The characterization of printing paper is a complex procedure involving not only the paper itself but also the various printers used. In a situation where the number of printing devices grows rapidly, there is a need for an efficient characterization procedure. The work reported here is an ongoing development of building a library of characterization procedures. These procedures can be applied to printing situations with different combinations of paper grades and printing engines. Special emphasis is put on the influence of the paper properties. Color characterization of printing devices is normally performed using color charts based on different combinations of process colors. These charts are often adapted to certain printing technologies. For an example, the IT8 color chart works well for offset printing but is certainly not optimal in all digital printing situations. The starting point in this development is the selection of a set of equidistant percepts from a homogenous color space. An example of a building block is color separation with respect to halftoning techniques and available inks or toners. Another is the characterization of the physical properties of the paper substrate.The result of the new procedure for color characterization of printing papers correlates with existing methods. It has also contributed to a deeper understanding of the large influence paper has on the final print quality.