Choosing
Paper for inner pages
The design
of your document is the most important part of creating a
printed piece, but choosing the appropriate paper comes next.
Good quality paper always makes a good impression but good
design on an inexpensive paper can be very effective too.
Knowing
which type of paper is best for a certain type of printing
project is the only way to select the best paper for the job.
The choices for both cover material and paper for inner pages
are wide ranging but basic knowledge of paper will reduce those
choices..
You have
to consider price vs. impact: with a very expensive paper but a
low quantity print run, the price of paper is not really a cost
factor in the printing price. On the other hand, with a large
print run the paper can be a significant cost factor.
Types
of Paper
In
on-demand book production the most usual choice for cover is
either uncoated approximately 225 g/mē or similar weight carton
which is coated only from one side (the outside). The inner
pages are usually 80 or 100 g/mē copy paper or offset paper,
depending on the printer used.
Coated
Papers are not ideal for the inner pages as the surface of
the paper doesn't absorb the adhesive easily. With Fastbind
binding machines - thanks to the patented fanning, roughening
and adhesive penetration from above - you can also bind coated
inner pages. The pages may be gloss-coated, dull-coated (a clay
or chemical coating), machine-coated (a sheet is made smooth by
a blade running over it during the manufacturing process), or
cast-coated (a high-gloss coating used for the highest-quality
premium papers) on one or both sides. Printing ink does not soak
into a coated sheet as much as it does with an uncoated paper,
so coated papers can make halftones and color images look
richer. Coated papers are often used in brochures and annual
reports etc.
Uncoated Papers can be used for both the cover and the inner
pages. Good quality uncoated papers are so smooth that it's hard
to tell that they're not coated. Uncoated papers are
manufactured in many textures and colors.
However,
most uncoated papers are not suitable for use in laser or
ink-jet printers. In some papers that you can get in regular A4
or letter formats the paper surface is designed for printer's
ink. The paper is ok also for handwriting or typewriting, but
maybe unsuitable for laser printing. It might accept laser toner
or ink-jet ink but not particularly well. Some of these papers
also have irregular edges and your printer cannot grab an edge
unless it is straight.
Some of
these papers are also textured or heavily embossed (have raised
or depressed paper surfaces). If you run these through your
laser printer, the pressure rollers would crush the embossing and
in an ink-jet the head might leave marks on the raised areas.
Acid
free paper. In archiving you might need papers that are
produced acid free. These products usually contain an excess of
2% buffers and are considered archival in relation to the
effects of natural aging. The pH of this process is normally
between 7.5 and 9.
Bond
is often used for stationery (letterheads etc) as it takes ink
well from a typewriter or a pen. This absorbency comes partly
from the paper's rag content (the percentage of cotton fiber in
a sheet of bond) which also contributes to the feel, surface,
look through and "sound" of bond and writing papers.
If the
printed letterhead is to be embellished with an additional
process, imprinted on a small press or used in office copiers,
the need for proper grain orientation should be considered and
the printer should be consulted. Even if you can use some bond
papers quite well in laser or inkjet printers (not many people
use pen or typewriter for documents today) you'd better test
before choosing.
Book
paper is used in printing houses for books and
textbooks. Usually antique (rough) or smooth finishes and a good
choice of weights.
Offset
papers are similar to the coated and uncoated sheets, except
that they have
sizing added to resist the moisture that occurs in offset
printing. The paper is also more moist than a paper designed for
photocopying
Copy
Paper is dryer than an offset paper as it is intended for
laser- or photocopying which actually use heat to attach the
color into the paper. Offset paper with more moisture can start
to roll if used in a copier or laser printer.
Index
papers are used for cards or tabs and are sometimes used in
place of the more
expensive cover stocks. They come in a smooth or vellum finish.
Newsprint papers are used for newspapers. The sheets are
not as white as other papers, and ink tends to soak into them.
Relatively inexpensive and therefore suit well for the large
volumes of newspaper but they are not often used in bookbinding.
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