The Egyptians and their papyrus sure did start something! Paper and the methods used to process it have been many and varied over the years – as have the types of paper, the sources of raw materials, the enhancements and the environmental impact.

All paper when first created is uncoated. To coat paper, mills add various compounds, press the paper and then put it through rollers to make it smoother and shinier. The reason paper is coated is because it creates a lower level absorbency of ink, it adds water resistance and strength to the paper and the colours are protected a bit more from light which prevents fading. Please bear in mind Coated stock is not very suitable for writing on as it causes smudging.

Uncoated papers have no coating and so have absorbent properties. This will affect the look of your final print job. It also dulls down colour but provides strong ink holdout and crisp dot resolution for sharper images. It’s a heavier paper and therefore can give the credible impression that fewer pages are more and it can project an approachable, kinder corporate image. Uncoated paper can cost up to 75% more than coated depending on the weight chosen.

Types of literature used for uncoated would mainly be forms, letterheads and compliment slips. More often now Charitable organisations Corporate Brochures are printed using uncoated stock.

When producing other items of literature, clients will often ask our advice on choosing coated paper – we use a combination of factors to choose between different paper types ;

Firstly there’s not a lot of difference in cost between the standard coated Matt, Gloss or Silk stock so we’re practically free to choose but like all good Jedi’s we must choose carefully.

• If a design includes a lot of photography, we run with a gloss stock. Gloss enriches the colour and reflects the light rays directly back to the reader’s eyes, therefore creates a sharper appearance and better contrast to the images. Gloss is generally used for literature pieces such as magazines and holiday brochures.

• If the design is more text heavy then we choose a matt stock. Matt has the opposite effect of gloss. Rather than light reflecting back to the eyes it diffuses it and spreads it across the page. So when reading text the reader’s eyes are less likely to get tired. (Unless of course the copy isn’t very engaging – see wow! for some top class copywriting!).. Examples of literature where matt is used are Annual Report & Accounts, Menus, Information leaflets to name a few.

• The other type generally used is silk stock, sometimes called Satin. Silk has a slight shimmer and is deemed to be an in-between matt and gloss stock. Examples of its uses would be Corporate Brochures, Prospectuses and Flyers.

There are lots more choices of paper but any good agency or printer will be able to advise you on what suits your budget best, what will make you stand out and what paper will best reflect your company.

So next time you have a project think carefully what paper you choose, it can make a huge difference to you, your product/service and your audience.

Ps. Watch out for more Paper hints and tips coming soon to a website near you!