In China, we often say: people rely on clothes, horses rely on saddles. The same goes paper for book printing. We often say that paper determines the quality of book printing. Different paper, the book quality is distinct. So what are the factors that paper affects the quality of book printing? We summarize as the following 5 factors.

1. The gram weight of paper

The paper we often use for book printing ranges from tens of grams to 200 grams. Different gram weight weight of paper, the quality of printing books also different. Usually, heavier gram weights are better than smaller gram weights. But is is not absolute. We often select the gram weight of paper depends on the number of pages in your book. To put it simply,if your number of pages is less, often choosing paper with a large gram weight. And the printing effect will be better than small gram weight paper.

2. The printing paper types

As we all know, different types of printing paper, the quality of book printing is very different. We often use printing paper for book printing are matte paper, coated paper, offset paper. Even with different types of printing paper in the same gram, the print quality is different. Such as, custom art book printing use 157g coated paper and 157g offset paper separately. This kind of book with a large of photos in it. If use 157g offset paper to print this kind of book, the quality of the pictures are far from that of the 157g coated paper. Whether from color or texture, coated paper and matte paper are better than offset paper. The pattern is printed in the coated paper, which looks more bright and lifelike. But the pattern print on offset paper looks very rough and dim. That’s why many people choose coated paper and matte paper to custom cookbook, photo book, etc.

3. The brand of paper.

The same type and gram weight of paper. If the brand is different, the book printing quality will be big different. But the price of brand printing paper is more higher than ordinary printing paper. So when you choose the paper for custom book printing service. You need to consider your book type and your budget.

4.whiteness of paper

The whiteness of paper refers to the degree of reflection of visible light by the paper. If the paper reflects almost all the colors in the visible wavelength range. Then its color is close to pure white, and the whiteness is very high. The paper with high whiteness can reflect all the remaining part of the color light after the selective absorption of the ink. Realize the color reproduction of the printed matter. And give full play to the color characteristics of the ink.

Due to pulp raw materials and other reasons, the whiteness of the paper may not be high. It may turn gray, and some papers will be yellowish. And the paper that has added fluorescent whitening agent tends to be blue. The paper has low whiteness and strong absorption, which will make the color of the printed matter dull. The brightness and saturation will be reduced.

Because of the contrast of the brightness of the color, the whiteness of the paper will affect the layering of the picture. From the perspective of color vision, the paper is whiter; the ink is darker. The clarity is also better, and the layers are more prominent. But, the paper is grayer, the color of the book printing is duller, and the poor contrast.

5.Smoothness, gloss and absorbency of paper

The smoothness of paper refers to the degree of smoothness, uniformity and smoothness of the surface of the paper.

The glossiness of paper refers to the degree of specular reflection on the surface of the paper. Which can be expressed as a percentage. The gloss is high, the specular reflection is dominant. And the number of diffuse reflection is small.

The absorbency of paper refers to the degree to which the paper absorbs the binder and its solvent in the ink.

Such as,the surface of the coated paper is coated with a layer of paint and super calendered. And its surface smoothness is very high. When we print the ink on the paper, the capillary in the coating layer absorbs evenly. Even if the ink volume is small, it can ensure a high transfer rate. And the ink transfer rate is basically stable when the ink volume changes. So we often use coated paper to custom leather bound photo book printing,because the color is bright and the layers are rich.

The above 5 points are important factors that paper affects the quality of book printing. If you other different view, welcome to share with me.