In today’s digitalized world, leaflets are printed abundantly. But, very often people fail to choose the right type of paper to promote their purpose. They fail to stick to the established standards as far as their leaflets are concerned. Thus, selecting a paper for various leaflet designs is a very crucial task.

Three main characteristics of papers to consider while designing leaflets:

Deciding the paper sizes:

The standard paper sizes are: A3, A4, A5, A6 and DL. Each size marks an explicit need. Thus it is important to choose sizes according to your purpose.

A3 paper: It measures 29.7 x 42.0cm, 11.69 x 16.53 inches. Being a pretty large paper size, it can be used when we need to include images along with our promotional text.

A4 paper: It measures 21.0 x 29.7cm, 8.27 x 11.69 inches. This is a standard size. Generally companies prefer this size because it is spacious enough to include one or two images to complement the text and not too large to distribute in mass quantity.

A5 paper: It measures 14.8 x 21 cm, 5.8 x 8.3 inches. This is an ideal size if you want to prepare user manual booklets or a detailed summary of your product or service.

A6 paper: It measures 10.5 x 14.8cm, 4.1 x 5.8 inches. As this is shorter than the A5, these papers are used ideally for postcards or library microfiches.

DL paper: It measures 10cm x 21cm, 3.9 × 8.2 inches. Even though DL papers are a third size of A4 papers, they can be of excellent for sending short messages like short invitations or birthday/ formal wishes.

Deciding the paper weight:

Weights are usually measured in Grams per Square Meter (gsm). The standard weights used are: 150gsm (standard), 80gsm and 250gsm. However, these weights might wary depending on the paper type and need.

80gsm weight papers:  80gsm weight papers are generally cheap in quality and can be used when you need to distribute leaflets in a mass quantity with the magazines and newspapers. They serve for cheapest online printing.

150gsm weight papers: The standard weight, suits almost every type of flyer from posters, invitations to business catalogues.

250gsm weight papers: Being a bit heavier, these are used for magazines or newsletter covers and greeting cards.

Deciding the paper type/quality:

The two main qualities of papers that are used in leaflet printing are coated and uncoated papers.

Coated papers:

These papers have a clay coating to give a smooth effect to the papers. They bring alive the colors used, which turns out to be extremely promising for printing introductory leaflets. These papers come in two different varieties: Silk or matt (dulls the color a tad and vulnerable to fingerprints) and Gloss (reflects lights, thus best used for artistic leaflets).

Uncoated papers:

These do not have a coating over them, thus are a bit rougher than the coated papers. These have the tendency to absorb the ink, so they are often dull the colors. Best use for such papers is when you are on a budget and need cheap leaflets printing.

Thus, with the correct selection of the above three categories in the best way to complement each other, you can choose the precise leaflet paper to serve your purpose.