos. overall, the cost is cheaper for me normally than printing on 4x6 paper. perhaps it sounds like tedious to trim the photos, but i use a Fiskars 12-inch paper trimmer and the results are professional-looking borderless prints with little effort. i include small-sized photos printed on this paper inside greeting cards that i send to family/friends. They make nice surprises. There is a Matte-finish version of this paper also. Search for C6950A. And for 4x6 sized paper, look for C6944A. this paper is certainly the best for glossy output using an HP printer. The results are stunning. Instant gratification for your investment in digital imaging. (For great greeting card paper, look for C6044A.)
12 the best i've used
Of all the photo papers I've used with my HP printers (832, 932), this has been the best performing paper, doing far better than a specialty paper (Pictorico), and somewhat better than the Kodak papers in color accuracy. Whether it will work as well with other brand printers I do not know, but I can only recommend it highly for HP printers.
It would be nice if it cost less, but HP, like the other inkjet makers, intends to mint money on its inkjet supplies. And like almost all inkjet papers using water based inks, the prints are vulnerable to all water based liquids, including fingerprints.
13 Nothing but the best
I confess. I'm a diehard HP fan when it comes to printers and scanners, and this photo paper delivers exceptional quality. I use it with an HP Deskjet 852C, and people don't realize they're looking at a print-out unless I tell them.
I agree with one of the other reviewers that the ink smears easily. My remedy for that is to apply sticky laminating paper to protect the picture.
14 Excellent color, but easily smeared
First, you can get better looking prints with the HP Premium Plus Glossy Photo Paper than with any other photographic paper I have tried, and I have tried all the HP papers and many others. The color is as rich, true and deep as professional photo lab prints. I print with a HP Photosmart P1000.
However, prints on this paper are very sensitive to being smudged, even days and weeks after being printed. If you touch the prints, you can leave fingerprints. If you put the prints in a frame or CD case, the prints will often stick to the glass or plastic. If you get a print wet, forget it, the color will run. I have not found this to be true, or as bad, with lower quality papers.
Also, although color photographs look exceptional on this paper, I have found that printing fine white text on a color background to be a problem with this paper. After a few days, the color will seep onto the white text, obscuring the text. Other papers seem to hold the color better, but the color is not as rich.
In short, I have found a huge tradeoff in using this high quality paper.
15 Who needs Walgreens?
This paper does the job. No need to get reprints done. We printed a beautiful picture of our 3 year old son that looks nearly as great as the one we scanned from the professional photographer!
16 Exclellent for everyday use
It works great - you take a picture with your digital camera and in 30 seconds this picture is in your hands. I use it with HP P1000, quite a sophisticated printer and am more than happy. Picture quality is 85% of what you get from a classic paper, but I do not go to developers anymore. Very happy.
