Custom printing is a tactile experience. When you hold a printed piece in your hands, it matters whether the paper is smooth or rough, coated or uncoated. This may not be a conscious response when you page through a print catalog, print newsletter, or brochure printing sample, but the paper texture still affects you. One of the most notable qualities of print publications–the feel or texture of the paper–is completely lacking on the Internet.
So how can you use this knowledge and work with your online printing companies to enhance your editorial and design message?
First of all, printing paper falls into two general categories: coated and uncoated stock. Each of these categories can then be further broken down, to help you choose a paper stock.
These Are Your Options for Coated Stock.
Paper coating is composed of clay, binders, and other substances added to the surface of the paper as part of the papermaking process. This is is not the same as the varnish, UV coating, or aqueous coating applied to a printed press sheet. Rather, the gloss or dull paper coating lies on the surface of the sheet, below the printed ink. Its purpose is to fill in the peaks and valleys of the paper surface and seal the paper. This allows the printing ink to sit up on top of the coating rather than seep into the paper fibers. Known as “hold out,” the ability of a press sheet to hold ink up on its surface yields much crisper type and image reproduction.
Coated stock can be purchased with a “gloss” surface, a “matte” or “dull” surface, or a surface midway between the two, which is often called “silk” or “satin.” Not every paper will come in every finish.
You might choose a coated sheet for a business printing project showcasing photography. A gloss paper makes the images “pop” or appear to jump off the sheet. Unfortunately, a gloss sheet also tires the eyes since it reflects more light, more directly, back to the viewer’s eyes. So for a text-heavy project, you might choose a dull or matte stock.
These Are Your Options for Uncoated Stock.
Uncoated sheets have no surface coating. Hence, they give the printed piece a softer “feel.” Uncoated sheets can be purchased without surface texture or with elaborate textures or patterns such as “felt,” “linen,” and “laid.” Simpler textures include “smooth,” “wove,” “vellum,” and “antique,” (in increasing levels of roughness). The best way to appreciate these variants is to request sample paper boxes from your printing companies. These should include swatch books of all the aforementioned papers.
To compensate for the ink absorption of the uncoated paper surface, online printing companies “open” halftone separations for these paper stocks. By reducing the size of the halftone dots, print companies can reduce the inkflow (compared to coated sheets). Since uncoated printing papers absorb ink into the paper fibers, reducing the amount of ink minimizes the plugging up of halftone screens and keeps the images from getting muddy.
You might specify an uncoated press sheet for an annual report focusing on an environmental company (a paper company, for example). The softer, textured feel could subconsciously convey to the reader such values as sensitivity to the environment.
Think about this the next time you pick up a print catalog, print newsletter, or brochure printing sample. Work with your online printing companies to identify the paper stocks best suited to the design and editorial goals you wish to achieve with your business printing items.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, June 11th, 2011 at 3:27 am and is filed under Paper and finishing, Printing.
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