Plaster walls are made with 1 1/4 x 3/8 wooden boards nailed 1/2 inch apart so the first ("scratch" ) coat of plaster can be pressed through the space and form hooks over the back of these small boards , the surface is then scratched for a second coat of the same sand filled plaster mix to bond to .  Then a final pure plaster layer ( or three ) on top and you have a solid stone wall ... but it's brittle and a nail will knock off the hooks and fracture the stone so that a plaster wall can be severely damaged by a nail . what looks like an 1/8 inch hole on the surface can be inches wide on the back side of the wall

    Drywall has a heavy paper surface with a soft gypsum plaster center and a heavy cardboard backing and comes in 4 foot wide sheets that are nailed up and the corners and seams between the sheets are filled with paper tape and drywall mud . Nail heads are filled as well , then a texture is sprayed on to help hide regularities .
    The BroadviewHouse walls have a smooth finish which doesn't use a sprayed on finish , rather that more sanded layers of mud are spread over the entire surface of the wall to smoothened flatten them , leaving a flat matte surface that helps the rooms seem even larger than they are with soft clear lines around amorphous space like a glass box in the clouds ,  but I digress ...
    Because of this drywall will not hold hanging objects or pictures if a nail or screw alone is used unless you happen to hit the 2x4 stud without too many holes leading to the nail , there are ways to hang something in the center between the studs , but most are destructive leaving a large hole that needs sanding to fix , and sometimes requiring a larger hole to remove the anchoring device then tape with a 3-4 foot circle of mud around it to level it with the rest of the wall , the same with a torn out nail or screw .

    Tape will pull off the surface of the wall , sometimes including the paper , ( this is a real bad thing ),
Never use Tape to hold anything to a wall, It might seem fine at first , but it will set over the next few days or weeks and will require filling the pit of removed wall , sanding , priming ,and repainting the entire wall , or room to match the color , a bad thing that I'm not fond of doing .
Or it can leave the adheasive as a black spot collector or tear off and leave a slick spot that paint will peal off of. Lets just say tape is to be avoided.

The best way to hang an unframed picture or poster on a drywall wall is to use an opened paper stapler , most will unfold , some have latches , most just pull open .  try not to let it move sideways and press the staple in firmly but without denting the picture or wall behind it . paint alone will fill this size hole and they are difficult to see if done well .  Also if you place the  staple over the corner of a photograph or small  picture you don't even need to put holes in it
    The best way to hang a framed picture is with string or ribbon from a hook hung on a picture molding towards the top of the plaster or drywall wall .
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