For both home and office use, you often need printer paper for black&white, color printing, or just paper for copying.
In this carefully curated list, our office-working editor has found the best and most popular printer paper for sale, and also written a guide on how to choose the best printer paper.
#1: HP Paper Printer Paper 8.5×11 BrightWhite
Our first choice in this collection is HP BrightWhite Printer Paper. The sheets are 8,5×11 Letter, 90g, 100 brightness matte. It’s an exclusive, high quality choice, great for both black-and-white and full-color printing.
#2: HP Paper 8.5×11 Multi-purpose
A more affordable quality multi-purpose option is HP Multipurpose20. The sheets here are 8,5×11 Letter, 75g, 96 brightness matte and come in 1,3 or 5 reams. They are still bright enough to be useful for full-color printing. In reviews, they are liked for being good value, elegant and not too thin.
#3: Hammermill paper
Hammermill is another trusted brand in printer paper. Their best-selling printer paper is the 20lb, 92 bright, A4 white, but they also come in Legal and Letter size and in 1,3 og 5 reams.
#4: Hammermill 100% recycled
Hammermill also has a 100% recycled option. They come in Letter size only and are 92 bright, 75g, American made. You can get them even by the pallet. In reviews, they are liked for being a pretty good everyday paper – even for work, good for the environment and quite affordable.
#5: Hammermill “MULTI” 24 lb
Hammermill also has a multi-purpose 24lb/90g 96 brightness option. This multi-purpose paper comes in a 3-hole Letter version – or the “normal” Letter, Legal or Ledger sizes. It’s a good, high-quality option for use in both home & office printers. In reviews, Hammermill MULTI is recommended for being a great paper, with great weight and feel.
#6: Neenah Index Card Paper
If you are looking for something more sturdy, Neenah Exact Index might be a good choice. The papir is either 110lb or 90lb thick, which is approximately 2-3 times the normal paper thickness. This is useful for printing menus, brochures, invitations or stamping out cards. They are 94 bright and come in Letter, Legal or Ledger and the two mentioned thicknesses. It still feeds well through the printer being that thick. Don’t expect it to be “card-board” thick, though.
#7: Amazon Basics Multipurpose Copy
Amazon Basics make this decent-quality multi-purpose copy paper with 20lbs/75g 92 brightness. In reviews, they are liked for being good value for money, bright enough and good quality. The reams are a little cheap and fall apart, but maybe that’s not a problem for you.
Amazon basics also has a 96 brightness option.
#8: Astrobrights Color Paper
For printing on colored paper, Astrobrights Color Paper is a popular choice. Colorize flyers, school projects do color-coding and much more. The thickness is 24lb/90g (Letter size) and in each pack you get 5 colors. You can buy Astrobrights in various different color spectrums from bright to retro, so select the colors you like.
Guide: Things to consider when buying printer paper
Paper weight / thickness: The paper weight is typically specified as “24 pound” or in metrics as “90g”. This means that 1 square meter of the paper weighs 90 grams. Typically, around 20lbs/75g is normal. Higher means a thicker, more quality feel.
Paper jam resistance: Higher quality papers tend to jam less in printers. Check reviews for proneness to jam.
Brightness / Whiteness: Printer paper is specified with a Brightness value. The extra-bright, completely white option is 100 in brightness, but paper can be as low as 90. Generally, you cannot tell the difference above 96. You might choose a higher brightness for a more exclusive look, or for printing colors.
Paper size: Typical paper sizes are letter, legal and ledger (tabloid). The most common type for every-day office and home printing in the US is “Letter” size paper. In Europe, the most normal size for printer paper is A4.
Purpose & Use:
Colored paper: Generally, people need normal white printer paper. However in some cases you might need colored paper – for flyers, invitations and the like. Most brands offer colored printer paper – mostly suited for black and white printing only.
Finish: Most printer papers have a matte finish. Be specific and check for specs when looking for something more glossy.
Number of reams: Depending on your (home) office size, you might want to other one ream of 500 sheets, or several reams at once – even a whole pallet. Many paper stores provide a number of purchasing options.
Earth friendliness / sustainable: Some printer paper is sourced from renewable forest resources, and claim 0% deforestation. Buy according to your preference in this area.
USA made: Many buyers will appreciate that products are American-made – another testament to environmentally sound production.
3 hole / prehole: Some brands offer printer papers that are already holed. If you are printing for a specific use in binders or academic life, this can be quite useful.
Quality: Paper quality is everything. Low-quality paper tends to get stuck more. Check reviews to learn about presentation and paper durability. It is not worth it to buy something too cheap.