Specifying Text Papers

I know from personal experience that it’s an easy choice to specify gloss or matte coated stock and then move on. For most products this is fine. You want to either highlight the photos (usually gloss text is best) or make it easy for people to read your printed product (matte or dull would be an appropriate choice here).

But sometimes you want the paper to stand out and be something special. Maybe you’re producing an invitation for a corporate event. Maybe you’re printing business cards. Or maybe you want an intensely saturated colored sheet for a premium printed product. In this case, your printer may suggest a "text" printing sheet.

Text in this case is not a reference to text paper, such as you might specify for the interior pages of a book. Actually it is short for "textured" paper, and it is always a premium sheet.

According to Getting It Printed (my favorite printing book) by Mark Beach and Eric Kenly, text papers come in a number of surface textures, including "felt, laid, vellum, linen, and flocked fiber (also called tinted fiber)" (page 99). These patterns are usually added during the papermaking process as the web of paper travels through sets of metal rollers with patterns incised into them. These rollers press patterns into the paper.

I checked Google Images, and it is possible if you look closely to see these patterns on photos of paper. That said, nothing is better than physical samples, so I would encourage you to ask your printer (or paper merchant) for sample books highlighting the surface textures and colors of text papers the printer or the paper merchant can get for your jobs.

For the most part, these patterns were originally incorporated into the paper when papermaking was done by hand using a wire sieve. As the still wet paper was made, this sieve imparted the pattern to the resulting sheet of handmade paper.

In the modern version of text papers, for the most part all of these papers have been only minimally compressed by the metal paper rollers during the papermaking process, so the papers are stiff and have good bulk (thickness per unit of weight). They also have good ink holdout (the ink sits on top of the sheet rather than seeping into the paper fibers), they run well through offset presses, and they accept post-press operations well (such as folding, die cutting, foil stamping, embossing, etc.).

But for now, here’s a general comparison:

Felt Paper

Felt paper has a pattern that looks like actual felt cloth has been pressed into the paper. I’d describe it as having small, similarly sized, regularly placed patches of texture, but Google it for yourself or request samples. It’s nicely and evenly patterned.

Making felt paper according to Getting It Printed does not require a lot of pressure, so the paper fibers still have bulk. This makes felt paper good for folding, embossing, and die cutting as well as printing. And since offset printing uses a rubber blanket to transfer the ink onto the paper, this printing technique will make close contact with the substrate and will get ink into all the hills and valleys of the paper. (This is true for all of of these textured papers.)

Laid Paper

Laid paper has a pronounced, ribbed pattern of textured lines running parallel to the short dimension of the paper (referred to as chain lines) and less prominent lines running perpendicular to these. Such a sheet can showcase an architectural rendering that also has right angles and straight lines.

Linen Paper

Like laid paper, linen stock has a surface matrix of visible horizontal and vertical lines. Unlike laid paper, the pattern on linen paper resembles linen fabric, with more similarity in the thickness and depth of the horizontal and vertical lines.

Vellum Paper

This is not the same vellum as was made from animal skins (used, for example, for making a copy of the Jewish Torah). Vellum stock, according to Getting It Printed, is essentially just a uniform, rough stock, without a visible pattern when compared to those text papers noted above. Vellum stock is thick, dull, and rough.

More Benefits of Text Papers

Here are some more thoughts offered by Getting It Printed on the benefits of textured stock:

1. The papers usually are made in a variety of weights as well as a variety of colors. What this means is that if you’re printing business cards (cover stock), letterhead (text stock), envelopes (text stock), and invitations (cover stock), you can select paper that will match across all of these printed products.

2. Text sheets are often brighter than other papers because they may include fluorescent dyes.

3. Many text sheets are made without paper impurities (many are acid free, for instance) inherent in less expensive paper, so they are of archival quality and will last a lot longer than lesser quality papers. If you want your wedding invitations to last for decades, for instance, consider text paper. Text papers are also good if you’re producing fine art prints (giclee prints for framing) on digital inkjet equipment.

4. Some text paper even includes a percentage cotton component, which also adds to the quality of the press sheet.

5. Because of their surface texture, text sheets are aesthetically compatible with photos and illustrations, showcasing them in their best light and bringing out the depth in the images.

Uncoated Paper Vs. Matte, Dull, and Gloss Coated Stock

The general rule is that uncoated printing paper absorbs ink. Some, like newsprint, absorbs ink very readily, and the ink spreads widely into the paper fibers. This is why halftones in newspapers have to be rendered in exceptionally coarse halftone screens (with visible halftone dots). Otherwise the halftone screens will plug up.

That said, paper that has received more calendering during the papermaking process (such as some of the text papers in the prior section) have a harder surface and therefore allow more of the ink to sit up on the surface of the press sheet. This is relevant because the ink colors are dulled down when the ink seeps into the paper.

Also, the uneven surface of uncoated paper contributes to this dulling down effect, since the rugged paper surface scatters light in different directions rather than reflecting it directly back to the reader.

In contrast, coated paper (gloss, matte, and dull coated stock, the coating of which includes clay, binders, and other additives) allows the ink to mostly sit up on the surface of the substrate.

Matte or dull coated paper does this to a lesser degree than gloss coated paper, which has the best ink holdout. In addition, the dull surface is rougher than gloss coating, so it also scatters the light, making the overall effect more subdued. That said, it makes reading large amounts of text a lot less daunting than does a gloss coated sheet.

Finally, gloss coated paper (including, at its most extreme, cast-coated paper) has an extremely shiny surface that is completely smooth, like glass. Gloss coated paper has the best ink holdout (essentially all or almost all of the ink sits up on the surface coating), and the evenness of the coating reflects light right back to the viewer, making colors pop and details in photos stand out. However, if you were to read a whole book of text printed on gloss coated stock, the paper surface and glare would make reading an uncomfortable experience.

So it’s all a series of compromises. Consider what’s most important (text, images, color). Consider your audience. (Aging eyes are the least flexible.) And then choose your paper stock.

[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.]