Paper and Board

As well as the design of your business stationery, the papers and board that it is printed on will also have a great effect on the final look, feel and impact.

Papers can be described in terms of their colour (and/or whiteness), finish (texture or otherwise) and weight. (gsm).

Colour

Papers can obviously come in different colours, but it should also be remembered that white is rarely if ever white! Some may appear slightly greyer, many have a blue hint. You need to determine exactly what you want and specify this if you want consistency in your stationery.

Finish/Texture

Different papers have different finishes and textures. In a “Laid” paper the fibres are are aligned to give the appearance of fine lines within the body of the paper. For a smoother finish go for a “wove” finish. Certain papers are also available with super smooth finishes such as Conqueror CX22. It also possible for the paper to have a specialist finish added after making such as the contour finish in the Conqueror range. 

Watermarks

Some papers, notably Conqueror, come with a watermark within the paper. This is created during the making, it is not printed on later. The watermark will be visible within your stationery if you choose one of these papers

Weight

The weight of paper is expressed in gsm or grams per square meter. As it says, this is a measure of the weight a single square metre sized sheet of the paper will weigh in grams. Simplistically, the heavier the paper of the same type the thicker the sheet.

However life is rarely that simple as the construction and density of the paper also comes into play. A heavier paper may be denser and thinner giving a higher quality feel.

Simply Letterheads

All of our papers have been selected for their quality relative to the price.

Our standard paper is known as Soporset and is a smooth, bright white paper. This is available as standard 100gsm or for a more prestigious feel try the heavier 120gsm.

Our premium Conqueror paper comes in a number of different finishes. The smoothest finish is the CX22, followed by the smooth wove and then the Laid and texture styles. All are 100gsm and watermarked.

We also offer a standard recycled wove paper which is 100% post consumer waste in both 100gsm and 120gsm. A 25% recycled Conqueror paper is available in both CX22 and Wove finishes. This is only available in 100gsm and is watermarked.

The board options for our business cards are both bright white, ultra smooth 335gsm or 400gsm boards.

Environmental Considerations

All of the papers that we offer contain wood fibres that originally were sourced from well managed forests. This has led some to criticise the environmental impact of the entire paper industry. In truth the reputable companies and mills from which we source our papers and boards, if anything have a positive impact on their local environments and the dissemination of information on paper may, surprisingly, have a smaller carbon footprint than electronic alternatives. For more details click here.

As well as papers using virgin wood fibres we also offer 3 recycled stocks. The largest environmental advantage that comes from selecting a paper with recycled content for your stationery is the reduction in waste paper going to landfill that results. Used paper that would previously have gone to landfill is instead diverted into the production of recycled material.

There is a limit to the number of times wood fibres can be reprocessed so there will always be the need for forest management and harvesting but by selecting a recycled stock the maximum value and use of that harvested wood can be achieved.