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How to Choose the best paper for
your next print job
Every magazine and catalog is a brand that
can be enhanced by balancing its high-qualityand high-impact
look and
feel with production efficiencies and cost-containment concerns.
Magazine and catalog publishers can realize substantial
savings by
evaluating carefully the paper grades and basis weights they currently
use to
deliver the publication's desired brand image.
Paper
grade considerations
Frequently, inaugural issues of magazines and catalogs are printed on
bright, heavyweight coated papers that grab the attention of potential
readers and advertisers. While these papers help the new publication
stand out among its competition, they also add to the tactile quality
and overall aesthetics of the publication. This does not go
unoticed.
As the publication matures, costs and revenue growth can become a
concern.
At this point, many magazine and catalog publishers consider
switching to lighter-weight papers that maintain a quality image, yet
significantly reduce overall publishing costs. The selection of
lighter-weight papers includes coated freesheet , lightweight coated
groundwood and supercalendared papers that are available in a range of
basis weights and finishes. Before making any significant changes,
however, publishers should determine the affect that a
change in paper stock will have on the customer satisfaction,
advertising effectiveness and brand identity.
Coated
freesheet papers
As the highest-quality coated papers available on the market, coated
freesheet papers are ideal for high-end fashion, design, lifestyle and
coffee-table-style magazines. These include Architectural Digest, Vogue
and National Geographic, which appeal to upscale audiences and provide
advertising space to companies whose products are rich in color,
texture and beauty. High-end fashion, design and lifestyle catalogs
also are printed on these papers and include Calyx and Carolla, Martha
by Mail and Tiffany's. For these magazines and catalogs, image quality
is paramount; the finest details must be reproduced to
near-photographic quality.
To fulfill these requirements, coated freesheet papers offer
brightness, opacity, a wide range of finishes, exceptional smoothness,
and superior image clarity and sharpness. High-end publications also
have an extended shelf life because they are frequently kept by the
reader for an extended length of time. Due to their archival quality,
coated freesheet papers offer definite advantages for extended-life and
reference-type publications.
Top-of-the-line coated freesheet papers
are purchased at a premium and produce printed pieces with a
substantially higher cost than other paper grades.
Coated
groundwood papers
Coated groundwood papers are an excellent option for lightweight,
highly portable publications that are text-heavy, and have full ink
coverage and minimal white space. Many magazines, particularly those
with limited shelf lives, have successfully migrated from coated
freesheet to coated groundwood papers, including business-to-business,
trade, hobby and special-interest magazines.
Publications such as Time and Newsweek are excellent examples of highly
successful titles that are published on lightweight coated groundwood
stock. Examples of catalogs produced on coated groundwood paper include
those from Avon, Lands' End and Victoria's Secret. Coated groundwood
papers offer publishers a high-quality look and feel by providing
increased opacity at the selected weight, high paper and print gloss
for vibrant printed images, excellent sheet smoothness and enhanced ink
coverage.
Although there are trade-offs in quality, lighter-weight groundwood
papers generally provide significant postal savings while maintaining a
high quaility look and feel. True cost savings depend upon the basis
weight used, but can easily amount to double-digit savings of up to 30
percent vs. coated freesheet papers.
Basis
weight
A switch to lighter basis weight papers can mean purchasing and
distribution savings that can amount to millions of dollars to
publishers of large-run magazines or catalogs. Because lighter basis
weight papers deliver the same number of printed pages with fewer tons
of paper, publishers are able to purchase less paper but deliver the
same number of issues, which results in net financial savings. In
addition, because distribution costs are related to weight and fewer
tons of lighter-weight papers are shipped, lighter basis weight papers
also save on overall distribution costs. Magazines distributed through
circulation sales will benefit more from a reduction in basis weight,
due to savings in postal costs. Catalog mailing costs also will be
substantially decreased as a result of basis weight reductions.
Lower basis weight papers generally exhibit less bulk and opacity than
heavier papers-qualities that change the look and feel of the magazine
or catalog. Publishers who experience problems with opacity as a result
of their decision to use lighter basis weight papers can rely upon
layout techniques to limit image transparency and production devices to
minimize show-through.
By targeting appropriate SWOP ink densities,
print providers can match the paper's capacity to hold out ink.
Printers should also use the highest-tack inks that do not pick, so
sharp dots are printed with minimum ink absorption.
To make lightweight papers more attractive to magazine and catalog
publishers, paper manufacturers have increased the brightness of some
coated products and have worked to improve the paper's print quality.
Unique cost-saving products also have been introduced to the
marketplace. Examples of these include ultralightweight coated
groundwood papers with 30-lb. and lower basis weights and high-bulk
products that provide the look, feel and opacity of heavier-weight
papers.
Conclusion
Managing paper weights and grades is a natural way for magazine and
catalog publishers to save on production costs while maintaining and
even building their publications' brand image over the long
run.
However, too dramatic a change in grade or basis weight could
affect
loyal readers' and advertisers' perceptions of the quality of the
publication. Paper grade changes and basis weight reductions can be
almost invisible if the new paper is designed to emulate some of the
qualities of heavier-weight paper. Magazine and catalog publishers and
printers should work directly with their paper suppliers to determine
appropriate paper grades for a successful transition.
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