Your choice of paper can go a long way toward helping your marketing collateral stand out amongst the competition. When it comes to choosing the best paper for your print marketing communications, the discussion usually centers on the choice between coated, uncoated or digitally treated sheets, but the weight of your paper stock is an important factor to consider when strategizing how best to communicate with substance and pop.
Choosing a heavier weight paper stock can help your print communications create a more tactile, sensory experience with your target audience. What’s more, a heftier paper can help increase the value and meaning of your piece, and this can increase the chance your ideal customer retains or even shares your collateral with others.
Of course, there are specific considerations designers need to account for when specifying a heavier paper stock. Here, we’ll look at how to choose the ideal heavyweight paper for high-quality marketing collateral, and some application examples where heavyweight paper can turn your print communications into true showpieces.
Even with heavyweight stocks, opacity still matters
The ability to minimize show-through is extremely important when choosing lightweight premium papers, especially if your piece of collateral needs to be printed on both sides of the sheet. But high opacity is still a top priority when choosing a heavyweight paper for creating higher value print communications, especially if you’re going to be printing full-color on both sides of the sheet.
On a similar note, you also want to choose a heavyweight paper stock that has quick drying characteristics and excellent ink holdout to help ensure there is no bleed, smudging or general defect in how the ink is applied to the sheet. This is also important to consider when designing areas of high ink coverage and saturation, or when incorporating quick response (QR) codes as compromised quality can affect the scannability of the code.
Accent® Opaque's The Heavyweights line of heavy paper stock offers the same premium uncoated sheet with high opacity and ink drying capabilities with a more substantive feel and look. Our Heavyweights paper is available in four basis weights — 100, 110, 120 and 130 lb. — for unmatched versatility.
Don't forget to think about finishings
Just because a paper stock is heavier doesn’t necessarily mean the sheet will be compatible with more substantial or sophisticated finishes compared to lighter weight stocks. However, one finishing technique that heavier weight paper is more compatible with is die-cutting. The increased level of strength and stiffness does allow for more detailed die-cutting without the risk of frayed edges.
Aside from die-cutting, heavier paper stocks are more compatible with scoring and more complex types of folds. This can make heavier paper stocks ideal for high value, small run print pieces that often drive account-based marketing (ABM) campaigns — ABM campaigns are extremely targeted marketing initiatives that position unique, exclusive offers to an audience segment that is more likely to engage with your content.
Accent Opaque’s The Heavyweights stock comes standard in two finishing options — Smooth and Super Smooth — to give your marketing collateral a head start in turning heads.
Color quality is key
If your marketing collateral is going to speak loud and proud with substance and authority, you want to choose a heavyweight paper that can produce vibrant colors, crisp images and bold design elements. What’s more, you want to select a heavyweight paper with a smooth, level print surface to help ensure consistent ink application, regardless of the coverage or saturation.
Selecting a heavyweight paper with the appropriate brightness, whiteness and capability for high print contrast is the first step in creating high-quality print marketing collateral that does your design justice.
The Heavyweights papers have high brightness and the preferred blue-white shade for exceptional print contrast, but the smooth, even print surface helps ensure full-color, vivid production for both small and large print runs. The Heavyweights paper stock is also available in an enhanced white with 97 Brightness and Warm White to help support wherever your design takes you.
Some fun examples of heavyweight paper in print marketing collateral
Utilizing heavyweight paper stock in your print marketing collateral opens up a variety of possibilities to both surprise and delight your target audience. Not only can this help your ideal customer better retain and recall important information, but it can also help transform your print piece into a talking point with a longer shelf life. Here are just a handful of print marketing pieces you can create using heavyweight paper stock.
- Posters or art prints to promote special events
- Calendars to help your target audience keep important dates on their radar
- A flip book or series of flashcards for memorizing facts or statistics
- High-caliber direct mail like holiday cards, customer loyalty cards or customer milestone recognitions
But this is just the beginning of how choosing the ideal heavyweight paper stock can help you create print marketing collateral that commands attention. Learn more about The Heavyweights, a new range of Accent Opaque papers available in weights up to 130 lb.
