Paper – stuff you didn’t know…

Ughh… Keeping up a blog is hard work. Almost as hard as working and having two little babies running around – well one running and one almost running. I am so lucky that I am only working three days a week! The babies are getting big and have no idea that it is almost Christmas. Oh well, maybe next year!

I could write for weeks and weeks (if I had the time) about paper. Have you ever gotten something in the mail that looks like the paper is almost yellowish or bluish? They are all white paper! There are 12 billion different colors of white paper. (I may exaggerate a little). Paper colors are measures in Brightness and Whiteness. Here is the basic breakdown on that…

Brightness – measures how much light is reflected from the paper in a narrow spectral range. It doesn’t necessarily refer to the color (or the whiteness). The brighter the paper, the cleaner and crisper inks will look on paper.

Go check out the paper in your copier or printer – when you order these from staples or wherever, you can get different degrees of brightness… sometimes 92 brightness or 96 brightness. If you are lucky there will be two different reams of paper hanging out by the copier with a different brightness level – Can you tell the difference?

Whiteness – refers to the shade of the paper. It was developed to describe the appeal and appearance of the sheet. It is how the paper reflects light of all wavelengths (i.e., colors) of the visible spectrum.

There are three basic categories of whiteness. Neutral – reflects the color spectrum equally and prints colors the most accurately. Warm white – These papers tend to look more yellow (when compared to a neutral or cool white). They absorb more of the cool colors and reflect more of the warm colors. Cool white sheets are the opposite of the warm white (duh) and tend to look more blue (when compared to a neutral or warm white). It absorbs more of the warm colors and reflects the cool colors. (See Mom, physics light and color – aka Physics for Theatre People – did come in handy)!

You can probably tell the whiteness of a paper just by looking at it (or maybe not… I am still learning and I am around paper all day)!

So, I am sure you are reading this and asking, why would I care??? Here is why. When you are ordering print, different papers will make your job

Ansel Adams photo - I am not that talented...

look different. Say you want a card printed with your favorite photo from the last big snow storm – lots of white in that picture – which means not a lot of ink coverage and more paper showing through. You want to pick a neutral white or even a cool white paper that will make your snow look nice and crisp and white! Pick a warm white and your snow will look dull. Say you want to print a

I wish I was someplace warm...

 card with that sunset photo you took on your vacation to the beach. All those pretty reds, oranges and pinks will look dull if you print on a blue white paper because they will not be reflected well.

That is your print lesson for the day! I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas has a very lovely time and for everyone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas, have a wonderful holiday season! Here’s to a bright and white Christmas!!

Talk soon,

hpsl