Light bulbs are not the only items which have different levels of brightness. It may seem like a foreign concept, but cardstock paper does in fact have brightness levels as well. When choosing your cardstock paper, it is important to understand what paper brightness means and which brightness will best serve your individual needs.
The right paper can make all the difference when it comes to presenting your project the way you envision. It would be a waste to put in all that effort into the graphic design, the layout, the text, and the imagery, only to have it not be displayed in its optimal way. All paper was not created equally. It is imperative to choose the correct brightness level when printing your hard work onto paper. Continue reading for some important pointers to help you navigate the world of paper brightness.
What Is Brightness In Paper?
Paper brightness is measured on a number scale of zero to 100. The scale measures the amount of blue light reflected off the surface of the paper. The higher the number, the more light it is that is being reflected. Therefore, a paper brightness of 96 will reflect more light than a paper with a brightness level of 92. The higher the number, the brighter the paper will be.
The paper brightness scale is useful in that it easily helps determine how bright the paper will be. A brightness level of 94 will be slightly less bright than a level closer to a hundred. Sometimes the differences, especially when you are dealing with two numbers already in the nineties, can be minimal to the naked eye. However, when you compare the final print display on the two papers, the differences can be astounding, particularly depending on what your print job entails.
Does Paper Brightness Matter?
The obvious question is whether paper brightness really matters in the first place. The reason that paper brightness is actually significant is because it will affect the sharpness of the text and/or images that are printed on the paper.
Brighter paper will display a more vibrant image. If the quality of what you are looking to print is sharp and vibrant, then you want a paper with a brightness level that will translate that. However, if you are printing something that is more faded or washed out, a paper that is too bright will only make the faded quality stand out that much more. Therefore, when dealing with imagery or text of lesser quality, you are better off printing on paper with a lower brightness level.
Bright colored paper is also better suited when printing images or text with vibrant colors. The brighter the paper, the more vibrant the color will be. When printing simple black text, even a paper that is not as bright will still clearly show the text and be more than adequate.
There are two numbers that are particularly very well known when it comes to paper brightness. They are 92 and 96. What is the difference between 92 vs 96? The recommended brightness for standard everyday use is a level of 92. However, when dealing with making presentations, which generally involves more imagery and brighter colors, a minimum brightness level of 96 is recommended.
What Is The Best Paper Brightness?
With a clear understanding of why paper brightness matters, it is a common next step to wonder what the best paper brightness might be. However, we now know that there is no one answer to that question. There is no best paper brightness. The best printer paper brightness will depend on your specific project and what you are intending to print.
Bright copy paper will be better suited to more intricate printing jobs. If you are printing flyers, brochures, or any type of imagery that you want displayed in the best quality possible, the higher the brightness level the better. Vibrant colors will always show better on brighter paper. For eye-catching crispness and clean lines, a higher level of paper brightness will serve you best. It would be a waste to spend all that time creating your perfect design and then not have it present properly simply because the wrong paper was chosen.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you are printing a 50 page report with no imagery and just page after page of simple black text, a paper brightness in the low-nineties will be more than adequate. A higher brightness level would simply be a waste and not make a difference in how the black text presents on the paper.
Brightness Vs Whiteness Of Paper
It is a common misconception to think that brightness and whiteness mean the same thing. It’s an easy mistake to make. After all, a paper that has a high brightness level should be nice and white. However, when it comes to paper, brightness and whiteness levels are actually two completely different things to consider.
Paper brightness is measured by how much blue light is reflected off the paper. Paper whiteness is measured by the quality of light, or in other terms, the shade of the paper. Paper whiteness will measure the amount of red, blue and green light that is reflected off the paper. If there is more red reflected off the paper, that will present in a warmer toned white color. However, if there is more blue reflected off the paper, that will present itself in a cooler toned white color.
In more specific terms, paper brightness will measure the amount of blue light reflected off the paper while paper whiteness will measure the balance of all light reflected off the paper. Whereas paper brightness only measures itself across specific wavelengths of light, paper whiteness measures itself against all wavelengths of light. The paper whiteness therefore will refer to the tone of the white color as opposed to the actual brightness level of the white. It is because of this that bright white paper can still be warmer or cooler toned depending on your project and where it will be presented.
Who knew that something as simple as paper could have so many different specifications? While it may seem daunting to select the paper with the best brightness level suited to your project, just remember that brighter is usually better if you are printing anything more than simple black text. Again, the exceptions would be if you are printing something that is washed out or of lower quality. In that case, too bright of a paper is not ideal.
Simply put, while it definitely adds an extra step to your project to pause and consider which paper would best be suited for the printing job, it will ultimately be to your benefit. Something as simple as taking those extra few minutes to select the paper with the correct brightness level will make the world of a difference to the finished look.