What Type of Paper Should I Use for My Book?
It’s a tough question to answer, and one I hear all the time: Which paper stock should I choose for my book? And although it’s a tough question, it is an important one because the paper you choose will tell your potential buyer what kind of book this is. Go too cheap, you might lose some buyers to a different title. Go too expensive, you just wasted your money.
Book paper weights are different than the paper weight measurements you will see in an office supply store. A 20# bond that you would find at Staples is similar to a 50# offset at a book printer. A 24# bond is similar to 60# offset, 28# is similar to 70# offset, etc.
Typically, I would recommend that for a standard book with just black text (no color) and not a lot of images, 50# offset is just fine. If there are a lot of graphics in the book, you might want to bump up to 60# offset to eliminate some see-through from one side of the page to the other.
One thing I cannot emphasize enough - get print samples. There are a couple times when I have had a client tell me they knew exactly what type of paper they wanted to use, but then they were disappointed when they got the final product. Why? A friend of theirs had told them which paper stock to choose, and they ordered their books without ever seeing a paper sample. Don’t make the same mistake!
Choosing paper stock for a book printed in full color is sometimes a little trickier. You may want to go with a glossy paper stock to make any images “pop” a little more. However, glossy stock often feels thinner than standard paper stock.
Most full color books are printed overseas, where a different standard of paper measurement is used - grams per square meter (gsm). To calculate gsm, multiply the offset weight by approximately 1.5. So an 80# gloss sheet in the U.S. would be the same as a 120 gsm sheet overseas. You’ll definitely want a thicker paper stock for your color book versus a black & white book.
Again — always get samples before making your decision!
When it comes to cover stock, for a paperback book a 10 pt. C1S cover is standard. However, it is usually very inexpensive to upgrade to a 12 pt. C1S cover. People do judge a book by its cover, so this might be a cost-effective upgrade.
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