Choosing Paper

Putting it on Paper

Choosing paper that best complements your project

With a new generation of designers and technologies, corporate communicators are changing the rules of business and are using paper colors and textures to push corporate branding to new limits. Paper has a major influence on how the communication and the communicator are perceived. Thus, it is extremely important to become familiar with the different types or grades of paper available and match them to the needs of your individual job.

Given the thousands of paper choices and the fact that paper alone can constitute more than half of the cost of your printed piece, choosing paper is not always an easy task. But, by defining how the paper will be used, thinking about your project needs and what you want the paper to do for you, your paper will add that much more impact to your print communications.

Defining a Goal

Paper is often defined in terms of its purpose. First, ask yourself a few questions when selecting a paper for your project to define exactly how it will be used.

• Are people going to save your product?
• Is the piece going to be mailed?
• How many times will the piece be folded?
• Is color critical?
• Will people leaf through the piece repeatedly?
• Will the piece be stapled or bound?
• Will the paper color complement the company logo and artwork?

Paper Weight

It is also important to decide how heavy the paper stock should be based on the goal of your print communications and your budget. Heavier stocks generally cost more. Keep in mind, too, that the heavier the paper, the greater opacity (or the less one can see through the paper). Bond papers are the lightest weight and are commonly used in copiers as well as for letters and business forms. Nearly two million tons of bond paper are used every year in the United States and Canada. Text and cover weight papers are also widely used, especially for annual reports, announcements and brochures.

Paper Properties

After you determine your project needs, it is important to consider various paper properties that affect runnability and print quality. These properties include flatness, curl, strength, brightness and color. There are also recycled papers, as well as different paper finishes.

Finish is a complex paper property affecting the way the surface of the paper appears, whether smooth or rough. Paper with a smooth finish will take ink well and produce good detail. Paper with a rough finish is more specialized. Some papers may be finished with a heavily raised, almost spotted surface. Others have lightly raised surfaces in various patterns. These papers can look very elegant or artsy. However, the images and type will look somewhat distorted on these textured papers because the ink will not lay down completely flat. Typefaces with very fine serifs or thin stems may look broken. Similarly, halftones or images with fine detail will not print well.

It is very important to be aware of how these paper properties will affect your design. It is a good idea to ask to see printed samples of the different paper types first to decide which type is best for your piece.

Send A Message With Recycled Paper

Another attribute to consider is whether to use recycled paper, both for the benefit of the environment and for the message it sends to your customers. Most recycled papers cost more, but if your customer cares about the environment, the extra charge may be worth it. Wood pulp paper is based on 19th century technology and because there is a need to preserve these forests, other materials have been tested. Unfortunately, plant materials producing the same level of quality still have not been found.

As an alternative to wood pulp papers, synthetic papers with manmade fibers do provide improved properties such as durability, tear and water resistance and high opacity. Currently, the most widespread use of synthetic fibers in paper is for paper currency.

Current Paper Trends

Competing forces of style and technology are having a significant and contradicting impact on paper selection. Recently, we are seeing a trend toward brighter, bolder colors and a preference for incredibly bright, white and smooth papers.

Research shows that many print buyers are looking for bright white and smooth papers, especially for projects requiring digital printing technologies for all or part of a project. White papers may be preferred because projects using them are often easier to design and proof and offer the best printing color fidelity. Studies also indicate that two-thirds of text and cover papers sold are smooth, untextured grades. More than 50 percent of these papers are bright white and well over 20 percent are off-white or cream.

Although white, smooth papers are the stronger trend right now, designers continue to have a preference for colored and textured papers, called specialty grades. These specialty grades help to create a certain look and differentiate a company and its message. We live in an age where we have grown accustomed to electronic communication, especially e-mail and the Internet, so when you see a brilliantly-designed printed piece with a unique color and texture of paper, it really stands out.

There are many factors to consider when deciding what paper is best for your project. By establishing your performance needs first with the help of your printer or graphic designer, you can choose the right paper for each job – and make the desired impact.