A Brief Primer on Paper

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to printing paper recently, to a great extent because it has been so scarce (at least in the United States). Printers have been lengthening their customary schedules for books and other paper-intensive print products, and I have been searching in Canada, India, China, and South Korea for alternatives.

In this context, I would say that the more you know about paper, within your own print buying sphere, the better able you will be to request substitutions, consider alternatives, or whatever else you need to do to address the recent paper shortages.

My favorite book on printing, Getting It Printed, by Mark Beach and Eric Kenly, includes a sidebar entitled "The Most Reliable Printing Papers," on page 79. Here’s the gist of the information regarding printing papers to choose for various kinds of printed materials. I have also included my thoughts on the subject, noted in parentheses.

1. "Letterhead, envelopes, certificates and legal documents: white 24# wove 25 percent cotton bond" (Getting It Printed, by Mark Beach, PhD, and Eric Kenly, MS).

(Anything official that needs to project an air of gravitas can be printed on rag paper, which has a percentage of cotton fibers as well as wood pulp. It is long lasting and less likely to yellow. Presumably the paper is less acidic (more alkaline) and hence considered archival. When you look at the paper weight, keep in mind that based on the size at which 500 sheets of bond are weighed—compared to regular book text stock—24# bond is comparable in thickness to 60# text, just as 20# bond is comparable to 50# text and 28# bond is comparable to 70# text. For thicker envelopes, perhaps for sturdy 9" x 12" envelopes, you may want to consider 28# stock.)

2. "Everyday photocopies and laser printing, and for notepads, fliers and statement stuffers: white 20# wove #4 bond" (Getting It Printed, by Mark Beach, PhD, and Eric Kenly, MS).

(The #4 in this suggestion refers to a lower grade of paper--i.e., less bright than #1--on a scale of #1 to #5. This is perfectly fine for functional, as opposed to showcase, publications. It will also save you money. Note the reference to 20#, which as noted above is comparable to 50# text stock.)

3. "Newsletters, brochures, direct mailers, booklets, staff directories and any product with mostly type and spot ink colors: white 60# smooth #1 offset" (Getting It Printed, by Mark Beach, PhD, and Eric Kenly, MS).

(The 60# stock is standard for book text pages. In my view, anything thinner feels flimsy—for products that go out to clients. There’s a fair amount of opacity in 60# paper as well, so ink is less likely to be visible through the paper—i.e., show-through. The "smooth offset" notation implies an uncoated press sheet, which is fine for functional work.)

4. "Newsletters, brochures, catalogs, labels, calendars, maps, small posters and other products that require bright colors and faithful halftones: white 70# matte coated #1" (Getting It Printed, by Mark Beach, PhD, and Eric Kenly, MS).

(Ink seeps into paper fibers, dulling down colors and muddying halftones printed on uncoated stock. In contrast, ink sits up on the surface of a coated sheet, hence Beach and Kenly’s suggestion of a matte coated press stock. The hard surface of the coated paper will allow for finer halftone screen rulings and therefore more halftone detail, and the ink colors will be more vibrant than on an uncoated paper. The #1 specification refers to the brightest paper available, as noted above.)

5. "Covers of books, calendars and programs, and for membership cards, menus, dividers in binders, large posters and table tents: white 8-point or 10-point C1S cover" (Getting It Printed, by Mark Beach, PhD, and Eric Kenly, MS).

(I used to specify 10 pt. stock for all perfect-bound book covers when I was an art director/ production manager. Now, as a printing broker, I’ll go even further and sometimes spec 12-pt stock for high-end perfect-bound book covers. The rigidity of the paper provides a substantial feel for anything requiring a "card-stock" or cover stock paper. The C1S notation refers to the coating on the paper. It means the paper is "coated on one side." The other option is coated two sides—C2S. You might choose the latter if you’ll be printing on the inside front and back covers of a perfect-bound book.)

6. "Announcements, envelopes, presentation folders, coupons and tickets: light blue or gray 80# felt text" (Getting It Printed, by Mark Beach, PhD, and Eric Kenly, MS).

(The 80# text Beach and Kenly reference is heavy, heavier even than the 28# of the 9" x 12" envelopes I mentioned above, which are closer to 70# text. Since this is an uncoated stock with a lot of texture—reminiscent of felt wool—80# should be fine, particularly if the paper is folded over, as in an announcement. For presentation folders, since they have to be durable, I usually specify 100# or even 130# cover stock, depending on the paper. In your own print buying work, always ask for samples.)

7. "Business cards and covers for premium presentations and booklets: light blue or gray 65# felt cover (matching the felt text above)" (Getting It Printed, by Mark Beach, PhD, and Eric Kenly, MS).

(As noted in items #6 and #7 above, text and cover papers are often designed as a pair. You might use 65# cover and 80# text, as noted above, or you might specify 100# text for an annual report text pages and 100# cover for the cover of the same annual report. Regarding business cards, in my opinion the trend is leaning toward heavier stocks. I used to specify 80# cover stock for business cards. Beach and Kenly note 65# as their preference. Recently, I’ve even seen 14 pt. and 16 pt. or even 18 pt. and 32 pt. business cards. When compared to cover weight paper, these weights would range from 114# cover stock for 14 pt. to 130# cover stock for 16 pt. and even up to a much thicker paper for 18 pt. and 32 pt., based on my favorite online paper comparison chart at http://www.paper-paper.com/weight.html.)

The Takeaway

Here are five thoughts on the subject.

1. Study paper, its properties, its manufacture, everything you can find. Even consider visiting a paper mill if you can. The more you know, the better you will be at buying paper.

2. Always get printed and unprinted samples. In fact, ask your printer for a set of current paper swatch books. Study the samples and you’ll learn about paper thickness, cover coatings, paper textures, paper color. You will learn volumes.

3. It never hurts to ask for a paper dummy (an unprinted, bound facsimile of your soon-to-be printed product on the stock you have chosen). Leave nothing to the imagination. In the final analysis, it’s what the paper feels like in your hands that counts.

4. Find a good online paper comparison chart to get a sense of the relative weights of various kinds of paper. Here’s the one I like: http://www.paper-paper.com/weight.html. It compares everything to everything.

5. Consider buying a micrometer. You can determine the thickness of a particular stock (in points) and then use the online paper comparison chart to compare thicknesses and weights of cover stock to text stock to index stock, etc.

[Steven Waxman is a printing consultant. He teaches corporations how to save money buying printing, brokers printing services, and teaches prepress techniques. Steven has been in the printing industry for thirty-three years working as a writer, editor, print buyer, photographer, graphic designer, art director, and production manager.]