How to choose the right paper?
IBM Paper offers a wide range of professional office papers to cater for all your business paper needs to ensure you are matching the paper type best suited to your specific applications and machine types.
While paper can be viewed as a highly price sensitive commodity a number of factors should be considered before simply purchasing paper based on price.
How do papers differ?
The properties of office papers differ widely in respect to ageing properties, brightness, bulk, caliper, whiteness, grammages, moisture content, opacity, porosity, runnability, smoothness and stiffness. Variances in the above properties make some papers more suitable for certain applications. View our glossary to find out more.
What type of application are you using the paper for?
Knowing what type of applications a printer is used for will ultimately govern your paper selection. Each of the papers in the IBM range are designed to meet specific requirements across the hugely diverse range of paper applications, which include: memos, emails, reports, letters, presentations, price lists, marketing flyers/promotions, and CAD proofs, to name but a few!
Is the paper for internal or external use?
While it’s important to ensure that paper for internal use performs well, the overall quality of paper is less important than if the paper were being sent to your customers. In this case you’ll find that using value paper like IBM Copy Pro or Print Pro is more than adequate. However, where documents are distributed externally you need to consider what the paper you are using says about you and your company. For this reason a value copier paper may not be suitable, and you should make a purchasing decision based on your corporate image. IBM Office Pro and Document Pro are suitable for high volume external use, while still providing excellent value for money, however paper buyers should also consider some of the other factors identified below.
What type of machine are you printing/copying the paper on?
All of the papers in the IBM range are suitable for use with laser, copier, fax and inkjet machines, however print results will vary based on the different physical properties associated with each paper. For example, for colour laser, and inkjet printers, Color Pro is recommended for guaranteed results.
Whatever machine type you are using, printing on a branded paper like IBM ensures consistent quality and runnability, which ultimately will help you save time and money by reducing paper jamming, more frequent/unexpected service calls, wasted copies, and time lost by key operators.
Are you printing colour?
Although colour printing can be expensive, the majority of cost comes from the colour laser machines themselves and the toner cartridges. Even with the highest quality papers, the cost of paper as a total cost of colour printing represents less than 5%. Therefore trying to save money on paper when printing colour can be a false economy, and could even have a detrimental effect on the quality of print and corporate image.
Papers like IBM Color Pro and more ?are specifically designed for colour laser printing, the higher whiteness, smoothness, opacity, and caliper of these papers enhance the quality of images and colour contrast up to a much higher concentration of ink transfer (dpi). Not only this but the physical properties of these papers mean superior results can be achieved as the images sit on top of the paper rather than being absorbed by the paper fibres. Ultimately this reduces ink consumption saving you money.
Do you require an environmentally friendly paper?
The fragile state of the planet is much publicised, and the close link between paper and the environment means the IBM range must demonstrate a commitment to environmental protection throughout the manufacture process. So when buying IBM papers you can be assured of sustainable forest practices across the range, you know that papers are manufactured in accordance with ISO14001 certification, and you can be sure that the paper mill constantly reviews the manufacturing process, at all stages, to identify potential areas for carbon emissions reduction. Furthermore, to support your company’s commitment to environmental stewardship look specifically at IBM Print Pro which holds the FSC accreditation.
