Paper Types

Paper is not one uniform material. A sheet intended to pass through a photocopier needs different properties from one used to trace a drawing or transfer a design onto fabric. A useful choice links what the paper must do to its surface, strength, stiffness and ability to transmit light.

Surface finish affects how a sheet feels and accepts marks. Stiffness is resistance to bending, whereas strength concerns resistance to damage such as tearing. Opacity describes how effectively a sheet blocks light: high opacity helps prevent printed text on the reverse showing through, while low opacity is useful for tracing.

Grammage is the mass of one square metre of paper, measured in $\text{g/m}^2$. A higher grammage means more mass for the same area, but does not by itself tell you the exact thickness, strength or finish. Compare the actual grade as well as its name.

Copier paper: everyday printed documents

Copier paper is a lightweight, dimensionally stable paper used for copying correspondence and documents. Dimensionally stable means that it maintains its size and shape sufficiently well for its intended use.

Its balance of flexibility and stiffness matters. The sheet must bend around the machine’s feed rollers without being so flimsy that it feeds poorly. A very stiff sheet can also cause problems in a copier, so greater stiffness is not always an advantage.

Choose copier paper for printed instructions, worksheets and everyday correspondence. For double-sided work, check its opacity so that the reverse-side printing does not interfere with reading. Its limitation is that suitability for ordinary printing does not make it the best surface for every drawing technique, or give it the translucency needed for tracing.

Cartridge paper: drawing and sketching

Cartridge paper is tough and has a slightly rough surface. This texture gives pencil marks something to grip, making it useful for sketches, shading and design development. Its toughness is helpful when a drawing is handled and worked on.

For example, cartridge paper is a sensible choice for a page of shaded product ideas. Copier paper can carry a printed design, but cartridge paper’s textured surface is more useful when building up a drawing by hand.

The same texture can be a disadvantage when the task needs a very smooth surface for exceptionally fine lines. Cartridge paper is also not the appropriate choice for copying an underlying drawing by looking through the sheet: that is the job of tracing paper.

Tracing paper: copying and overlaying ideas

Tracing paper is translucent: it allows enough light through for lines underneath to remain visible. Lay it over a drawing and follow those lines to produce a copy. It also allows a designer to try changes on a separate overlay while keeping the original drawing intact.

Suppose a designer wants to alter the shape of a product without redrawing its unchanged features. Tracing paper can be placed over the original, the retained features traced, and the new outline added. Keeping the sheets aligned is important if the copied drawing is to remain accurate.

Its low opacity is its main advantage for this task, but a disadvantage for an ordinary double-sided document. Text and marks beneath it remain visible and can make the page difficult to read. Translucency is therefore neither universally good nor bad: its value depends on the application.

Bond paper: stationery and documents

Bond paper is a writing and printing paper used for stationery and documents. Useful stiffness helps it lie flat, and resistance to repeated folding is valuable for documents that will be folded and handled.

Choose a suitable bond grade for correspondence or business forms where writing, printing and handling are important. A letter that will be folded into an envelope needs a sheet that accepts print and tolerates that folding.

Bond and copier paper are not completely separate categories in everyday use: some office papers are described as bond. Rather than assuming that bond is always superior, compare the particular sheets’ finish, opacity, stiffness and printer compatibility. A bond sheet still cannot replace translucent tracing paper or specialist sublimation transfer paper.

Heat transfer paper: carrying a design to another material

Heat transfer printing paper for sublimation has a different role from the other papers. It carries a printed image temporarily; the finished image belongs on another material, called the substrate.

Special heat-activated sublimation inks are printed onto the transfer paper, usually as a mirror image. When the printed side is placed face down against the substrate, the transfer reverses it again, so lettering appears the correct way round.

The receiving material must be polyester fabric or have a suitable polyester coating. This allows designs to be applied to fabric and to prepared rigid objects made from materials such as glass, metal, wood, plastics or ceramics. Ordinary uncoated glass or ceramic is not interchangeable with a polyester-coated blank.

Transferring and checking the print

Place the paper with its printed side against the receiving surface. A heat press applies heat and pressure to separate items; industrial roll-fed material can pass through a heated roller machine called a calender. Typical transfer conditions are 180–200°C for 35–60 seconds, but the correct settings depend on the ink, paper and substrate, so follow their instructions.

The heat activates the dyes and the image transfers into the polyester fabric or coating. After the specified pressing cycle, remove the paper as instructed. The transfer is complete at this stage: no further drying or post-treatment is needed. Check that the design has transferred clearly, with lettering the right way round and no missing areas.

A heat press presents burn and trapping hazards. Use it under appropriate supervision, keep hands away from hot plates and closing mechanisms, and use suitable heat protection when handling hot items. Follow the equipment instructions and allow the item to cool safely before normal handling.

Why choose sublimation printing?

On polyester fabric, the dye becomes part of the material rather than forming a raised layer on top. The fabric retains its feel, and the image does not crack, peel or flake like a separate surface layer. It can withstand washing with minimal loss of colour. On a suitable coated rigid object, the image lies within the coating and is difficult to scratch or remove.

These qualities make sublimation useful where a durable printed design is needed. Its restrictions are equally important: it requires specialist inks, transfer paper, heating equipment and a compatible receiving surface. The transfer sheet itself is not the finished product.

A good selection therefore starts with the task: copier paper for routine printed documents, cartridge paper for textured drawing work, tracing paper for visible overlays, bond paper for suitable stationery, and sublimation transfer paper for moving a design onto a compatible substrate.