Branded paper and print: substrates, decoration and the choices that decide cost
The first decision a buyer makes is the surface, because paper dictates every downstream variable: the decoration method, the ink hold-out, the binding, the gsm weight that survives a courier, and the rate at which the printed mark ages in a handbag. Uncoated woodfree papers in the 90 to 120 gsm band are the workhorse for letterheads, compliment slips, internal forms, and most agency briefs. They take a clean fountain-pen stroke, accept a foil stamp without bleed, and survive offset litho or digital print runs at any volume. Coated art papers in the 150 to 350 gsm band are the second pillar: used for covers, presentation folders, programme booklets, gift cards, and any surface that needs a sharp photographic image. Their receipts are laid on a claybound surface rather than an absorbent ground, and Pantone spot colours need an underlay white or a proofed swatch because coated stock shifts hue under different lighting. Specialty stocks — textured laid, felt-marked, kraft, pearlescent, vellum, and the cotton-rich 220 to 300 gsm card used for letterpress — sit above that base layer. Letterpress is a relief print method that presses a metal or polymer plate into the paper, leaving a tactile impression even on uncoated stock; it is the right method for executive stationery, hotel welcome cards, and any surface where a buyer wants the mark to read as raised rather than printed. Foil stamping uses a heated die to bond a metallic or pigment foil to the surface, and it is usually specified for covers, certificate blanks, and invitation cards because the foil does not smudge and reads cleanly on dark grounds. Blind embossing and debossing add a mark without ink at all and are usually paired with foil for executive stationery sets. Engraved printing — the deepest, most traditional method — uses a copper plate and an intaglio press to leave a printed and impressed mark simultaneously; runs above five hundred plates are uncommon in B2B merch, but the method still turns up in finance, diplomacy, and legal stationery briefs. Two procurement points matter more than buyers expect. First, ink-on-paper compliance: a printed notebook used in a regulated office must use a paper and ink system that passes the relevant food-contact or recycling test if the surface comes near a kitchen. Second, print finishing on dark or coloured grounds — a one-colour white foil on a navy cover behaves differently from a one-colour black foil on a cream cover, and the proofing schedule has to allow both. On pricing, indicative per-unit bands for Yerevan-delivered runs run from roughly 850 AMD for a digitally printed letterhead set at 1 000 units to about 14 500 AMD for a foil-stamped, debossed, edge-painted hardcover notebook at 50 units; per-unit figures are quoted in AMD inclusive of 20% VAT and confirmed in writing before production.
- Type
- Branded paper and print programme — notebooks, stationery, cards, folders, certificates
- Print method
- Offset litho, digital print, letterpress, foil stamping, blind embossing, engraving
- Typical order volume
- 200–5 000 units for stationery sets; 50–300 units for foil-stamped executive notebooks and letterpress cards
- Lead time
- 10–22 working days from artwork approval; 28 working days for letterpress or engraved executive sets
- Payment rails
- Bank transfer in AMD, ArCa, Idram, Visa, Mastercard; 20% VAT included