Paper Selection 101
Hey Friends
Today I am going to talk about paper and how to get it custom cut. So many people don’t realize you can actually get full sets of paper cut for you pretty cheaply. I know I didn’t until about 2017. Getting more into planning has really just brought out my love for paper and stationary 10 fold.
Solution One
So first, the simplest thing you can do is go to a Staples, Office Depot, or another such store, pick up a ream of paper (usually 500 sheets) of your favorite flavor (by which I mean thickness, feel, and so forth) and ask them to cut it into the size you want. It’s something like .6 cents a cut at my local one and they use one of those electric fancy ones.
I actually didn’t even realize this was a thing until as I got more into marketing and was looking for quick print solutions, I had to find somewhere to cut and fold things for my Real Estate office. They liked to ask for things the day they needed them, so I had to find sources for these things. They want 100 door knockers for a thing in an hour? Well tell Stacy, it’s her job to find those things (eye roll, yes, but I did learn a lot on how to get things done). Needless to say, I found lots of ways to get shit done. They can fold things for you, cut them and print pretty quickly if you ask.
Solution Two
The next option, if you want nicer paper than they might carry, is to ask a local printer. If you tell them what paper you want and how you want it cut, they can do it at a similarly cheap price. I believe I was quoted around $5 a cut (again, they do the big cuts and like half a ream at a time) and then the cost of the paper. You can pick it up from any print store, print your inserts at home. You can shop around a little for price, as there are tons of print shops.
If you are really lucky you might have an awesome paper store in your town, looking at your Denver – Donahue’s Paper Emporium. Please take my money. This store, if you are local, has a ton of paper, you can buy 1 or a ream and sample them. They can cut them too. God, I love this store. They have so much more than paper too, but I gush.
Solution Three
Finally, if you are in the middle of nowhere – been there – you might need to order offline. I admit I did this before I found the paper store (as I am picky with my paper). Feel free to suggest more but the one I found, www.thepapermillstore.com was pretty good. Expensive, but good. You can buy samples of the paper (can get expensive though, trust me I ordered a ton to see what paper I wanted) and they will cut it for you! They sent me the scraps, which I was unsure what to do with but was a great experience overall (I just recycled, gave to the bunny, etc).
Any time I can shop locally I like to. At Donahue, I got a ream of cotton texture cut for myself (wrong but I’ll live, I did 7 x 9 instead of 7 x 9.25) and I just love it. I use the heck out of it. Samples, my planner for next year, etc. It’s been so nice. I am dying to go back, but I have so much paper left I can’t yet. Shamefully I would just end up with more than I need right now.
Full Print
Finally, for FULL printed items. You can absolutely go local, I tried and have not been able to find a good enough quality print yet. I was super excited when I first got them done, then I ordered from www.Uprinting.com online and I was so impressed with the paper quality, I haven’t been able to find a local printer who can beat the quality. I was really pissed when I asked for help designing them and they messed the sides up, but I have since learned they are a big box, not going to help me and I’ll have to figure that out myself.
Their paper is now my standard goal – 70lb uncoated. If you have ordered inserts from me, you have probably gotten some of the messed up prints as freebies and can tell what I mean. Next year, I hope to order more seasonal prints and some padfolios. I am so excited. I already have my next order ready to go, just need the extra cash. I am ordering more of the stars, on a gray like the leaves (suppose to be better for your eyes) and a fun confetti one for the new year.
If you are looking for paper suggestions, I stick to my 70lb uncoated as a preferred paper. It feels amazing. The best thing you can do is really go in and touch. 70lb is about 140 GSM (can pretty much double it, 60lb = 120 GSM) for comparison. So when a really nice bullet journal says 120 GSM, for example, you can pick up a 20lb piece of copy paper, and image it 3x as thick. Copy paper is typically labeled 20lb. If you are really into doing it yourself, I definitely think a little research into the paper you like helps.
I know I like a thick, textured paper. This is how I ended up with a cotton blend, almost like a linen finish. Ugh is gorgeous to write on and color on. I love it. I literally went around and touched all the paper till I found one I liked. I picked up some natural speckled ones I liked too – just a few and put an autumn print on them. It’s so nice to be able to make what I want for myself, 10/10 hope you find a paper you love as well.