There are some of the specific
attributes that every paper has but the amount and extent of these attributes
varies from one paper to other.
Coated or Uncoated?
This is a choice that decides the overall felling of the product. Also,
it will depend on what is the type of your printing job. By coated papers we
mean the paper has some or the other from of covering over it such as china
clay or other kinds of coating. These papers are available in all types; matte,
semi-matte, smooth, silk and gloss.
The uncoated paper has no covering on its surface and is hence
generally rough and gives a more natural feel. It is one of the most preferred
for the printing jobs that include a lot of texts compared to the use of
graphics. As the uncoated paper is not so reflective it makes it easy to read
the text.
Usually coated paper for best printing used for photography, illustrations and
prints that should pop up while the uncoated paper is best for printing used for book and daily magazines.
Thickness and Weight
While choosing the paper for printing not only the type is
important but also to select the right thickness and weight of the paper is
important. There are different ways to measure the weight of the paper. The
first popular is grams per square metre and the second is the pound weight of a
500-sheet ream of 17" x 22" bond paper. The more the paper weighs the
more is its thickness and vice-versa. Some commonly stated paper weights and
their uses include:
- 20~24#
- Standard paper
- 24~28#
- For ordinary posters
- 80~100#
-For business cards
Opacity
Opacity is the measure of the amount
of light which can be transmitted through the paper. This shows how transparent
a paper is and how much printing can be seen while viewing the reverse side of
a sheet. 100% opacity means that no light can pass through, and as the opacity
dilutes the transparency of the paper increases. Opaque paper is best for printing booklets.