Best Paper for Flyers: Weights, Coatings and Quantities

Paper is sold in two families and the numbers are not comparable between them, which is the source of most confusion.

Text weight is thinner, foldable paper — what most flyers are printed on. Common weights: 70lb (light, economical), 80lb (the door-to-door standard), 100lb (noticeably more substantial, good for handouts).

Cover weight is card stock. Common weights: 80lb cover, 100lb cover, and the point-measured stocks (14pt, 16pt) used for postcards and business cards.

The trap: 80lb text and 80lb cover are completely different papers. Cover is roughly twice as thick. Always specify which family you mean, or specify the use and let us pick.

Door-to-door drops. 80lb gloss text. You are printing thousands, so per-piece cost dominates, and the gloss coating gives some resistance to a damp mailbox or a wet porch — which matters more in Ottawa than most places. Going lighter than 70lb starts to feel cheap and tears in handling.

Handouts at events and trade shows. 100lb text minimum. Someone is taking this from your hand and deciding in that moment whether to keep it or bin it, and weight does real work in that judgement. This is the wrong place to save money.

In-store and counter displays. 100lb text or light cover. It has to stand up in a holder without curling and survive being handled repeatedly.

Menus and anything reused. Cover stock, and consider lamination. Standard flyer paper does not survive daily handling — see menu printing for materials built for that.

Anything mailed. Weight affects postage. Check the mailing rules before choosing stock, because a heavier paper can push a large mailing into a higher rate band and cost far more than the paper saving.

Gloss — highest colour saturation, photographs look their best, and it resists moisture. The downsides are glare under bright light and that you cannot write on it. Best for image-led, high-volume distribution.

Matte — no glare, easier to read for text-heavy pieces, feels more considered. Slightly less punchy on photographs. Best when the flyer has a lot of copy people need to actually read.

Silk — between the two. Some sheen, less glare than gloss, good colour reproduction. A safe default when you cannot decide.

Uncoated — takes pen, feels natural and tactile, and suits a deliberately understated or craft-led brand. Colours print noticeably softer because the paper absorbs more ink, so avoid it if you need vivid photography. Necessary if anyone needs to write on the flyer.

Print pricing is dominated by setup, so the per-piece cost drops steeply as quantity rises. The practical consequence is that the gap between a cheap stock and a good one narrows dramatically at volume — at 5,000 pieces the upgrade from 80lb to 100lb text often costs less per flyer than the difference feels like it should.

The corollary: do not order 250 flyers. At small quantities you are paying mostly for setup, so the per-piece cost is high and you get very little reach for it. If your budget only supports 250, consider whether a different format — cards or door hangers — is a better use of the money.

Also worth knowing: quantity breaks are steps, not a smooth curve. If you are near one, going slightly over can occasionally cost less in total than staying just under. Ask and we will tell you where the breaks fall for your job.

Heavy ink coverage needs the right stock. A design with a full-bleed dark background puts a lot of ink on the sheet. On a light uncoated stock that can cause show-through, where the image is faintly visible from the other side, and can make the sheet cockle. Coated stock and a slightly heavier weight handle it better.

Double-sided printing raises the same issue. If both sides carry heavy ink, go heavier on the stock than you would for a single-sided piece.

Folding changes things. If your flyer folds, it is really a brochure — stay in text weight so it folds cleanly, and be aware that coated stock above about 100lb text needs scoring first or the coating cracks along the fold.

Standard bleed and safe-area rules apply, and our flyer size guide covers the dimension side of the decision.