Office Paper Buying Tips - Part 1

Many people think that buying paper for copiers, printers, etc is an easy task, but business, schools, and institutions waste an exorbitant amount of money every year by ordering or using the wrong paper for the job. We decided to give some quick tips for people who think they might fall into this category, a super crash course on paper buying.

Many types of paper are specifically designed for certain uses, while also remaining viable for general-purpose copying and printing. The main categories of paper are as follows -- this list is not exhaustive, but is meant to cover the general categories of paper you will find on our site and elsewhere.

» Multi-purpose Paper
» Laser printer paper
» Inkjet Printer Paper
» Color Copier Paper
» Recycled Paper
» Security paper

Before we continue with the guide, we should definitely get some of the terminology out of the way to prevent any confusion for first-time or inexperienced buyers.

» Acid-Free: This describes paper made without process acids. Acid-free paper has a longer shelf life and is good for long term archiving without turning yellow.

» Basis Weight – This term describes the weight of 500 sheets of paper as measured in lbs. The higher the weight, the thicker and more substantial the paper (16lbs, 20lbs and 24lbs are common weights). Thicker paper is used for things like resumes, cards, invitations, while lighter paper is used for more common jobs.

» Caliper – The caliper of paper is its thickness measured in thousandths of an inch or in millimeters. The higher the caliper the thicker the paper. Higher caliper paper also has a higher basis weight as described above.

» Post Consumer Fiber – The amount of previously-used paper material contained in recycled paper. Expressed as a percentage of the overall material used to make the paper.

» Ream – The ream is the basic bulk unit of paper - equal to 500 sheets of paper.

» Sizes – The U.S. standard measurements are 8.5” x 11” (Letter), 8.5” x 14’ (Legal); European sizes (A4, A5, etc.)

» Smoothness – This one is self-explanatory, but as a note, the smoother the paper the sharper the printed image. Lower smoothness indicates smoother paper.

Come back next week for our explanation of each type of paper and how it should be used to get the most our of it!