{"id":454,"date":"2020-10-14T21:22:31","date_gmt":"2020-10-14T21:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.printingcenterusa.com\/blog\/?p=454"},"modified":"2024-02-22T18:30:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T18:30:11","slug":"how-to-choose-the-perfect-paper-for-your-print-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.printingcenterusa.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-the-perfect-paper-for-your-print-project\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose the Perfect Paper for your Print Project."},"content":{"rendered":"

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An important factor in printing is the paper. We offer a variety of papers, some thick and others thin. Some glossy and some matte. How do you decide which paper to use?<\/span><\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s get technical. There are some terms that will help you to understand the different options available.<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n

Cover VS Text<\/span><\/h2>\n

A cover weight paper is going to be thick, similar in feel to cardstock. Text weight papers are thinner, more similar to catalog and magazine paper. A paper labeled \u201ccover\u201d is always going to be thicker than a \u201ctext\u201d paper. For example, 100# Gloss Cover is going to be much thicker than 100# Gloss Text. You can also tell the difference in thickness by checking the \u201cpoint\u201d or \u201cpt\u201d thickness. For example, a 100# Gloss Cover is 9pt while a 100# Gloss Text is 5pt. If you had an instrument called a micrometer you could measure the paper thickness yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gloss VS Matte<\/span><\/h2>\n

Gloss paper is shiny and is very popular for most print projects. Matte paper has a \u201cflat\u201d look to it. It doesn\u2019t shine and reflect light the same way that gloss paper does.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0UV Coating<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The Gloss and Matte paper are both coated, which means they are not like the paper you would put in a home printer. Gloss paper is shiny but if you want something to really \u201cPop!\u201d you will want to add a UV High Gloss Cover finish. This coating can only be used on Cover paper and is very popular for calendar projects and presentation folders.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Uncoated Paper<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

This paper is similar to the paper you would put in a home printer because it is uncoated. It is easy to write on and would be used in a project such as a journal or coloring book. If your project requires an uncoated paper we recommend our 70# Uncoated Text because it is thicker than regular paper that you would put in a home printer, which means that the ink won\u2019t bleed through the page.<\/span><\/p>\n

Below I am going to recommend different papers for different types of projects. These are simply suggestions; your project may or may not fit into these recommendations. I would also highly recommend requesting a free sample packet<\/a><\/span> from us. When you get a sample packet from us we send you our Paper Sample Guide. It\u2019s a small booklet that has an example of all of our different papers in it so you can see and feel the weights of each. You can determine which papers you like best using this Paper Sample Guide.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Booklet projects, which includes Catalogs, Magazines and Programs, the paper will sometimes depend on the page count. If your booklet has 8-20 pages a good choice is to use 100# Gloss Text for the cover and the inside pages. When you have a higher page count, 24pages and up, we recommend using a Cover Weight paper for the cover sheet and using Text Weight for the inside pages. This isn\u2019t required, you can use a Text Weight on the cover and inside pages if you want. Using a Cover Weight for your cover paper is nice because it gives you booklet a little more thickness and heft, which is nice.<\/span><\/p>\n