Paper Types Overview: A Plain-English Guide to Print Stocks

Paper has its own vocabulary, bond, text, cover, cardstock, points, and it trips up almost everyone the first time. The names describe what a stock is built for, not just how thick it is. Knowing the basics helps you order the right paper without guesswork. Here is a plain-english tour of the common print stocks.

The main families

Stock	Typical use	Feel
Bond / writing	Letterhead, forms, copy paper	Light, writable
Text	Brochures, flyers, booklet pages	Medium, foldable
Cover / cardstock	Business cards, postcards, covers	Thick, rigid
Tag / index	Tags, dividers, file cards	Stiff, durable

Bond and text: the everyday stocks

Bond (also called writing paper) is the lightweight, writable stock used for letterhead, forms, and everyday documents. Text weight is a step up, sturdy enough for brochures, flyers, and the inside pages of booklets, while still folding cleanly. Most documents you handle daily live in these two families.

Cover and cardstock: when it needs body

Cover stock (cardstock) is the heavy, rigid paper used for business cards, postcards, presentation folders, and booklet covers. It holds its shape and signals quality. When someone says a piece “feels cheap” or “feels premium,” they are usually reacting to whether it was printed on the right cover weight.

Decoding the numbers

Paper weight is measured in pounds (lb) or points (pt), and the systems do not line up across families, 80 lb text is much lighter than 80 lb cover. That confusion is exactly why we wrote a dedicated paper weight guide that translates the numbers.

Coated or uncoated, too

On top of weight and family, each stock can be coated or uncoated, which changes how color prints and whether you can write on it. See coated vs. uncoated paper.

We will pick the stock for you

Tell us what the piece is and how it will be used, and we will match it to the right paper. See our digital printing options, and read choosing fonts for print. Request a free quote.