Paper is a resource. In addition to coming (mostly) from trees and therefore being worthy of preservation, paper as a significant materials cost of commercial printing bears consideration. Paper is expensive. Don’t waste it. In fact, it is sometimes a rather large portion of the overall cost of your print job. (more…)

I found a perfect-bound mythology book in the thrift store this week that I had last read and loved in 1981, so I bought it for a dollar. But what struck me even more than the surprise of finding it again was the publication date (1976) and the fact that the cover, cover coating, and interior paper showed absolutely no sign of age. None. (more…)

The more I study the various visual arts, the more similarities I see between and among them.

My fiancee bought some hair coloring today, and noted that the final color will depend on the original hair color of the person using the product. She had chosen a bright auburn shade, and on the back of the package I saw three slightly different final colors based on whether the original hair had been light to medium blonde, dark blonde to light brown, or medium to dark brown. (more…)

A print brokering client of mine is producing a book. It will be 5.5” x 8.5” and perfect bound with French flaps. This client runs a small publishing house. Therefore, to make this print book consistent with others in my client’s series, I have specified Sebago IV 55# Antique finish, blue-white for the main text of the book. (more…)

There are a number of reasons to coat the cover paper of a perfect-bound print book, or the dust jacket of a case bound book, or even a poster, but the primary ones involve appearance and durability. If you want the print book, for instance, to endure heavy use or last a long time (or if you want to protect heavy ink coverage from fingerprinting), consider coating the sheet. Or, if you want to contrast various dull or gloss effects against one another to highlight the printed images, you may also want to add an additional coating. (more…)

One of the downsides of having had a house fire is that all my printed samples and paper sample swatch books are gone. This is a problem for a print broker. (more…)

Paper choices can make or break a job. In fact, paper is what makes a custom printing job a physical product, although the paper used in a print job often goes unnoticed. That said, it can still have an immense subliminal effect on the reader. (more…)

Here are a few thoughts on the nature of paper to help you make prudent design and print buying decisions:

Custom Printing on Colored Paper Changes Ink Colors

When you print on white paper, the white substrate reflects the light back to the viewer without changing it. It does not add or subtract anything from the ambient light, except where the actual commercial printing inks provide color. In contrast, when you print on colored paper stock, the substrate changes the hues of the inks. A yellow or beige paper, for instance, will add a yellowish tint to the inks printed on it. (more…)

Often as designers and print buyers, we’re so focused on the page design or the texture of the press sheet that we forget the physical properties of the custom printing paper itself. Here are some thoughts on paper folding and scoring, two elements of your print job that will be essential, but invisible to the reader, if done correctly. (more…)