What Paper to choose for your print job?
Many clients are unsure as to what paper to choose when they are going to print their first print job. It’s a tricky question, and important to get the type of paper correct, as this can have a significant outcome on your project, so you should spend some time in deciding as to what paper to choose for your print job, and if you are uncertain as to what to do, by all means, give Guy a call on 0421 840 465.
What are the different types of Paper for printing?
There are three main types of paper to choose from for your print job, these are, gloss, matte and bond. When choosing paper, remember that the words “Stock” and “Paper” are synonymous in printing terms.
Good old Bond
Bond paper is the paper that most people would be familiar with, as this is the paper that you would generally find in your photocopier at the office or in your home. It is great to write on.
There are two main thickness’ of bond paper, 80gsm and 100gsm. Most home printers will print on 80gsm bond, but we much prefer to print on 100gsm bond stock, which is a little thicker, and gives a much more executive feel to the work. Bond stock is used primarily where you need to write on the paper, so typically used for letterheads and with Complement slips. Our default selection is to 100gsm bond, and there is hardly any difference in pricing until you are starting to do over 1500 A4 sheets. Again, if you want to write on the paper, you really should be using bond.
Common types of print projects we use Bond to print on:
Manuals
Notepads
Letterheads
With compliment slips
Gloss
If you are using lots of pictures, and want your work to “pop,” then I would always suggest Gloss. This is not easy to write on, so if you have to fill in a contact form, or something like this, rather stay away from Gloss and choose the bond paper above.
Gloss paper is our most commonly chosen stock, as it looks great. Depending on your artwork, you would choose gloss paper for:
Flyers
Brochures
Booklets
Almost anything!
Nip across to our Printing page to have a look at different print collateral, and send us a quote request, or give me a call on 0421 840 465
Matte
Partially coated paper, so this still has a shine, but not quite as bold as Gloss. You can write on matte stock if you have to, and the result is still great. You would choose matte paper if you wanted to have a more professional, subdued look to your work.
How do I decide what weight of paper to choose from?
Papers vary in weight from 80gsm to 420gsm stock. GSM stands for grams per square meter, so a 1-meter square sheet of 80gsm stock will weigh 80grams, and a square meter of 420gsm stock/paper, will weigh 420grams. The weight is generally determined by the thickness of the paper.
So – What weight of stock/paper should you choose?
The most common stock that we print on is 150gsm gloss. It is easy to fold, and does not need to be scored – any stock over 150gsm will usually have to be scored if you need to fold it, which adds to the cost. It is an excellent all round stock, and should be used when doing large quantities of print. Many people choose to print on 128gsm stock, but we find this a little thin, which will often give a slightly “cheap” feel to the work. There is very little difference in price between 128gsm stock and 150gsm stock, so we would always recommend you choose the 150gsm paper option for your print job.
As you increase the weight of the stock, so the thickness, and the corresponding ‘stiffness’ of the paper increases. 150gsm stock will ‘flop’ much more than 300gsm stock. We always recommend choosing stock that is a little thicker if you are going to be doing smaller quantities, and handing the brochures out “hand to hand.” The thicker paper will represent your brand better than choosing the thinner paper for your print project.
420gsm Stock is just about only used for executive style business cards, and can only be printed using the off-set process. Digital printers can print on 350gsm stock. We use 350gsm stock for business cards and postcards. Our standard, high-volume cards are called standard business cards and are printed on 310gsm stock.. Many print companies use 310gsm stock as their executive style business cards – we use 350gsm stock.
Booklets – are more complicated than they look – but read on!
These can be self-cover, which means that the cover is the same type of stock as the internal pages; otherwise you can get a great result by making the cover thicker, so maybe choose a 250gsm cover and 150gsm internal pages. If you then want to really make your booklets look great, add laminate to the cover, they look great. Booklets can be “saddle-stitched,” which means that they are stapled – us printers always want to confuse you!
Specialist Paper for printing
There are literally thousands of different types of specialist papers, which can be selected for your work, however you will need to get a couple of samples of the stock that you would like to use if it is not standard, and bring it to us. We will do a couple of test prints, just to check that we can get the digital to work properly on the paper you have chosen. If you want to then print on a non-standard stock, you will need to buy a ream of the paper, and we will happily do your printing for you. Sadly there is no change in the price if you provide the paper.
If you are unable to decide what stock to use, give Guy a call on 0421 840 465, or nip over to our contact page and send us a mail, we look forward to helping you with your project soon.
