Paper is important in digital printing!

Choosing from a wide variety of paper is not always easy when you are faced with a large range of sheets, all with a totally different texture. Each type of paper has its weight, processing and finish type, which determines transparency, appearance, weight, thickness, level of ambiguity, taste and durability.

In this guide, we help you choose the type of paper most suited to your digital printing needs by looking at some of the paper weight available in the market, the recommended apps for each type of paper and the most common ones.

How much paper weight?

The technical definition of weight, or grammage, is "paper weight with a square meter surface area"; in other words, it represents the ratio between the weight of the paper and its area. It is measured in grams per square meter (gsm) or just in grams (g) and is a way of distinguishing between different types of paper on the market, along with some other features, which we will see soon.

For example, photocopy paper also known as 'noiseless paper' weighs between 60smsm and 90gsm, while the paperboard weighs from 150gsm to 350gsm. Grammage affects paper texture to the touch and level of transparency, which will be lower if you choose the paper with a higher weight.

The important of paper weight and thickness

It is important to distinguish between paper weight and thickness. Although higher weight is often associated with thicker paper, other factors may also affect this:

Processing type: The processing technique chosen by papermaker can provide the same grammage paper with higher density, which means it is thinner, or lower density, which produces thick sheet of paper.

• Wood fiber content: paper made by compressing fiber from trees, obtained through chemical processes (cellulose) and mechanical processes (pulp wood). High fiber wood content can increase the thickness of the paper.

• Additives: some paper makers, to reduce the use of cellulose and to achieve visual effects and special touches, add certain substances to the pulp. For example, for example, eco-friendly Laguna paper, made with seaweed from Venice Lagoon, and to other types of eco-friendly paper made with organic residues from oranges, coffee, corn and olives.

Therefore, it is clear that the two strands of the same weight may have different thickness, depending on the type of processing and the composition of the paper.

Paper Weight: what is paper weight problems?

Whether you printing a business card or book, or producing an ad display or brochure, each product has its recommended weight. Choosing the wrong type of paper to print your graphic design or publishing project can damage the final effect for example, if you choose too low grammage for the catalog, the page will be too transparent, allowing you to see the image printed on the back.

Esprawell provides a recommended paper based on the product category in question. For example, to print your business card, we recommend a grammage of 280, 300 or 350 gsm, though you can choose from other weights that are available if you prefer. If you prefer to feel the variety of paper offered with your own hands, you can order from Esprawell Sdn Bhd.