Paper Picker
Answer three questions — what you're printing, how it gets used, and whether you want coated or uncoated — and get a real stock recommendation to bring to your quote.
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Choosing paper stock FAQ
Rather have someone else call it? We design print and stationery in Buffalo, MN, produce it with trusted print partners, and spec the stock as part of every quote.
They are completely different papers. Basis weight is measured against a different parent sheet for each family: text stock is weighed as 500 sheets at 25 by 38 inches, cover stock as 500 sheets at 20 by 26 inches. Same 80 lb number, much smaller sheet, so 80 lb cover ends up roughly 1.8 times heavier per square inch.
Coated paper has a thin clay layer that keeps ink on the surface, so photos and brand colors reproduce sharper and more saturated. Uncoated absorbs the ink, reads a shade softer, and takes a pen or pencil. If the piece is photo-heavy, go coated. If anyone writes on it, or you want a natural feel, go uncoated.
14 pt coated two sides is the common economy card. 16 pt is the everyday standard, the thickness most people read as a normal business card. From 18 pt up to 32 pt, often with a soft-touch or specialty finish, is where a card starts feeling deliberate. Heavier is not automatically better — it has to match what the card is doing.
It is a strong starting point, not a commitment. Stock availability, press fit, quantity, and finishing all shift what actually makes sense for your job. The final paper is confirmed on your quote, and you approve a proof before anything runs. Bring the tool's answer to the conversation and we will tell you if there is a better fit.
How to choose the right paper weight and coating
There is no single formula here — there is a grid. The picker takes three inputs: what you are printing (flyer, brochure, postcard, business card, menu, poster, letterhead, or booklet), how it will be used (economy volume handout, standard everyday, premium impression, or durable handled), and your finish preference (coated, uncoated, or no preference). Each combination maps to a real industry-standard stock. Business cards run 14 pt C2S at economy, 16 pt C2S at standard, and 18 pt to 32 pt with a soft-touch finish at premium. Flyers start at 80 lb gloss text and climb to 100 lb cover with matte lamination when the piece has to survive being handled. Two variables drive every one of those answers: weight and coating.
Weight decides how substantial a piece feels and whether it survives handling — and the unit lies. Every stock family is weighed against its own parent sheet: text stock as 500 sheets at 25 by 38 inches, cover stock as 500 sheets at 20 by 26 inches. A text sheet is 950 square inches; a cover sheet is 520. The same 80 lb sits on sheets 950 ÷ 520 = 1.83 times smaller, so 80 lb cover runs about 1.8 times heavier per square inch than 80 lb text. GSM fixes this by measuring every family against the same square meter: 80 lb text lands near 118 gsm, 80 lb cover near 216 gsm. Our paper weight converter runs it; the paper weight guide lays the families side by side.
Coating is the other half, and it has nothing to do with weight. A coated sheet carries a thin clay layer that keeps ink on the surface — photos stay sharp, brand colors stay saturated, and gloss, matte, or satin changes the reflection without changing the ink. Uncoated absorbs ink, so color reads a shade softer, but it takes a pen, which is the entire reason letterhead, forms, and comment cards stay uncoated. Points sidestep the pound problem altogether: 14 pt is simply 0.014 inches of caliper, measured directly. Our print finishes guide covers lamination and soft-touch, and the business card stocks guide goes deep on cards.
Run one by hand. You are printing flyers for a weekend handout — thousands of them, read once, recycled. Choose flyer, economy volume handout, coated, and the answer is 80 lb gloss text: light, inexpensive to mail, color that pops. Now change one input. Same flyer, but it is a counter piece that sits out for a month and gets picked up daily — choose durable handled and you land near 100 lb cover with matte lamination, roughly twice the substance for the same design. The same logic sorts a rack brochure from one handed across a counter. Whatever the tool returns, the final stock is confirmed on your quote and you approve a proof before anything runs.
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