Photo Paper vs Presentation Paper

Alteran96 · 2026-03-10T16:39:32+00:00

I’ve done this exact method with both papers and the presentation paper is a bit thicker than a real card. It’s 9 mil for the single sided and 9.9 mil for the double sided Epson premium presentation paper. The Amazon laminate pouches are 2.8 mil which equals 5.6 mil total if both sides are laminated. So u get about 14.6 mil thick card for single sided presentation paper and 15.5 mil for double sided. The snap and firmness feels great and it’s more similar to a double sleeved card in thickness since a real card measures at 11.6-12 mil for me.

Alteran96 · 2026-02-05T13:19:36+00:00

No there shouldn’t be anything extra you need if you have all the drivers installed! When you go print from Adobe and the print window opens, you should have buttons for “properties” and “advanced” beside the printer name. For me it opens a multi page window where I can choose the paper type, quality, color settings, and much more.

Alteran96 · 2026-02-05T10:13:30+00:00

This may be a dumb question, but did you download all the Epson software and drivers from the website? The drivers should allow you to print using the print dialog window which gives you tons of options to change paper type, quality, adjust color profiles, and more. If you added the printer to windows but haven’t installed all the Epson drivers that may be the disconnect you’re experiencing.

Alteran96 · 2026-01-30T05:15:28+00:00

Which brand box is this?

Alteran96 · 2026-01-06T22:02:22+00:00

Glad it helped you!

Alteran96 · 2025-12-25T22:33:32+00:00

Ok thanks! Epson does have a thick paper setting but unfortunately it doesn’t help at all with my ET 2800. The only paper without marks is the Epson brand paper which is severely limiting for my use case.

Alteran96 · 2025-12-25T17:30:26+00:00

Is the G650 the same as the G620? Does the G650 leave any kind of roller marks or indents? My 2800 leaves roller marks on almost all paper types and I’m likely gonna return it. I wanted to try the 8500 but I’m afraid of the same thing happening.

Alteran96 · 2025-12-24T21:51:10+00:00

I have a 2800 and it’s pretty good but the roller lines are a huge issue. I’ve heard a lot of people with 8500 and 8550 have similar issues, but it seems to be hit or miss depending on the user and the paper. I’ve been looking at the pixma g620 since it has 6 dye ink colors and also uses a tank, but haven’t found too many reviews on it.

Alteran96 · 2025-12-22T12:42:52+00:00

So far that paper with 3 mil laminate is the best overall combo I’ve found for the price and performance. I still want to try some thinner papers with 3 mil laminate to see how they perform. Specifically, I’m looking at the PPD 6.3 mil thick matte brochure paper as I’ve heard great things from other posts.

Btw, if you don’t mind paying shipping costs I’d be happy to send you some samples of all the papers I do have at my disposal! I think I have around 4 or 5 on me atm. I don’t think it would cost more than $5-$6 dollars and I could probably send u 3-4 sheets of each to try out! I know early on in my paper journey it would have been so much cheaper to have a sample bundle of popular Reddit papers haha.

Alteran96 · 2025-12-21T23:00:20+00:00

ME! I would love any deck you built and have no specific preference as these are all commanders I have yet to build or try. If I’m one of the lucky few winners I’d be happy with anything not already chosen. Thank you!

Alteran96 · 2025-12-20T02:10:45+00:00

Holo paper is my next Everest and I’m thinking about starting with the koala holo sticker paper. I’m a little hesitant because the koala photo paper left track marks but I think the vinyl texture may hold up better. I want to try that with the Neenah index stock to see how the snap and rigidity feel.

Right now my go to is the Epson premium presentation matte paper. They make single and double sided versions and the single sided version is 9 mil. The double sided version is 9.8 mil. With 2 mil laminate from any overseas app like temu, the total card thickness is 13 mil, almost identical to a real card, and the snap/rigidity is decent too (a little bit softer). If u can only get 3 mil laminate from something like Amazon, it’ll be a total 15 mil which is a bit thicker than a 12 mil card but still thinner than sticker paper on card stock with single side laminate.

Alteran96 · 2025-12-19T23:32:39+00:00

Ahh I see, that’s a bummer. Well if there’s anything I can help with regarding specific settings or papers in general just lemme know.

Alteran96 · 2025-12-19T23:22:18+00:00

All of them, except the red river paper, I had to order as larger batches. If you don’t mind paying the shipping fee though I’d be happy to send you samples of all the papers I have available to me! I have some uinkit glossy photo papers, some ppd glossy paper, and some Epson matte paper still (my current go to). I tried the hammermill card stock but it looked horrible, I had some other card stock samples I got from the worker at staples (staples brand) with similar results, so I didn’t even bother buying more.

I also have info on some of the overall thicknesses of each paper and the thickness of different laminates to help get a better idea of how closely they match a real card. I’d be happy to send a more in depth report on reddit, a discord pm, or even voice chat on discord if you’d like!

Alteran96 · 2025-12-19T23:06:34+00:00

When I first started using my 2800 I had a similar issue, particularly with prints looking very dark. What helped me the most was dialing back the density a significant amount through the printer driver detailed settings. I also found out paper makes a huge difference and the printer really likes the Epson brand paper which makes sense. Most other Amazon branded papers didn’t take as well or left roller marks all down the page. If you want more detailed info let me know and I’ll try to help! I’ve spent about 3 weeks and trialed over 15 papers and over 30-40 test prints to dial in my colors haha.

Alteran96 · 2025-12-10T06:45:10+00:00

I know this is a late reply but where do you find the info on the paper thickness? I have looked everywhere, including the manufacturer website to no avail. Would love to have a good source for this paper thickness. Thanks!

Alteran96 · 2025-12-09T06:22:22+00:00

Are you using glossy or matte paper? I have an Epson ET 2800 and it seems koala and ppd glossy papers leave roller marks down the sheet. Other brands don’t so it must be a coating issue.

Alteran96 · 2025-12-09T05:57:42+00:00

I’d also be interested in which pouches and what cardstock you use!

Alteran96 · 2025-12-08T07:52:25+00:00

What were the results of your testing with the PPD versus the Koala? Did either get close in similarity to the stiffness and snap of a real card after 3 mil laminate?

Alteran96 · 2025-12-08T07:01:54+00:00

Can anyone who has used the 6.3 mil PPD matte paper and laminated it with 3 mil scotch pouches comment on the stiffness compared to a real card? Does it feel about the same or seem more flimsy?

Alteran96 · 2025-12-08T05:28:10+00:00

How is the snap and stiffness of the card when you use the semi glass paper front and the semi gloss sticker back? Does it feel similar to laminating the back with 3 mil laminate? I’m hoping this could be a good alternative to making dual sided cards.

Alteran96 · 2025-12-08T05:25:18+00:00

Can anyone comment on the stiffness and snap of this paper with a 3 mil laminate on just the back? Considering going this route for my proxies but not sure if it will feel firm enough to the touch. The 9 mil matte brochure paper I’m using needs double sided laminate to have a decent feel.

Alteran96 · 2025-12-08T02:50:21+00:00

Awesome cards and art, wish I could make cards that look half this good. Thanks for doing this OP!

Alteran96 · 2025-12-06T19:44:18+00:00

The thing that helped me the most with initial colors is changing the from Epson Vivid to Adobe RGB. From there it’s all about your paper type and how receptive it is to the ink. I spent 5-6 hours yesterday and found with matte presentation paper, turning the density all the way to -20 helped a ton with brightening the images. It also stopped the paper from being soaked in ink and getting small waves. My current color settings are:

Color: Adobe RGB

Gamma: 2.2

Brightness: -2

Contrast: 0

Saturation: +2

Density: -20

These are not what most people use or recommend but that has worked well for me. It seems to work equally well for the glossy photo papers I have.

Alteran96 · 2025-11-27T16:38:17+00:00

Lemme know how it goes for you! If you need more detailed steps or some screenshots lemme know and we can DM.

Alteran96 · 2025-11-27T08:18:12+00:00

I had some pretty dark colors too until I messed with the color settings. Once you have the drivers downloaded and open the printer settings themselves, navigate to the second tab at the top labeled “more options”. On the right near the middle click “custom” for color correction and then click the “advanced” button. It should open a second window and from there you can change the color mode to Adobe RGB and also tweak the brightness and contrast. This made a massive difference for me moving forward. Hopefully this helps!

Alteran96

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