News Article

PROS PROVIDE TIPS ON CHOOSING THE RIGHT PAPER

When digital imaging was first introduced, some pundits predicted the end of the paper file cabinet. As anyone with an MFP can attest, that day is still a long way off, and we may never see a truly paperless society. In fact, digital scanning, copying and printing applications have actually led to the demand for new kinds of paper, specifically designed for the special conditions of document imaging equipment. So what does today’s MFP buyer need to know about paper? To find out, Buyers Laboratory spoke to representatives from the top paper manufacturers. Here’s a sampling of what they told us.

Use The Right Paper For The Job

As more and more companies move to a network printing environment, good paper tray management can play an important role in helping companies use the right paper for the right job, said Vince Phelan, Boise Paper’s marketing director.

“There are multiple paper trays on a typical MFP,” he said, “and because color costs have come down, what often happens is either a low-grade paper is put into the device for everything and people are dissatisfied with the results—or a heavy coverage job comes through that causes a jam, or it just doesn’t reproduce the way they want it to—so they end up printing more. The least expensive thing in that equation is the paper, and they end up wasting a lot of money on toner and other consumables. At the other end of the spectrum, sometimes people put a really expensive paper in the MFP that gets used for everything, whether for a file copy or a finished document, which is certainly not cost-effective.”

Phelan said Boise Paper advises as a “best practice” that people try to “match talent to task. Use the right paper for the right job and you can use the technology to your advantage in doing so.” He said that to maximize output results on a typical MFP, “You should have a main paper tray with your ‘everyday’ use paper, but then you designate one or two of the other trays for more of a specialty grade, whether that be 11" x 17" size in a higher grade of paper, knowing you’re putting more coverage on that, or in another 8-1/2" x 11" drawer, just have that be more of a presentation-quality paper. Then train the users as to which tray corresponds to their needs. That can be much more efficient. You don’t create additional waste, nor are you throwing a [high-level] solution at every single print job when you may not need it.”

When buying paper for MFPs, Edward Spangler, marketing manager for International Paper, suggested, “Buyers should look for 96 brightness or greater, basis weight of 24-lb. or greater, and good smoothness, such as Hammermill Fore MP.” He said that overall, the best results are achieved using papers with high brightness and a sturdy basis weight.

Decide What You Want To Achieve

Bob Hieronymus, the director of product management and quality communication papers for Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP, explained, “The paper you use really depends on what output you want to achieve. For normal interoffice communications, or a quick letter that’s going to be looked at and thrown in a recycling bin, commodity 92-bright paper is going to look just fine. That probably will represent 90 percent of your typical office demands. If you’re looking for presentation, you’d want heavier weight and higher whiteness or brightness levels.”

Boise Paper’s Phelan agreed that the best paper to use depends on what you’re looking to achieve. “If you’re looking for a high-quality print because you’re doing a presentation you’re going to take to a client, you’re probably going to want to use a sheet that has a smooth surface and is designed for color printing applications. The smooth surface will give you crisper edges, and typically, a sheet designed for color printing is a brighter, usually whiter sheet, so you get a better contrast on the colors.”

He added, “If you’re looking for great runnability to produce internal office documents, probably a 20-lb. multi-purpose sheet will do well. It’s designed for high-speed printing, great runnability and no jams, but it isn’t necessarily designed for higher print quality. And, to the extent that there are many organizations willing to live with the occasional jam to get a lower paper price per unit, maybe private label is the right way to go. So it really depends on what you value.”

Hieronymus concurred. “I think the paper selection depends on the output you’re trying to achieve. If you’re just passing a communication around the office, a standard 20-lb. 92 bright multi-use paper is probably good for most internal office work. If you want to ‘wow’ a customer, you’re probably going to go to a heavier weight, probably a 24-lb. paper. You might go to a higher brightness, such as a 96 bright sheet, since you’re going to print in color and you’ll want your colors to pop. A heavier-weight paper gives the presentation a higher-quality feel.”

Kirk Krahn, Boise Paper’s product manager, also pointed out that multi-purpose paper doesn’t necessarily deliver the best results. “If you have a color printer or a laser printer, you want to buy paper that states it’s designed for color printing or laser printing, or for inkjet printing if you have an inkjet printer. Typically, those papers have been engineered from the sheet perspective to work best in that application.” He noted that duplex printing requires heavier paper than simplex. “If you use a 20-lb. bond to duplex, there could be a fair level of show-through, and it may not have the body you want to print adequately on both sides,” he advised.

Greg Maze, senior brand manager for Neenah Paper, added, “When you’re buying, look for guarantees under which the manufacturer will replace the paper, no questions asked, if there are any difficulties or if you’re not satisfied in any way. There’s a big difference between what will run on old technology and what will run on newer equipment, but with a guarantee you can’t really go wrong.”

Conduct A Trial Run

For volume paper buyers who can’t afford to make large-scale mistakes, Boise Paper’s Phelan offered a number of suggestions on how to select the best paper for a particular environment.

“One possibility might be to seek out other customers who use that kind of paper,” he advised, “to see what effect it has over time. It’s no different than finding a new dentist when you move to a new community. Ask around. If you use high volumes of paper, you can look at specifications, but I would bet that most of the target specifications for the critical specs like brightness, stiffness, thickness…those will be pretty similar across brands. What’s going to vary much more broadly, and won’t be available in terms of data, are the ranges around those specifications—the consistency aspect. Ask about other people’s good or bad experience. That may lead you to a smaller set of brands for consideration.”

“Or you can run some controlled trials to make sure the product is right for your equipment,” he added. “We have a lot of customers bring in our products to use on multiple pieces of equipment over a period of time before awarding a contract, because often they have the equipment in different types of environments, and people operate the equipment with different levels of care. They go through a trial phase and make sure their user groups are satisfied with the choice, and then the negotiations begin on price and service, then they lock down the deal. That’s what I would advise people to do. Get input from others using those products, and then leave the time to really try it in your environment to make sure it meets your needs.”

This is an excerpt from Buyers Laboratory’s special report, The Paper Chase: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Paper and Didn’t Realize You Needed to Ask. For more information about the report or to order a copy, call 201-488-0404.