Your chosen paper finishes play a significant role in the success of your print job. Choose one which isn’t suitable, and you could end up with something that glares and is unreadable under lights, or doesn’t present your images to their best advantage.
Thankfully you don’t need to do this alone; our design and printing teams are experienced in selecting the best paper finishes for any job – including yours! It is important though that you understand the types of paper finishes that are recommended for your print jobs.
Differences Between Types of Paper Finishes
When choosing the type of paper for your print job, there’s more than its colour to consider. Paper weight, opacity, coated or uncoated and brightness need to be decided upon. Then there are paper finishes. The paper finish refers to the texture or surface of the paper or cardstock. The finish affects the way the paper looks and feels.
Silk, gloss and uncoated are the three most common paper finishes, but there are plenty more. Let’s look at what finishes are available:
Standard Paper finishes
- Gloss – a very shiny finish which shows off colours wonderfully, a glossy finish is often chosen for photos, detailed images, and brochures.
- Silk – a step below glossy, paper with a silk finish has a slight sheen, while still having a high level of readability. Great for leaflets, booklets, and brochures. This is the most common finish we use.
- Satin – kind of between glossy and matte, a satin finish is easier to read from than gloss and is great for gallery quality photographs, albums, and scrapbooks.
- Matte – great for printing documents or tickets, matt finish paper is easy to read, looks professional and doesn’t show fingerprints like gloss finishes do. The printing process produces a print that has a sheen to it, so print jobs with a full coverage of colour will not end up particularly matte.
Specialty Paper finishes
- Eggshell or Felt – used for covers and brochures, paper with these finishes have a texture made using rubber marking rolls, or actual felt blankets applied when the paper is still wet. Used in wedding invitations, cards, personal stationery, and menus.
- Metallic – if you want a sparkle or shine, then a metallic finish is for you. Suitable for high end menus, invitations, weddings, crafts, and stationery.
- Vellum – a transparent paper that kind of looks like frosted glass. Suitable for invitations and packaging embellishments.
We’re very happy to assist with your paper selection, helping you select the most suitable finish which meets all your requirements, including your budget. Get in touch with our team today to have a chat about how we can help, and browse through our printing products to see the types of print jobs we can assist you with.