Quality Printing Paper
Using good quality printing paper will enhance your documents and make the colours look more vibrant.
Quality can be evaluated in several ways when it comes to paper. It might be the thickness of the paper that people like, whereas to some people it is the smoothness of the sheet. Whilst some businesses feel that the whiteness or the finish of the paper is what sets it apart from the standard cheap A4 paper that we use in our printers and photocopiers.
SEE OUR FULL RANGEWhy Use A Quality Printer Paper?
A good quality printing paper will help make the ink or toner that is placed on it look more vibrant and bright. You do however need to use the best kind of paper for the printer type that you have. If you have invested in a good quality colour printer, you are likely to be paying several pence per print for the toner alone. The price of a quality printing paper will be a fraction of that. Printing onto cheap paper with an expensive printer is like drinking a quality wine out of a paper cup!
Inkjet or Laser
Some of our quality printing paper is designed for laser printing and do not work so well for inkjet. Coated papers for example do not tend to work well with inkjet printers, as the ink sits on top of the paper as opposed to being absorbed and therefore does not dry. It can still be smudged even after a long time in the open air.
Standard uncoated business papers such as Navigator will work well with inkjet or laser printers, as the paper is designed for the ink to sink into the paper, but not bleed. Other brands of uncoated paper such as Image Impact and Color Copy are made for the laser market.
The Thickness Of The Paper
The thickness of the paper and the weight of the paper are often confused. Thickness refers to how thick the paper actually is whilst most paper is measured by weight in gm² (grams per square metre).
The general everyday printer paper that is most common in the UK is 75gm². This is fine for everyday printing of reports that do not leave the office or delivery notes that eventually get filed away. If however you want to make a good impression or the document needs to last some time, then a thicker more durable quality printing paper might be the best option.
There are several standard weights of paper. As mentioned above, 75gm² is the most popular as it is the cheapest A4 paper. The 75gm² paper was always popular in other countries such as America, but the UK only began to accept it in the last decade.
After that there is 80gm², which 10 years ago was the most popular, but is now classed as a good quality office paper. It is more of a premium paper these days that brands such as Xerox, Canon, HP and Navigator use as their entry level printer papers.
From there we have 90gm² papers. This weight of paper has become more popular in the last few years and is often used by law firms and accountants. The Navigator brand that we supply is ideal for use with both laser and inkjet. It also comes in A3 size too, which helps if papers of different sizes are used together.
100gm² paper is the most popular of the premium papers. It has a superior finish that is both smooth and white, and can also be used with inkjet and laser printers. The 100gm² paper is particularly good when printing double sided documents, as the print from each side is not as visible as with thinner papers.
Smooth White Paper
Some smooth quality printing paper is coated to create an even more superior smoothness. These papers are classed as a gloss or a silk finish and lend themselves to laser printers rather than inkjet. Using them on an inkjet printer will not allow the ink to dry and therefore can easily smudge. The most popular coated paper that we supply is the Color Copy range. These start at 100gm² paper in uncoated, gloss or silk and go up to 250gm² card in the same finishes.
Bright White Paper
The whiteness of quality printing paper is a factor if the colour of the printing is important, as the base colour of the paper will affect how the colours look.
Textured A4 Paper
Virtually all printer paper these days is smooth to some degree, however there are still some papers that are textured. Conqueror are the most popular brand of textured paper, whose papers include the laid (horizontal lines) and contour (dimpled effect). These papers come in a wide range of colours that include various whites and a selection of weights.
Best Of Both Worlds
If a bright white, good quality printing paper is required, we would generally recommend Navigator Presentation 100gm². It is very smooth, very white and will work on both inkjet and laser printers. Navigator 100gm² is ideal for printing everything from double sided documents to invoices.
Common Paper Brands
The most popular printer paper brands that we supply are Navigator, Image Impact, Color Copy and Xerox. We hold good stocks of the common weights and smaller amounts of the less popular weights. We can ship quality printing paper all over the UK from our store near the Pyramid in Stockport, South Manchester.