What You Should Know About Paper Weight For Printing and Copying

What is Paper Weight and Why Does it Matter?

Many of the digital copiers and printers manufactured by Xerox feature the option to select various paper weights for your digital printing needs. Paper is generally classified by type, color, size, and weight. It is measured by the grams or pounds distributed per square meter.

Unless you know a thing or two about digital printing, you are less likely to be familiar with paper weights. If you grew up at a time when the office workspace was going paperless you are more likely to come across Plain copy paper. Plain paper such as Xerox Multipurpose is considered to be lightweight. Plain is generally used for draft documents and everyday copying.

Xerox Bold

Xerox Bold weighs 24 lbs / 90 gsm, and you can feel that it is heavier than Plain when you hold a stack. The surface of this paper is smooth, and its thickness provides a nice solid background for digital prints. This is the kind of paper that should be used with more formal documents. Formal documents may include illustrations, photos, company logos, and schematics. The fibers of heavier paper improve the ink absorption process, thus resulting in higher resolution.

You can go heavier than Bold with the three card stock categories, which include:

• Lightweight
• Standard
• Heavy

What Paper Weight Should I Use?

Color images look better when they are printed on standard card stock, but if you want a keepsake of a photograph, you will want heavy card stock that weighs 100 lbs / 270 gsm; this is also an ideal paper for special print projects such as the covers of employee manuals or trust documents.

Depending on the Xerox copier or digital printer you use, the automatic detection of paper weights may or may not be available. For this reason, it is important to configure the machine so that the print job is carried out appropriately. There is more than just the adjustment of the tray and feeder; the machine needs to internally set adequate the pressure, speed, ink density, and temperature.

If you would like to buy or lease a Xerox product that allows you to select the paper weight for maximum results, call San Jose Copier today!