The relative cost of paper. For items like business cards, paper cost is not as important. As the size and quantity increases, the paper cost will have a greater impact on your overall cost.

Paper Weight and Thickness

Paper is measured in many ways. The main ways are thickness and weight. The thickness refers to the actual thickness of the sheet (typically in thousandths of an inch. For example 16pt is equivalent to .016") and the weight typically refers to the weight of a ream (500 sheets) of 25x38 inch paper in pounds.

Finish

Paper has several different finishes to suit your design needs. The most notable are glossy, satin, uncoated, textured. The textured and uncoated finishes vary widely. There are literally thousands of different finishes available. We are able to custom order paper but cost rises significantly and there are many variables that we'd need to consider before we can run the paper.

Brightness

Brightness is measured on a scale of 0 to 100 – the higher the number, the brighter the paper. In other words, 95 bright paper reflects more light than an 85 bright paper, therefore appearing brighter.

Ink Compatibility / Max Digital Print Area

We have 3 digital inks available because we have 3 drastically different digital presses. Each press has it's own characteristics, most notably the ink sheen. The other major factor is the size we can print. We can print larger than the sizes listed but it will have a significant setup cost because we will have to print with a larger printing press/ wide format poster machine.

Heavy Coverage

When the amount of ink exceeds 40% of the sheet. In general, the more ink, the more difficult it is to have a good quality print and it also opens up issues in the finishing process. As a designer try to avoid heavy coverage when possible.

Print and Finishing Compatibility Chart

This chart shows what printing processes are available for this particular paper. On virtually any paper we're able to provide most of our finishing options.

Photo Disclaimer

Photos are for a rough reference for your convenience only. It's best to come into our store to physically feel and look at the samples to ensure you get exactly what you want.

For a more comprehensive glossary visit printindustry.com