We hope this guide will help you when choosing a paper for every job, allowing you to recognise the different benefits a paper offers and ensuring you get the right paper, for the right job every time.
Size and price are the obvious factors when choosing a paper, but it's always good to also consider the weight and the paper’s environmental credentials too.
What is the paper for?
This should be the first question to consider when choosing a paper, the table below will give you a good idea of which paper best suits which jobs.
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Catalogue Number and Size |
Emails, Faxes, Notes, Agendas, Internal communications, short lived documents | Newsletters, Basic flyers, Reports, Homework, internal documents with some colour | Letters, Presentations, handouts, low importance external documents with some colour coverage | Certificates, Brochures, Posters, reports, Important external documents, with a high level of colour coverage | |
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If you are looking for an inexpensive copier paper for use within an office, school or generally in an environment where the paper will be thrown away once used, then lightweight or a recycled paper is a good choice. Although the colour of recycled paper can differ more than other quality copier papers, using recycled paper helps you do your bit for the environment! |
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| White Copier Paper | 819151 - A4 | √ | √ | ||
| Xerox Recycled copier paper 80gsm off white | 819250 - A4 | √ | √ | ||
| Evolution Business Recycled copier paper white |
819607 - A4 819865 - A3 |
√ | √ | √ | |
| If recycled paper isn’t suitable then 70 – 75gsm copier papers are a similar alternative. These papers are ideal for large volume printing such as general office documents. | |||||
| Woodland Trust Copier Paper 75gsm |
819251 - A4 819252 - A3 |
√ | √ | √ | |
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If you are looking for better quality copier paper with a focus still on the price then these papers would be suitable. Ideal for printing documents such as letters, proposals, and contracts |
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| Xerox Performer white copier paper 80gsm |
819152 - A4 819554 - A3 |
√ | √ | ||
| New Future Laser copier paper 80gsm | 819050 - A4 | √ | √ | ||
| These are premium quality papers and are ideal for letterheads, presentations, or any project where there is a need to create a good impression. | |||||
| Image Business superior copier paper white 80gsm | 819906 - A4 | √ | √ | ||
| Image Business superior Copier paper white 90gsm | 819566 - A4 | √ | √ | ||
| Image Business premium copier paper 100gsm |
817183 - A4 819255 - A3 |
√ | √ | ||
What weight of paper is required?
Grammage (GSM) is the weight of the paper and in most cases, it influences the quality, price, and usage. GSM means ‘grams per square metre’ and is a measure of the weight of a paper. For example, if an 80gsm paper was in a sheet size of 1000mm x 1000mm i.e. a square metre, one sheet would weigh 80 grams.
Recently there has been an increase in the lightweight paper market. Lightweight papers are classed as papers of 65-75 gsm. Lower grammage means that there is less pulp and fewer resources used in making a sheet of paper. As a result, they can be more environmentally friendly and a cheaper option to higher grades.
A good quality 70 or 75gsm paper that has been made with superior wood fibre will produce a finished sheet that can be as thick or even thicker than standard 80gsm paper and will run through a photocopier, printer or other office machine with no problem.
Some lower quality lightweight papers may be more transparent and feel flimsy.
The lower grammage weights (also called office papers) (60–110 gsm) will mainly be used for general documentation such as printing emails, making copies of instructions etc. These weights will run through the majority of printers with no problem.
Medium weights (120–220 gsm) are generally used for customer presentations or letterheads etc. These grammages should run through most printers without a problem.
What do the different enviromental and sustainability credentials mean?
| Logo | Credential | Buy from County Supplies |
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Recycled Contains post-consumer and/or pre-consumer recycled content. Contains 100% recycled content (by weight). |
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PEFC Certified Products originating from certified well managed forests. PEFC scheme is promoting Sustainable Forest Management through third party verification of the supply chain to ensure that timber and non-timber forest products are produced with respect for ecological, social and ethical standards. |
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EU Eco Label: Products and services that meet high environmental standards throughout their life-cycle: from raw material extraction, to production, distribution and disposal. The EU Ecolabel promotes the circular economy by encouraging producers to generate less waste and CO2 during the manufacturing process as well as encourage companies to develop products that are durable, easy to repair and recycle. |
New Future Laser A4 copier paper Xerox Performer A4 copier paper Xerox Peformer A3 copier paper Image Business A4 80gsm copier paper Image Business A4 90gsm copier paper |
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FSC® Certified: Products originating from certified well managed forests. FSC certification promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world's forests through third party verification of the supply chain. |
Image Business A4 80gsm copier paper Image Business A4 90gsm copier paper Image Business A4 and A3 100gsm copier paper |
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Blue Angel: Blue Angel products place less burden on the environment, fulfil high standards with respect to the protection of human health and promote ecological product innovations. |
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Nordic Swan: Products that meet sets of strict environmental requirements in all relevant phases of a product's life cycle. Strict requirements for chemicals used in eco-labelled products and continuous tightening of the requirements to create a sustainable development is the foundation of the Nordic Swan eco label. |
For more information on paper sizes and weights please visit: Paper sizes and cardboard weights