Dream reams and neat sheets - Desktop Publishing - includes related article on dot matrix printers

Home Office Computing, May, 1992 by Steve Morgenstern

Looking for a new way to add graphic pizzazz to your desktop-publishing projects? I have some dramatic suggestions for you this month--inexpensive resources that can significantly boost the quality and impact of your printed output.

I'm talking about special paper stocks. By choosing the right paper, you can get the sharpest results possible when creating originals for reproduction on your laser printer. Select a preprinted paper and create striking full-color brochures and fliers with your black-toner printer. How about parchment certificates with a smart, authoritative crispness? Banners that cry out for attention? These are just some of the exciting options you can explore by loading your printer with special paper.

What's more, smart catalog marketers are making it easy for you to choose from an array of special papers, buy them in small or large quantities, and have them delivered to your doorstep. In fact, you can call them now: Paper Direct is at (800) 272-7377; Queblo is at (800) 523-9080. Go to the phone and ask them to send their free catalogs. I'll wait.

Everybody back? Good. Now let's explore some of the thought-provoking possibilities that await you.

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR LASER

If you're going to reproduce laser-printed originals, either by offset printing or high-quality photocopying, you'll get sharper, cleaner results if you use paper specially designed for camera-ready masters. These are extra-bright white and have a toner-friendly finish, which means the pages have higher contrast and better sharpness than those printed on ordinary copier paper. Some of these special papers also have a coating that keeps was or glue from bleeding onto boards when mounted.

Hammermill, one of the nation's largest paper suppliers, produces Laser Plus, a reasonably priced ($12 to $14 per 500-sheet ream) stock for this purpose. If your favorite business-supply store doesn't stock Laser Plus, they can order it, or you can order it from either Paper Direct or Queblo.

Substantialy more expensive but truly impressive is Paper Direct's own Laser-Gloss paper at about $15 per 100-sheet box. (Remember, we're only talking about using these for final reproduction originals, so a little goes a long way.) I ran some Laser-Gloss paper through a NewGen high-resolution laser printer and the results were extremely sharp and definitely sturdy enough for pasteup work.

Another paper source to consider for topnotch originals is CG Graphic Arts Supply at (800) 342-5858. In addition to selling three high-quality papers suitable for reports and proposals and two kinds of transparency film, CG sells two handsome papers for laser originals in a wider variety of sizes than most other vendors offer. There's also a sampler pack of the full 8.5-by-11-inch product lien for $20.

JUICY COLORS, SUBTLE TEXTURES

Full-color printing is expensive and impractical in small quantities, but you can achieve much of the same effect by using preprinted color stock, either on your laser printer or on the offset or photocopy equipment at your local quick-print shop.

This is one of the most promising special-paper possibilities to explore. Even a fairly straightforward layout printed on a dramatic paper stock virtually guarantees an eye-catching result.

Even to start simply, there are many attractive solid-color sheets sold. They're available in everything from gentle pastels to truly shocking dayglow reds and pinks, many with matching envelopes. Gradated papers offer another popular effect, with a solid color slowly fading out as it progresses across or down the page.

Subtle allover textures can set off your message with a handsome backdrop that doesn't overpower black type. Both Paper Direct and Queblo offer handsome marble-and granite-textured papers. Queblo also has an elegant pinstripe paper in four different colors for an interesting corporate look. The most dramatic textured papers, though, are Paper Direct's oriental laser papers. One has confetti and white fibers embedded in the paper--another has silver and copper flakes. Very elegant, indeed.

These companies also offer a wide selection of high-design papers with colorful textures and graphic devices to frame your message. Ranging from classical to Art Deco to MTV bizarre to official-looking certificate styles, these designs turn a simple marketing letter into something special, and make a basic one-page flier look as if you had labored for days to produce it. However, you have to balance the sometimes extremely flashy designs with the business image you want to present.

How are you going to use these attention-getting papers? It depends partly on your design inspiration, and partly on your budget. Granite-textured paper runs about $13 per 100 sheets, while Paper Direct's oriental laser papers are $20 for a box of 50 sheets. With a paper catalog in front of you, approach the problem as a marketer. If you're trying to grab the attention of a few top executives, 40 cents a sheet for an oriental laser paper to be used in a promotional mailing may be perfectly reasonable. Similarly, $8 is a small price to pay for 100 sheets of neon-bright paper if you're creating single-sheet posters to be placed on bulletin boards and want them to stand out.