Printing Paper Types, Availability, Varieties & Application

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The article below is for informational purposes only. While we do print, we however do not stock paper for selling purposes. This is a guide for our potential customers to understand papers that may or may not be available for printing their projects on. Explore what we print by clicking the button below.

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The variety of paper that can be used in printing various promotional materials is quite wide. Brands must however be cognisant that there are some papers that experience consistent demand and thus they are generally available in the local market. Unfortunately, paper production in Kenya stopped at the once giant manufacturing plant, Webuye Pan Paper Mills. Revival is just a pipe dream. We currently depend on imported paper.

Paper comes in various weights, colours, grades of whiteness, brightness and smoothness. You can explore more about these terms here.

GSM: this is a common term printers refer to. When a printer asks you the grammage of paper you’re going to use, they want to know how heavy the sheet of paper is per square meter. This brings about the term “Grams Per Square Metre”. You’ll find it written as g/m² or GSM in your quote. This weight of paper is determined using ISO 536. The higher the GSM, the heavier the paper, the thicker the paper and the more expensive the paper will be.

Below we highlight the common types, their applications, some of the paper weights and general availability in Kenya (readily available).

Plain Paper
Art Paper
Art Board
Ivory Board
Cover Board
Chip Board
Self Adhesive
Conqueror™, Royal, Classic
No Carbon Required Paper
Newsprint
Other Paper Options

Plain Paper

Also commonly referred to as bond paper. At 80 GSM, this paper is available in a variety of colours. This is one of the most versatile papers and has one of the widest applications. From normal office printing to book printing, from notebooks to flyers and posters.

This paper has an uncoated finish. The easiest way to tell uncoated paper versus coated paper is looking at normal photocopy paper versus what is used in magazines respectively.

GSM: 60, 70 (rare), 80, 100

Cartridge paper is a close alternative to this and is available, but rare availability, in higher grammages such as 120 and 150 GSM

Art Paper

This is another versatile paper available in gloss and matte finish. They are also referred to as coated papers as they have the matte/gloss coat on top giving them a smooth finish suitable for marketing materials. This can be used in books inside pages, flyers, company profiles, brochures, calendars, magazines and anything similar.

GSM: 90 (rare and feels very light), 115, 130, 150 (commonly used if you are targeting a somewhat premium feel), 170 (is heavy and has a premium feel)

Art Board

Board papers refer to card stock papers. Papers that are thick enough to feel like a card. Art Board, just like the art paper above are coated papers and have a matte/gloss coat. They also have a smooth finish. They are suitable for book covers, premium pamphlets, business cards, menu cards, greeting cards, certificates and much more.

GSM: 200, 250, 300 (common for business cards), 350 (for premium business cards)

Ivory Board

This is a premium, uncoated card stock paper. They have a silk smooth finish and usually in brilliant white. They are suitable for government or NGO business cards that are not graphic intensive. The paper can sometimes be used in book covers of specific applications as it is an expensive paper.

GSM: 250 (rare), 300

Cover Board

The name of this paper gives its purpose away. It is meant for book covers and applications where you require minimal cracking on the paper such as carrier bags (gift bags). The paper is coated on one side. The version locally available is matte coated.

GSM: 250, 300

Chip Board

Available in white, grey and brown. This paper is used in a variety of applications complementing your printed works e.g. they can be used as bottom pads for looseleaf pads.

GSM: 250, 300, 350, 400

Self-Adhesive

Also referred to as sticker paper. This can be used on various labelling applications especially product labelling. As it is paper based, it is suitable for products that do not interact with water/oil. There are PVC based stickers printed with specialty printers for higher end label applications.

GSM: 100

Conqueror™, Royal, Classic

For corporate communication, it has been a long tradition to use this type of paper. They are textured and their finish is referred to as laid finish. They are commonly used on letterheads, complimentary slips and other official communication. They are available in white, cream and blue.

GSM: 80, 100

No Carbon Required (NCR) Paper

This paper has a name that suggests what it does. Before the arrival of this paper, it was common practice to duplicate receipts/forms with carbon paper. This paper eliminates the need for this. The paper is available in white, green, pink, yellow and blue; top middle and bottom variants. A triplicate document would need a top, middle and bottom paper for example all in different colours. Suitable for printing business forms such as invoices, receipts, delivery notes and more.

GSM: 52, 56, 60 (rare)

Newsprint

This is a cheap, often recycled paper used for various one-off applications. As the name suggests, it is normally used in newspapers. Other applications include one colour posters, fliers and business forms. Available in off-white, pink, yellow and blue.

GSM: 50

Paper Terms and Other Resources You can Explore

Bristol board is an uncoated, machine-finished paperboard named after Bristol City in England. More here…

Bond paper is similar to bank paper but has a weight greater than 50 GSM. It can be used as an alternative to plain paper at 80 GSM and is good for common stationery such as letterheads, complementary slips and even normal writing. More here…

Bank paper is a light and strong paper weighing less than 50 GSM. It is used for certain stationery in banks, typewriting and correspondence.

Paperboard is a firm thick paper normally with a thickness of greater than 0.25mm or weight greater than 224 GSM. Its wide variety allows for wide applications such as book covers, post cards, business cards etc. More here…

Manila paper is cheaper compared to other card stock papers. It not as strong as paperboard and is lighter than paperboard. It is normally used for art and craft purposes and can be found in various colours. It can also be used to print covers especially for files and folders. More here…

Newsprint is a common paper which you might be interacting with daily in newspapers. It is low-cost and is suitable for one colour prints such as fliers and posters. It can also be used to make receipts as it can be found in various colours to separate the duplicate and triplicate. More here…

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