How to Print on Gold Paper

That gold paper looked like the perfect choice for your annual holiday letter or event invitation. However, you can't get ink to stick to the shiny, coated surface. In the past, only specialty printers that used thermal printing processes could print on gold or silver paper. However, there are some papers on the market today made especially for the common household inkjet printer. The good news is that you can get the look you want. The bad news is that you will need to return that paper and get some especially made for whatever type of printer you own.

Load the paper into your printer. For most gold papers, there is a printable side and a back side. If the back side is white or has a pattern, then it is easy to tell which side is which. If the paper is gold on both sides, this might be more of a challenge. Check package instructions carefully to discern which side is the printable side. Once you've figured out which side to print on, be sure you load it correctly into your printer. Some printers roll the paper under so that the top becomes the bottom. You may want to test with a single sheet until you are certain you are loading the paper correctly.

Create your document on your computer. No matter what document creation software you are using, you will want to set the page settings to the correct size of your paper. If you are not sure what size your paper is, it should be listed on the package. The most common size is 8 1/2 by 11 inches.

Choose printer settings. Most gold paper will require that you use photo paper settings, which is the highest resolution and ink settings your printer allows. This will use more ink than other settings, but is typically necessary to get a bold print that can be read on the gold paper.

Print one page at a time. Allow each page to dry completely before another page is stacked on top of it. If you have a large number of pages to print, you can pull the current page out of the printer and line it on a table or other flat surface to dry while printing the next page. If ink does not dry completely, it may smear.