What makes photo paper different from regular glossy or matte paper for printing photos?

Question

I understand that photo paper is supposed to be better for printing photographs, but what actually makes it different? If I buy a heavy paper stock, such as 250 gsm matte, semi-gloss, or glossy paper, is that effectively the same thing, or is true photo paper still better?

user14028 · Accepted Answer

As a term, 'photo' paper is fairly useless as an indicator of quality but it usually means that the paper is coated and the coating is engineered to fit certain needs, such as:-

controlling or limiting the spread of droplets applied to it
holding a higher density of ink than paper (allowing for more dynamic range especially better blacks)
protecting the ink from fading
not letting the ink touch the paper (as it would spread)
protecting the ink from chemicals present in the paper

It's likely that the other paper stocks you've been looking at are photo papers and just haven't had that marketing term applied to them, but there are different construction types - which one is best for you depends on if your printer outputs dye or pigment for example.

I recommend reading the Tom's Hardware article which is a pretty good primer on the subject: Picking The Best Ink And Paper For Your Inkjet Printer.

What makes photo paper different from regular glossy or matte paper for printing photos?

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