Best solution for printing postcards

There has always bee a different in paper weights so it all depends on what you actually want to use a particular paper for.

Normal plain papers like copier and boards are classed as much lighter than paper that is used for photography or magazine industry.

Yet a 280 gm photo paper is much lighter than a paper/board of the same weight, the paper/board is in fact thicker than the photo paper is.

A prime example of this is a newspaper and a magazine, the page of the newspaper is thicker than the magazine paper but the magazine is heavier to hold in your hand..

websnail said:

I wonder how many people will now be wondering about the time you said they were made up of "fine" ingredients and realise that you were actually insulting them!

*ahem*

In other news, thanks for the explanation.. I had a hunch that it was something like that but still useful to get the proper skinny and a useful lesson for anyone considering media handling on the GSM value alone..

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Most of the time if you are buying paper which is the same basic type you can go by the GSM value/figure and assume the higher the number the thicker the paper.
Its normally only when you are talking different types of paper/card it can become a minefield, as per my cardboard example. My other half also now i think of it has a thicker skin than me but is far thinner in stature This incoming paper example from @The Hat is another good example........

The Hat said:

There has always bee a different in paper weights so it all depends on what you actually want to use a particular paper for.

Normal plain papers like copier and boards are classed as much lighter than paper that is used for photography or magazine industry.

Yet a 280 gm photo paper is much lighter than a paper/board of the same weight, the paper/board is in fact thicker than the photo paper is.

A prime example of this is a newspaper and a magazine, the page of the newspaper is thicker than the magazine paper but the magazine is heavier to hold in your hand..

Click to expand...

They did at one time give a micro measurement (i think in mm) of paper thickness in addition to the GSM value (god i now feel old) ive no idea why they stopped, apart from maybe industry standardisation or just many people never bothered or understood the paper thickness measurement.

bottom line is that GSM value - weight - doesn't describe characteristics that contribute to the ability for a printer to feed card stock for printing. You still need to take a sample of your desired card stock to the store and try it in the demo printers that otherwise meet your needs.

So I wonder what the OP will choose.

Smile said:

So I wonder what the OP will choose.

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Ops, yes we have totally forgotten about @loop while deep in our own explanations…

It turns out that after @The Hat recommendations I found the Canon Pro 10 as a good printer, what do you think? here are the specs:

Printing method - Inkjet Printer
Print tech - Pigmented based ink (PGI-72)
Paper weight - up to 350 gsm
Print resolution - 4800 x 2400 dpi
CISS - some way possible (http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3142101)
Price - On sale right now! 480 € ~$537,45

Thanks also for the explanation about paper types, but now I'm little bit confuse :-S. I went to some stores yesterday and I looked at the photo papers (hochglänzend - ultra glossy) but they don't feel like a postcards, specially the back side.

Yes I can recommend a Pro 10 or Pro 9500 as the best choice in Canon printers to do your job in hand because I have feed 400 gm board through my 9500, all be it only one single sheet in the tray at a time.

Fitting a CISS to these model printers would be a huge disaster, because the OEM cartridges are so easily refilled they are child’s play, but I will have to warn any potential buyers/users DON’T buy a CISS, you’re wasting you money and destroying a great printer, despite what others may say, they’re wrong.

None of the regular glossy photo papers that are easily available can be printed on the reverse side, the ink will just wipe off it, there’re are however two sided photo papers available but mighty expensive.

A Postcard is not a cheap thing to reproduce easily, you have a choice of using light photo paper (120 gm) and applying self-adhesive paper to the back to allow for reverse side printing. (1 answer)

You can also use Satin coated stock (Semi-gloss) High quality 280 gm digital paper obtainable from copy shops which is printable on two sides..

Thanks @The Hat I just bought the Pro-10 printer

loop said:

Thanks @The Hat I just bought the Pro-10 printer

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For postcards? It's reputed to be top-notch (I have one still in the box), but quite slow.

By the way, The Hat is onto something. The photo paper I have can be printed on one side only.

@loop How many postcards do want to make daily, etc?
The Pro 10 is quite slow.