An apparatus for sensing a media type of a print medium. Embodiments of the apparatus include an emitter, a polarization filter, and a detector. The emitter is configured to emit light toward a surface of the print medium. The polarization filter is configured to filter polarized light reflected from the surface of the medium. The detector is coupled to the polarization filter and configured to detect the filtered light. The detector is also configured to generate an electrical signal representative of the detected light.