• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

KKP | Kwik Kopy Printing

DC full-service design studio and print shop

  • Home
  • About
    • About us
    • Services
      • Design
      • Print
      • Web
    • Turnaround times
    • File requirements
    • Delivery
  • Shop
  • FAQ
  • Pricing
  • Upload
  • Contact

opinions

May 7, 2013 By Tom Gimer

How to choose the right paper

One thing many of our customers rely on us for is helping them choose the right paper(s) for their job. Paper is important! The right choice can make a project shine while the wrong choice can ruin it. The main factors to consider in choosing the right paper for your project are:

  1. Paper weight
  2. Finish
  3. Color

Below we discuss a bit about each factor. This should hopefully point you in the right direction if you are at all confused about what paper or papers to use for your print project.

Paper weight

Here at our shop there are 2 different classes of paper weights — 1) text weight papers and 2) cover stocks.

Text weight papers are (not surprisingly) ideally suited for printing text. Your basic 20# copy paper is a text weight paper, as are 24#, 28#, 32# papers. The paper weight/thickness increases as the # increases. These weights are also referred to as 50#, 60#, 70# and 80# text, respectively, which confuses things. To compare apples to apples, check the gsm (grams per square meter or g/m²) of the papers you are considering to make sure they are of comparable weight.

Lower weight text papers fold easily without the need to score them first. Some of the heavier text weight papers do require scoring before folding or they will crack. The need for scoring will affect pricing.

If you are printing double sided, the lighter the paper (the lower its # weight), the more likely you will be able to see the content which is on the other side of the page. This problem is called bleed-through, and it gets worse with darker images and areas with heavy ink coverage. To avoid this problem, use a heavier weight paper.

If your project is a book or booklet, it is quite common to use a text weight paper for the interior pages and a cover stock for the outside cover(s).

Cover stocks are heavier papers. They are most often used for booklet covers, postcards, business cards, invitations and other projects requiring a paper with more substance.

We stock covers starting as light as 65#, as heavy as 130#, as well as everything in between. Depending on your project you may need a heavier cover stock. For example, if your project is a postcard mailing, the machines at the post office may damage a lightweight card. We recommend using at least 80# cards for mailings. (We use 100# or 110# cover for our own postcard mailings.)

Heavier cover stocks are more sturdy and are used to create higher quality projects. If durability is important to you, go with a thicker stock.

Finish

There are three basic finishes on the papers we stock here: 1) smooth, 2) textured, and 3) coated. These finishes are available for both text weight papers as well as cover stocks.

If you tell us the pictures, images or other art in your project must look great, we are almost always going to recommend a paper with a smooth finish. When you throw texture into the mix, you can lose detail and crispness of your imagery as the ink or toner adheres inconsistently to a changing surface.

If your art will allow it, however, a textured paper (such as a linen or laid finish) may be appropriate. Or you may be able to use a high quality wove bond or cover stock. It really depends on your project. This is why we always recommend to all of our customers that they see a hardcopy proof. What you think will be a perfect paper for your art may be awful, but you really won’t know until you see it and feel it.

Matte coated papers provide a unique look and silky feel which may be suitable for your art. In our shop these are considered premium papers best suited for full color printing.

Many people think gloss coated papers are best for photos and images, but this is not always the case. Again, it depends on your art. (I think images look best on a smooth bright white cover. More on this in the next section.) Gloss coated papers also come in 2 variations — coated on 1 side or coated on both sides. Your project details will dictate which one will work best for you.

Color

The color of the paper you choose is extremely important. Anything other than a bright white will darken your imagery.

Think about it this way… whatever color your paper is will be combined with your art. So choosing a pink paper will add pink to everything, choosing a blue paper will add blue to everything, and so on. An image that looks great on your white back-lit monitor will not look the same on colored paper or card stock. If you have pictures of people in your project, a colored paper will change their appearance considerably. Be careful!

One of the most popular paper colors here is Natural White. It gives a classic look to programs, invitations and other printed materials. But even an off-white or natural white will darken photos and other images.

Make sure your project looks perfect by reviewing a hardcopy proof before printing the entire run!

Hope this little article help you with your paper choices. Feel free to call with questions or ask them in the comments.

Related posts you might like:

  1. Why you must see a hardcopy proof
  2. Our top selling papers
  3. Why pricing varies so much from shop to shop

Filed Under: Design, Print Tagged With: media, opinions

February 12, 2013 By Tom Gimer

Differences between coil and comb binding

Because we offer both methods and they kind of look alike, customers often ask us about the differences between coil (also known as “spiral”) and comb binding. There are a couple of important ones. Hopefully this post will help you decide which binding method to use for your project.

coil-vs-comb-bindingCoil and comb binding look alike because they are very similar. With both binding methods, one edge of every sheet (and covers) is punched with holes and then a piece of rigid material is inserted through the holes. This process secures the edge of the book while also allowing it to open and lay flat. There is no glue used in the process, only punching, inserting the binding material, and closing the binding. Importantly, both coil and comb binding can quickly make a book out of an ordinary stack of paper — they can bind paper that has already been printed on. This is not the case with many other binding methods, such as perfect binding and saddle stitching, where the project usually must be printed in a special way, the pages printed in a specific sequence, or a wrap-around cover created, in order to bind them. Many of our clients choose coil or comb binding to “spruce up” a document for a presentation, proposal or event, often adding a clear cover and a black vinyl backing to finish the job. Coil and comb bindings also come in multiple colors, and matching colored vinyl backings are available. Both of these methods can also be used to bind books of different dimensions and thicknesses. (Note: here our limits are 14″ on the bound edge and approximately 350 sheets per volume.)

So with so much in common, why would you choose one method over the other? Here are a few possible reasons:

The first difference between the two has to do with your ability to add or remove content. With comb binding, your book can be easily opened up to add or remove pages without destroying the binding. So if you have a document that changes over time, such as a marketing presentation that will be edited and re-used, comb binding may be the better choice. You simply open up the binding, replace pages, and then close the binding. While it is possible to make such changes to coil-bound books, the coil must be cut and destroyed when the book is opened up to replace content. The book can then be re-bound, but it will be at a higher cost than with comb binding, especially with thicker books.

The second difference is durability. We’ve found that coil is significantly more durable than comb. Coil is made of thicker, stronger material. It also feeds through smaller round holes which run the entire length of the edge, as opposed to the larger, more separated rectangle holes drilled in the comb binding process. Coil doesn’t have any moving parts, while comb bindings can come open. This means there is less wear and tear on the edge of a coil bound book. So if you need your book to last longer, coil is the better choice.

The last difference — and perhaps the most important to you — is price. Coil (spiral) is slightly more expensive than comb — especially for very thick books!

We hope this information helps. Feel free to call or come in with more questions about binding options.

Related posts you might like:

  1. Coil binding just got easy
  2. Saddle-stitched booklets are beautiful yet economical
  3. The top 3 differences between us and Kinkos plus why that’s good for you

Filed Under: Design, Print Tagged With: binding, finishing, opinions

October 27, 2012 By Tom Gimer

Text saves the day

One of our clients — I won’t name names but let’s just say it is a very large national religious institution — recently forgot to pick up an order.

The programs we printed for them were for an event that was to take place the following day. The problem was, we had no idea when the event was, because there was no reference in the program to time of day. So when closing time came, we didn’t feel the need to call. Based upon 20+ years of service to this particular client, we assumed the event was late enough in the day to allow the programs to be picked up beforehand.

Imagine our surprise when at 10pm that night, we received a frantic text (our SMS/text # is listed at the bottom of each page of our website) from the client who was trying to figure out how to pick up the programs in time to get to the event and get set up by 9am!

So we discussed the situation and agreed — all via text — to meet at the shop early the next morning. As a result, the client was extremely relieved for the rest of the night and the event ended up going just fine.

Texting has gotten a lot of bad press lately. I think we all agree that texting while driving is extremely dangerous. But when used properly (such as in our little story here), it’s a great way to communicate on time-sensitive issues! So feel free to send your questions by text to 202 642-1323.

And by the way, a little free tip here… when you send us a text, you’re not just pinging one of our cell phones. We use Google Voice for this, which allows us to receive texts on multiple devices as well as by email. It’s yet another FREE product from Google (you’ve heard us talk about great Google products here before).

No related posts found.

Filed Under: Misc Tagged With: opinions, tips

July 11, 2012 By Tom Gimer

The top 3 differences between us and Kinkos plus why that’s good for you

People stumble into our shop all the time with packages. It’s actually pretty funny. At least once per day somebody comes in with a package they want to ship and look around, confused. You see, they got us mixed up with FedEx Office / Kinkos. Not exactly sure why, but it happens. A lot.

So today we thought about the differences between us and national printing companies / marketing service providers like Fedex Office / Kinkos, and came up with the following three big ones (as well as why you benefit from them):

1. We design things, Kinko’s doesn’t.
We design things. Often just from a client’s simple thought, we take that and run with it, perfecting it through marketing strategy and different design thoughts, ending up with a beautifully written and printed (or digital) piece. Kinko’s can push a button and print out your file. Sometimes the print comes out right, sometimes it doesn’t. They don’t care either way. If there are problems, they can’t fix your file, nor do they want to. They don’t have professional graphic designers on staff, and they usually don’t have the software necessary to help complete your work even if they wanted to. They also can’t help you create the right content (or edit yours) to get the best results.

2. We use the latest and greatest tools, Kinko’s doesn’t.
Our clients depend on us to create top quality print projects. We don’t design beautiful things only to print them on crappy machines. So we constantly update our equipment to ensure we provide the best print quality. And it’s not just presses and wide format printers. We also regularly update our design software (we’re currently evaluating whether to go with the standard version of Adobe Creative Suite 6 (CS6) or go with the new “cloud” version). We also have to keep up to date with our computer equipment and Raster Image Processors (RIPs) because a lot of what we do now including variable data publishing (VDP) requires so much more in terms of computing power than in the past. If you’d like a good laugh, ask someone at FedEx Office / Kinko’s about VDP or their imposition hardware and software.

3. We work for our clients, the staff at Kinko’s work for a paycheck.
We care about giving our clients the best possible finished product on or before their deadlines. If we don’t, we aren’t going to make our clients happy, they aren’t going to refer anybody to us, and that is going to really hurt our business. When FedEx Office / Kinko’s hands you an average looking job after missing your deadline, they don’t lose a wink of sleep. Meanwhile it kills us to provide anything less than perfection, on time.

So I guess the real point to take away from our lead-in story about people walking into our shop with packages is that we don’t do shipping. And aside from the confused customer, it makes a lot of sense. Shipping is easy. You take a package, punch in a few keystrokes, take payment and put it on the pile to be sent out. There’s no beauty, precision or pride to it. So while it just doesn’t work for us, it fits the Kinkos business model perfectly.

Related posts you might like:

  1. Why choosing a local printer is smart
  2. 5 reasons why “mom and pop” shops rule
  3. New feature: Spotlight on Google+

Filed Under: Design, Print, Misc Tagged With: opinions

January 3, 2012 By Ece Gimer

New feature: Spotlight on Google+

We recently joined Google+ and we need your help and permission to improve it!

Each week we’d like to choose one great project we’ve completed and spotlight it on our Google+ page. For each special design we choose to spotlight, we want to do a little write-up about it and of course show it off visually. This will help visitors see the types of jobs we complete, and it also might give each winning creator a little recognition for their efforts!

Of course, since we print projects for other graphic designers and artists, odds are we won’t always be choosing our own work. That’s where the “permission” comes into play. Each weekly winner will need to agree to allow us to publish their art online. We’ll remind those in the running about this and get their permission before posting.

Related posts you might like:

  1. Solutions to benefit your business
  2. 5 reasons why “mom and pop” shops rule
  3. 3 “T’s” for more profits

Filed Under: Design, Print, Web, Misc Tagged With: opinions

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Footer

KKP | Kwik Kopy Printing

1111 34th St, NW
Washington, DC 20007
202 362-8399 (phone)
202 664-1313 (fax)

info@kkpdc.com

Hours: Mon - Fri 9-530 | Sat 11 - 4


Terms and Conditions · Customer Satisfaction Policy · Privacy Policy · Copyright © 2021