Thursday, November 15, 2012
Maximize Your Marketing Dollars with a Wide Selection of Digital Paper
build relationships with customers while improving their bottom lines. Now, an expanding selection of digital paper choices allows companies to maximize their marketing dollars even further. Minneapolis digital printing company Matreks Printing offers its clients a large array of digital paper to meet any type of print marketing need.
What Is Digital Paper?
Many companies may not realize that all printing papers are not created equally, and what is a good choice for offset printing is not the best fit for digital printing. Fortunately, paper companies have developed a variety of different paper types that are digitally optimized to meet the demands of any print marketing campaign.
Most digital papers are freesheet papers, meaning that chemicals are used to reduce the wood pulp to fibers. The chemical process creates a stronger and whiter paper than a mechanical grinding process, which leaves impurities in the paper that makes it brittle and gives it a tendency to yellow.
The Importance of Paper Grain in Digital Printing
All paper can be classified as long grain or short grain. In long grain paper, the grain runs along the long side of the paper, while the grain in short grain paper runs along the short side. Since toner may flake off if the paper is folded against the grain, and digital printing uses toner to transfer a digital image to the paper, it is important that printers pay special attention to the grain of the paper they use. Most papers used with printers that use toner are long-grain papers.
Digital Paper Stock, Grade, Weight and Finish
Digital paper may also be classified by stock, grade, weight and finish. Digital paper may be coated stock or uncoated stock. Coated stock has been treated to block the paper’s absorbency and increase its smoothness, while uncoated paper has not. Antique-looking papers or woven-look papers are often uncoated, while coated papers can be matte or glossy.
Digital papers are also classified by their grade, or quality. Digital papers are usually labeled laser, ink-jet or multipurpose. Digital paper weight is also an important consideration. Papers are weighed in pounds per 500 sheets of paper. The thicker the paper is, the higher its weight will be.
Lastly, digital papers may be categorized by their finish. Finish is an aesthetic choice for companies. For example, does the company want its direct mail campaign to be printed on smooth, glossy paper or rough, matte paper? Often, the theme and style of the marketing campaign will determine a company’s finish choice.
The ever-increasing variety of digital paper available to companies can help them maximize their marketing dollars. To learn more about your digital paper choices, call Matreks Printing today at 952-746-4010.
Posted by Adam Johnston at 1:55 PM