Ahh paper. The basis for all the cards you see on the store. It can also be a bit confusing until you understand all the terms. Here are the three major facts about our paper:
Material: Made from 100% Post-Consumer Recycled Paper
Weight: Our paper is made from 100lb cover stock
Finish: Smooth Matte finish
Now lets go over what each of these items mean and what they mean to you as the consumer.
Material
100% post-consumer recycled paper means that no trees are harmed in the making of our cards. The raw material used to make this paper is what you put out at the curb for recycling. The paper is made of recycled newspaper, cereal boxes, junk mail and other recyclable paper products. This is then processed into the sheets that we use to print our cards. This does mean that occasionally a small artifact can makes it way into the paper and show up as a spec on the finished product. We like to think it adds character.
When comparing papers be sure to look for the percentage of recycled content. The federal rules allow a company to claim they are using recycled paper with as little as a 30% recycled paper content. Now that's not really recycled paper is it?
Weight
Weight refers to how heavy the paper is, which, in turn indicates the thickness of the paper. This weight traditionally refers to the weight of 500 sheets of very large paper. Cover refers to the stiffness of the paper. So, 100 lb cover is a thick firm paper.
To help you visualize how thick our paper is consider this:
- A stack of our paper piled 1 inch high contains between 60-70 sheets, depending on how hard you push.
- A stack of 100 sheets of our 8 /12 x 11 paper weighs 3 lbs 10 oz (regular copy paper would weigh in at 1 lb 2 oz.)
- A dime is as think as three sheets of our stock, a quarter is as think as five or six sheets
A note about thicker papers: When you go much over 100 lb paper you don't get a thicker single sheet of paper. What paper mills tend to do is glue two thinner sheets together. This can be a great product but all that adhesive does no good to the environment. There are specialty single sheets that are thicker but they are expensive and not often used in mass produced cards.
Finish
The finish refers to the feel of the paper. Our stock is smooth and matte. It has a good hand feel and printing quality. The texture of the paper is firm and not soft or textured like older style recycled papers.
One question we get is, why not a glossy finish? Paper is not naturally glossy. The glossy effect comes from coatings and chemicals put on the paper; not what we consider good for the environment.
I hope this answers some of your questions on our paper. If you have any other questions please email or give us a call.
Scott & Caroline
