Perylenediimide (PDI) dyes dispersed in polymer films have demonstrated great success as active materials in thin film organic lasers (TFOLs). The type of matrix used to host the dye and the dye doping rate are both crucial parameters to optimize laser performance. This work reports the study of two soluble PDIs, the comercial derivative perylene orange (PDI-O) emitting at around 580 nm , and a new dye (b-PDI-A) with subsituents at the 1,7 bay positions of the PDI core emitting at around 620 nm , dispersed at different doping levels (up to 8 wt% and 50 wt%, for PDI-O and b-PDI-A, respectively) in two widely used polymers for optoelectronics polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The main goal is to determine which of these two polymers, and at which dye concentration, provides the best results for their use in TFOLs. The assessment of the active materials has been carried out through the analysis of their absorption, photoluminescence and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) properties. Their capability to form high quality optical waveguides has also been studied by determining gain coefficients and waveguide losses. Results have shown that for both types of PDI derivatives PS is better than PMMA at any concentration, that means larger photoluminescence efficiency, lower ASE thresholds, longer ASE operational lifetimes, larger gain and lower propagation waveguide losses. In addition, the onset concentration at which dye aggregation becomes significant as to negatively affect the optical properties is lower in PMMA than in PS, thus the larger the blending ratio, the larger the superiority of PS with respect to PMMA.