How to use cheap paper and not save money

Answer: Make that choice on a short run. The fact is that cheaper paper will always save some money, but it's often an insignificant amount, and the choice may do more harm that good. The main factor to consider is run length, and therefore how much paper you're buying. Let's talk about an average brochure by way of example: a letter size brochure, full color on both sides and folded.

At a quantity of 1,000 printed on 100# gloss text, this job will cost about $360 at our shop. It's a great sheet of paper for a self mailer or rack brochure...substantial, but not quite card stock. If you tinker a little, and change to 80# gloss text, you'll save a whopping $8, and the paper will be a little floppy. That's a savings of about 2%.

Go to the illogical extreme of the paper spectrum; run the same job the same way on 20# copier paper, and you will absolutely sacrifice the quality of the printing to save $19, or about 5%. In return you'll get a job which looks, for want of a better term, "homemade". Translation: death at the mailbox when it shows up next to that mailer from the Gap, or Pottery Barn.

At a small quantity of 500 or 1,000 you should always pay for the good stuff, maybe even upgrade the stock...the effectiveness of the brochure will be a good return on the investment of less than $20.

The same comparison doesn't yield the same result at a higher quantity. At 10,000 brochures the cost savings from switching paper is $115, or 12%. The more paper involved in the job, the more potential savings can be found and balanced against the detrimental effect on quality. (I'm not saying it's a good idea to run anything on copier paper...just to point out that, as the quantity increases the percentage of the total cost devoted to paper increase as well.) As always, this is best investigated in a discussion with your print vendor.

A significant, and often hidden, cost regarding paper is a customer specification of "Recycled". Particularly in the coated grades, these papers come at a steep price premium and limited availability. My recommendation if you seek a quote specifying "Recycled Paper" is that you also ask for an optional proposal for "Non-Recycled" and compare the two. That way you can balance your agencies "green" aspirations against it's budget. We quoted a job recently where the cost difference amounted to almost $2,000.

Further, if you decide on the "Recycled" option, ask for a written statement of exactly what paper was used:

Among less scrupulous vendors it will sometimes happen that a job is priced one way and run another, and it may be impossible to tell the difference afterwards. It's a good idea to take concrete steps to remove this temptation, and allow all your vendors to compete on a level playing field.

One final note on the subject of paper...it's heavy! If you are mailing, the weight per piece will jack up your postage every time you go to the next ounce, and if you're shipping the total weight can turn out to be quite impressive. An awareness of this physical aspect of your job can help you control these costs, and prevent surprises at a point, where I always hate to point out, it's too late to do anything about it.

One side effect of new printing technologies, and the lowered cost of full color printing, is that paper has become a truly secondary concern. Just as the choice you make about which kind of cone to get with your ice cream, the paper is not the main attraction. Paper companies, adjusting to new economic realities, are keeping fewer items in inventory and at lower levels. You can't print without it, however, and an active, informed choice about paper is always preferable to going with a default.

The right choices about weight, finish, color and texture can all enhance the effectiveness of your project, and sometimes at a cost which makes you wonder why you didn't switch a long time ago.

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Hugh Butler
Your friend in the printing business