How to Pick the Perfect Paper for Your Project
Did you know? The first paper ever created was in AD 105, when Ts’ai Lun, a Chinese scholar, combined a wet pulp of bark, linen, and hemp fibers and let them dry. Before this, people wrote on cave walls, stone tablets, and papyrus.
The invention of paper is one of the most important in history. Today, North America’s annual demand is about 7.4 billion pounds of paper!
But all paper is not created equally… and your choice could make or break the quality of your project.
Basic Paper Terms
To begin, let’s review terms you’ll want to know when choosing paper:
- Acid-Free: Acid can diminish paper quality over time, so if you are looking for longevity, look for acid-free paper.
- Basis Weight: Generally, the heavier the basis weight, the sturdier the paper and the less see through it is. So when printing for posters, menus, etc, we tend to use a heavier paper while lighter paper is better for everyday documents that you plan to recycle or file.
- Brightness/Whiteness: The percentage of blue light reflected from a sheet of paper is brightness, while the degree to which paper reflects light is whiteness. The higher the numbers, the better the print contrast, which means bolder, more brilliant colors and crisp, clear text.
- ColorLok® Technology: Special engineering causes the ink carrier to absorb more deeply into the paper while holding pigment close to the surface. This produces more vivid colors, bolder blacks, and faster drying.
- Forest Certification: Ensure that the wood fiber used in your paper only comes from forests that are being responsibly managed.
- Opacity: This is a measure of the amount of light that shows through paper – the higher the number, the less see through it is (and the better for printing two-sided documents).
- Smoothness: Smoother sheets have an even, consistent surface, which improves how the paper receives ink. The lower the smoothness number, the smoother the sheet.
Match the Paper to the Project
- For general printing/faxing/copying around the office, a.k.a. those papers that you are planning to just use once or twice and then recycle or file away, you can save money and go with standard copy paper!
- When choosing paper for color specific projects, you’re bound to find an abundance of products, but we suggest Hammermill Premium Laser Print Paper or Premium Choice LaserJet Paper, both of which have higher basis weights, smooth texture, and are acid-free!
- Maybe you’re looking to print something fun and colorful without using up your ink, or you just need something to make your project POP. Astrobrights has a huge assortment of different colored paper and different “themed” packs, such as Happy, Warm, Vintage, and more!
- And be sure not to limit yourself to standard 8.5″ x 11″ projects, you can make flyers, tripods, business cards, stickers and more by expanding your searches. At Perry, we use Premium Color 11″ x 17″ Copy Paper for all our in-house flyers, and Avery has a great selection of customizable business cards, envelops, magnets, stickers and more!
Here at Perry Office Plus, we have the whole shebang of any paper product you can need! If you need help narrowing down your selection or picking the perfect paper for you, we are here for you! Give our team a call at (800) 234-6605 or reach out to us on our website to get started perfecting your project today!
