As a designer, I often get asked what type of paper should I use for my business cards?
And the answer for that is never simple as there are so many choices to choose from. However, some things to consider when picking a paper stock for your cards is the following:
1: Your brand
2: offset vs digital
3: The amount you want printed
4: Specs: double sided, full colour, full bleed, coated/not coated, die cut etc… ?
and like anything else in life, it also boils down to #5: Budget
1: Your brand
A lot can be said for the type of paper you print your cards on. More often the not a staple at any given print house will be either an 80lb cougar or similar stock. That is a very basic type of matte paper and in today’s standards feels quite thin. However, what is your company? If your company is a low cost retail provider, a lower cost card stock may speak to your company’s brand a little more. However, a high end event planner with budgets of the hundreds of thousands may look to a thicker heartier, stock to showcase they are a premium brand
2: Digital vs Offset
The thing with printing is, are you going to use digital or offset in your printing? Digital is cheap & allows you to do very small print runs. However, the paper choices are limited due to the fact that you are putting your paper through a machine. Offset allows for limitless paper choices and often times a higher quality finish and coating.
3: How many will you print
So often people think that if they only get the minimum amount printed that it will be the cheapest. There is no set up in digital printing and therefore small runs are possible. In offset however, many printers have minimum orders. If you do a gang run, often times, they can’t print under 1000. If you want a special coating, there is a minimum there. Printers will often not even offer offset printing for under 500 cards. The reason being is the set up of the plates which takes time, expertise & money to do it correctly and because set up only needs to occur once, the higher amount you order, the better value you attain in the long run.
4: Specs
Discuss with your designer what you want your cards to look like. Like anything, a base model (black only, no bleed, one side), will be the cheapest option on the cheapest paper. However, more then likely, there will be no appeal. Adding special items: die cut, rounded corners, patone colours, coatings, size change, dual sides.. will add to the cost as it adds to the complexity. The things is some paper works better for your specs then others. A matte paper will absorb the ink & give it a darker look then a coated paper. Coated paper allows the ink to sit on top of the cardstock thereby giving it a more vibrant look. This would be better if you are using photographs in your design so as to keep the integrity of the photo.
5: Budget
Like most things in life, anything is possible if you are willing to pay for it. You can have the thickest shiniest, unique cut cards out there but it will cost you. As mentioned above, it comes down to the 4 choices as to how much you will spend. Keep in mind, you do get what you pay for. The cheaper printing houses, skimp on customer service where as higher end printers can look at a job & offer suggestions as to what will make it pop that much more. Digital is more often cheaper then offset. While digital has come a long way it is limited as to the types of paper it can use & the quality to which it prints. If you are looking for state of the art cards, offset is your choice. Again, any type of paper can be used. Most designers prefer working with offset as it provides a higher quality. Some printing companies offer gang runs where by offering higher quality papers at cheaper costs as they lump projects together but you are at the whim of their specs.
All in all, like anything, you need to decide what represents your company best. 80lb Matte is deemed on the lower end of the spectrum while many printers are offering stock as high as 16pt to give a very crisp strong card. 12pt or 14pt coated card stock is the median and usually offered at most print houses.
