There’s no single “best” paper for printing. The right stock depends on what you’re printing, how it will be used, how long it needs to last, the artwork, the finish and your budget. As a starting point, we’d usually suggest 170gsm or 300gsm for flyers, 400gsm matt laminated for business cards, 115gsm or 170gsm for posters, and heavier or specialist stocks where durability or a premium finish matters. GSM is weight, not thickness, and coated, uncoated, laminated, waterproof and specialist stocks all behave differently — so if you’re unsure, it’s worth choosing the stock around the finished job rather than simply picking the highest GSM.
There isn’t really one “best” paper for printing.
The right stock depends on what you’re printing, how it’s going to be used, how long it needs to last, what the artwork looks like, what finish you want and, of course, your budget.
That’s why we don’t tend to recommend paper based purely on GSM or price. A heavier stock isn’t automatically better, and a more expensive stock isn’t necessarily the right choice for the job.
For a cheap flyer that’s going to be handed out and thrown away, 170gsm might be exactly right. For a business card, we’d normally start at 400gsm with a matt laminate. For a poster that will only be up for a couple of weeks, 115gsm can be perfectly adequate.
The important bit is choosing the stock that suits the finished product.
GSM stands for grams per square metre. It tells you the weight of the paper, not its thickness.
That distinction matters.
Two different stocks with the same GSM can feel quite different in your hand. They can have different thicknesses, stiffness, surfaces and finishes.
So simply comparing two products and assuming that the one with the higher GSM must be more premium can be misleading.
As a rough guide, lighter papers are generally more flexible, while heavier card stocks tend to feel stiffer and more substantial. But there are plenty of exceptions.
There are also practical reasons not to simply choose the heaviest stock available.
For example, if you’re sending thousands of items through the post or doing a large door drop, extra paper weight can increase distribution costs.
Very heavy stocks can also affect folding and finishing. A thick card with a laminate, for instance, normally needs to be properly creased before folding to minimise cracking.
If somebody comes to us asking for “the thickest business card possible”, we’ll usually have a conversation about what they actually want the card to feel like. Sometimes a multi-layer board, specialist stock or particular finish achieves the result much better than simply chasing a higher GSM number.
There are also physical limits to what different printing presses can accept.
This is one of the biggest choices when selecting a stock.
Again, neither is universally better.
Coated stocks, such as silk, usually give brighter, more vibrant colours.
Photography, colourful graphics and large areas of rich colour generally reproduce very well on coated paper.
A silk stock is a good general-purpose choice because it gives you strong colour without the very shiny finish associated with traditional gloss paper.
For many flyers, brochures and posters, silk is the obvious starting point.
Uncoated paper has a more natural feel and can give a completely different impression.
Depending on the design, it can feel understated, premium, tactile or environmentally focused.
It works particularly well when the paper itself is part of the design.
The trade-off is that colours won't normally appear as bright as they do on coated paper.
Ink behaves differently on an uncoated surface, and sometimes that softer appearance is exactly what you want.
There’s also an important difference between lithographic and digital printing here.
For a truly uncoated result, wet ink from a lithographic press is difficult to replicate with digital toner. Digital printing onto an uncoated stock can still look excellent, particularly on short runs, but toner sits differently on the surface.
Interestingly, that difference can sometimes be used deliberately as an effect rather than being seen as a limitation.
The printing process matters as much as the stock.
Digital printing is brilliant for short runs, quick turnaround and variable data, but it uses toner rather than traditional wet ink.
Lithographic printing uses wet ink, which behaves differently on paper and is particularly noticeable on uncoated stocks.
Litho also allows us to work with some heavier or more specialist materials, although it can require more production time.
Uncoated litho work in particular may need additional drying time. Damp conditions can slow this further, and printed sheets need to be handled properly to avoid ink transferring or offsetting onto the sheet above.
Finishing matters too.
When something is going to be folded, we consider the grain direction of the paper and normally crease heavier stocks before folding. That helps minimise cracking and gives a much cleaner result.
These are the sorts of details that are difficult to see when you’re simply selecting “300gsm” from a dropdown box.
No.
There are plenty of situations where lighter is better.
A lightweight leaflet going through thousands of letterboxes may be more economical to produce and distribute.
A short-term promotional poster doesn’t need to be printed on heavy card.
At the other end of the scale, greetings cards, folded menus and other items that need structural stiffness often benefit from a heavier stock.
It comes down to what the paper needs to do.
For flyers, we no longer offer 115gsm as a standard option. We found it simply felt too light and, depending on the artwork, printing could show through from one side to the other.
For a budget flyer, we normally start at 170gsm.
For most marketing flyers where presentation matters, we’d generally suggest 300gsm.
This is probably the most important consideration.
A beautiful finish is no good if it stops the product doing its job.
A good example is loyalty cards.
A customer might quite reasonably think a laminated loyalty card feels more premium. But if staff need to stamp it every time somebody visits, a standard ink stamp may struggle to dry on the laminated surface.
In that situation, we might suggest an uncoated stock instead.
Alternatively, if the customer really wants the laminated finish, we also supply inks specifically designed to work on laminated and glossy surfaces.
The stock choice should support the product rather than fight against it.
Finishing shouldn't really be chosen separately from the stock.
Certain finishes require particular surfaces.
Spot UV, for example, needs to be applied over a matt laminate.
Laminates also generally perform better on coated stocks.
If you're planning premium finishing, we'd normally recommend starting with a card stock rather than a lightweight paper.
Matt lamination, gloss lamination, spot UV, foiling and other finishes can completely change how a printed piece feels.
Often the perceived quality of the finished product comes as much from the combination of stock and finishing as it does from the GSM.
Sometimes a relatively small change can dramatically improve the result.
We regularly print flyers for Juice Plus on 300gsm silk.
For one event, they wanted something that felt much more like a premium invitation.
Rather than moving to an extremely expensive specialist stock, we suggested upgrading to 400gsm card with a matt laminate.
The increase in cost was relatively small, but the finished product felt completely different.
That sort of change is often much more effective than simply choosing the most expensive paper available.
We once had a customer who wanted a full-bleed black design printed on a hammered stock and finished with gloss.
There were two problems.
Firstly, applying a gloss finish would have hidden much of the texture that made the hammered stock interesting in the first place.
Secondly, that particular stock had quite dusty edges. A heavy full-bleed black area could therefore be vulnerable to chipping around the edges.
We talked it through with the customer and suggested going in the opposite direction.
We kept the hammered stock, printed it uncoated and inverted the artwork so that the design used black on the natural white stock rather than flooding the sheet with black.
The texture remained part of the finished piece, there was no issue with dark edges chipping, and the customer was very happy with the result.
Sometimes the best paper choice involves adapting the artwork rather than simply changing the stock.
All of our standard stocks are FSC-certified.
We also offer fully recycled and part-recycled stocks.
Recycled papers are generally more expensive, so we normally quote them specifically for each job rather than treating them as a standard upgrade.
We work closely with our paper suppliers and test the stocks we use before offering them to customers.
That applies to normal coated papers, recycled stocks and specialist materials.
We also offer kraft papers and a huge range of coloured and specialist stocks.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of possibilities available once you move beyond standard white paper: textured sheets, coloured boards, pearlescent finishes, heavily tactile papers and stocks designed to give a deliberately natural or recycled appearance.
These can make a huge difference where the material itself forms part of the brand or design.
Specialist papers aren't only about appearance.
Outdoor printing is a good example.
Customers often ask us to encapsulate a poster because they want it to survive outside.
We have tear-resistant waterproof stocks that can often produce a much nicer finished result while still being competitively priced.
There are also specialist products such as blueback paper for billboard posting.
Choosing the right material can often remove the need for additional finishing entirely.
Sometimes the best “paper” choice isn't paper at all.
Signage is a common example.
Customers often ask for Correx because it's inexpensive.
Correx is perfectly good for temporary signage, but it's a fluted material. It can crease relatively easily, and the ridged structure is visible, so it doesn't give the most premium appearance.
Depending on the job, we'll often suggest Foamex instead.
It's similarly priced in many situations, but has a smooth face, feels more substantial, lasts longer and has a little more weight, which can be useful for free-standing or outdoor signage.
Again, neither material is universally better. It's about understanding how the sign will actually be used.
These aren't hard rules, but they're useful starting points.
For inexpensive promotional flyers, we'd normally start with 170gsm.
For something that needs to feel more substantial, 300gsm is often a better choice.
Both work well in silk or uncoated depending on the artwork and the impression you're trying to create.
Our standard starting point is 400gsm with a matt laminate.
Anything below that tends to feel noticeably cheaper.
There are, however, lots of other options available, including specialist papers, multi-layer cards and premium finishes.
For normal short-term posters, 115gsm silk is usually perfectly adequate.
If the poster needs to stay up longer or you want something more substantial, 170gsm silk or uncoated is a good step up.
For outdoor or specialist applications, we'd look at waterproof, tear-resistant or purpose-made poster stocks.
Menus vary enormously depending on how they're going to be used.
A 300gsm silk or uncoated stock is a good starting point.
For something more durable and premium, 400gsm with matt lamination works very well.
Restaurant and bar menus may also need to take cleaning, moisture and repeated handling into account.
We commonly use 170gsm or 300gsm, depending on the size, format and number of folds.
Heavier stocks usually need to be creased before folding.
A 300gsm uncoated stock is a very good starting point.
For something more distinctive, specialist papers such as Tintoretto Gesso can work beautifully.
Foiling, lamination and other finishing options can take the result further again.
We often recommend a 300gsm board with a gloss side and an uncoated reverse.
That gives you strong photographic or graphic reproduction on the front while keeping the back easy to write on.
A similar approach works well here: a glossy or coated exterior with an uncoated interior for writing.
We normally suggest 300gsm uncoated, particularly where the card needs to be written on or stamped.
For longer-term outdoor applications, our tear-resistant waterproof stock is often an excellent option and can be preferable to encapsulating a conventional poster.
We don't simply add a paper to the website because a supplier happens to stock it.
When we introduce a new material, we test it and work with our paper suppliers to make sure it's suitable for the way we're going to print and finish it.
We also keep samples of pretty much every stock we've printed over the years.
That means if somebody wants something unusual, there's a good chance we can physically compare options rather than relying purely on a specification sheet.
And if a stock changes or starts giving us quality problems, we'll stop offering it.
We need to be confident in the finished product before we're prepared to put our name on it.
The best paper is the one that fits the job.
A 170gsm flyer can be better than a 400gsm one if you're distributing 20,000 of them.
An uncoated stock can make a beautifully understated invitation, but might not be the right choice for artwork that relies on extremely bright photography.
A laminated business card can feel excellent, but may cause problems if somebody needs to write or stamp on it.
And sometimes spending a small amount more on the right finish produces a much more noticeable improvement than spending heavily on the paper itself.
That's why every product we offer has a selection of stocks rather than one “best” option.
If you're not sure, tell us what you're producing, what it's for and roughly what you want to spend.
We'll talk you through the options and help you choose a stock that works for the finished job rather than simply recommending the biggest GSM number on the list.
Can't find what you need?
If your spec is awkward, custom, or just not listed yet, send us the details and we will help.
There isn't one GSM that's best for every print job. For flyers, we'd commonly use 170gsm for a lighter, economical option or 300gsm for something more substantial. Business cards normally start around 400gsm, while short-term posters can work perfectly well on 115gsm. The right weight depends on what you're printing and how it's going to be used.
Usually, but GSM actually measures weight rather than thickness. Two different 300gsm stocks can have noticeably different thicknesses and stiffness. If thickness or rigidity is important to the finished product, it's better to choose the stock based on a physical sample or ask us rather than comparing the GSM number alone.
Neither is inherently better. Silk generally gives brighter, more vibrant colours and works particularly well for photography and colourful artwork. Uncoated paper has a softer, more natural feel and can give print a premium or more environmentally focused appearance, although colours are generally less vibrant.
For most flyers, we'd recommend either 170gsm or 300gsm in silk or uncoated stock. We no longer normally offer 115gsm flyers because we found them too lightweight and printing could show through from one side to the other. For cheap, short-lived flyers 170gsm is a good choice; for something that needs to feel more substantial, we'd normally move to 300gsm.
Our normal starting point is 400gsm card with a matt laminate. It gives a substantial feel without needing an exotic stock. There are plenty of other options, though, including textured papers, specialist finishes and multi-layer cards where something more distinctive is required.
Yes. For outdoor applications we offer tear-resistant waterproof stocks that can be a better option than printing a normal poster and encapsulating it. The right material depends on where the poster will be displayed and how long it needs to last.
Uncoated paper absorbs ink differently from coated paper, so colours tend to look softer and less vibrant. The printing process matters as well. Traditional lithographic printing uses wet ink that absorbs into the paper, while digital toner sits more on the surface and can introduce some sheen, particularly where there is heavy toner coverage.
By Charlie Langridge