Magazine Paper Guide: Coated vs Uncoated, GSM Chart

Paper changes how a magazine feels in the hand more than any other spec. Two issues with the same layout, トリム, and page count can read as different products once one runs on 157 gsm gloss and the other on 80 gsm uncoated. Buyers who negotiate only on price per copy often learn, after the first run, that paper was the decision worth more time.

This guide is written from the factory side. It separates the two paper choices every magazine order makes, the interior text stock and the cover stock. It compares coated and uncoated papers in reading terms, matches weights to content and binding, and ends with a GSM chart that carries the caliper values we publish.

The Two Paper Decisions Behind Every Magazine

Every magazine specification splits paper into two independent conversations. The text stock is the interior pages, sometimes called the body or book stock. The cover stock is the front and back wrappers. Each is quoted and sourced on its own, with its own coating choice and weight choice. The pairing matters more than maxing out either side alone.

The text stock drives reading comfort and block thickness. あ 64 page issue in 80 gsm coated paper makes a slim, flexible block. The same issue in 157 gsm gloss roughly doubles the sheet caliper, から 65 に 133 microns on our published coated tables. That change decides which bindings stay realistic and how the issue sits on a shelf.

The cover stock drives first impression and protection. It carries the title, the photography, and the finish, whether gloss, マット, soft touch, またはスポットUV. It must stay stiff enough for the trim without cracking on the spine. The two choices meet in three places: total block thickness, per copy paper cost, そして発送重量. A working rule from the floor: pick the text stock for the content and the cover one step heavier than feels obvious, then check the pair against the binding.

Coated vs Uncoated Paper

How Coated Paper Behaves

Coated paper carries a clay based layer pressed smooth, so ink sits on top instead of soaking in. The result is sharp dot reproduction, high color density, and strong contrast. That is why coated stock is the default for fashion, ライフスタイル, product photography, and interior design titles. の Wikipedia article on coated paper describes the same coating chemistry and its long use in magazines. Our own rundown of grades and finishes sits on the coated paper support page.

How Uncoated Paper Behaves

Uncoated paper, in magazine work called offset or woodfree, has no coating. The sheet absorbs more ink, so a printed image reads softer and flatter with muted saturation. In the right context that is a feature, not a defect, and text led journals and subscription titles gain from low glare and a warm hand feel. Weight for weight, uncoated sheets carry more bulk, so an 80 gsm offset feels thicker than an 80 gsm coated sheet. The mechanism is covered in our paper thickness guide.

Ink hold is the second real gap. Coated stock lets you push heavier coverage while keeping detail, but it needs drying time on fast presses. Uncoated stock drinks ink, so dense photography on light uncoated paper loses highlight detail and can shadow the reverse side. For the wider book paper vocabulary behind these terms, our book paper for printing guide is the definitional reference. の offset paper support page lists the uncoated grades we keep in stock.

A simple framing for the buyer: if readers will judge the issue on images, run coated. If they will judge it on reading comfort and a tactile, understated feel, run uncoated or a matte coated middle option, and reserve gloss for the feature pages.

Matching Interior Paper To Your Content

Once coated or uncoated is settled, weight selection should follow what actually sits on the pages. The table below gives the interior bands we run most for magazines, tied to content type and binding fit. Trim size is a separate decision, covered in our magazine size guide, so this table assumes a fixed format.

Content in the issue	Interior band	Typical choice	Binding note
Text led journal, essays, インタビュー	70 に 100 GSM	コーティングなしのオフセット, white or cream	Comfortable at 60 に 100 ページ. Sewn or perfect binding suits thicker text issues better than staples
Mixed editorial, ライフスタイル, 仕事, brand mag	105 に 128 GSM	Matte or gloss coated	The default band. Saddle stitch stays practical for shorter issues, perfect binding for longer ones
Photography heavy, lookbook sections	128 に 157 GSM	Gloss coated, occasionally matte	Block bulk rises fast. At these weights perfect or sewn binding is usually the realistic route
Feature pages and special inserts	200 GSM, or translucent stock	Heavier coated breaks or vellum inserts	Inserts change local thickness at the fold. Flag them to the binder before imposition

Two cautions when you read across the rows. These bands pair with a binding only at a given page count. あ 157 gsm gloss at 24 pages can still take saddle stitch, while the same stock at 64 pages pushes the staples. Mixing two interior weights in one issue is possible, but it raises both material and assembly cost. It earns its place only when the editorial structure rewards the contrast, as in the custom fashion magazine builds we quote.

For quarterly and annual brand titles, a common starting point is 105 または 128 gsm matte coated inside. It carries enough body to feel intentional, keeps per copy paper cost and shipping weight reasonable, and works with both staple and glue routes depending on page count.

Cover Stock Weight And Finish

Cover stock for magazines usually lands between 200 gsm and 250 GSM. The right spot depends on trim size, positioning, and whether the cover will be laminated. Small format indie titles sometimes run 157 に 200 gsm coated without lamination to keep cost lean and the feel casual. Standard newsstand formats start at 200 gsm gloss or matte coated. Premium or gift titles move to 250 GSM, often with a soft touch or anti scratch film on top.

Decide the lamination question early, not on the proof. A laminated cover gains scuff resistance, richer matte depth, and a softer hand. An unlaminated gloss cover is cheaper and reads brighter, but the trade off on heavy covers is curl and cracking. An unlaminated 250 gsm sheet folded on the spine cracks more easily than the same sheet with a film on both sides. Scoring, grain direction, and two sided films are press side variables, and the full workflow is in our magazine printing process guide.

Finish options on top of the base paper include gloss and matte lamination, soft touch film, スポットUV, and foil. Our breakdown of paperback cover finishes covers the same vocabulary. Jewelry and luxury titles, like the builds on our custom jewelry magazine page, often pair a 250 gsm matte laminated cover with spot UV on the logo.

On front versus back, both covers run on the same stock in nearly every program. A heavier front with a lighter back invites uneven curl in the same humidity. The exception is a gatefold or tip on treatment, which is a bespoke spec and priced separately.

Magazine Paper GSM And Caliper Chart

This chart is the deliverable we hand buyers on inquiry calls. It lists the magazine paper choices we stock in gsm, with the caliper in microns from our published paper materials tables, 仕上げ, and the usual role. Print it, mark it up, and send it back to your printer as a starting point.

Stock	重さ (GSM)	キャリパー (micron)	Where it fits in a magazine
Gloss coated	80	65	Slim, high page count interiors and mailers
Gloss coated	105	84	Standard magazine interior and trade brochures
Gloss coated	128	102	Brand lookbooks and art book text pages
Gloss coated	157	133	Premium illustrated interiors and feature sections
Gloss coated	200	171	Self covers and heavyweight plate pages
Matte coated	105	93	Non glare corporate periodicals
Matte coated	128	116	Annual reports and non glare art interiors
Matte coated	157	152	High end photography interiors
Matte coated	250	265	Premium and presentation covers
コーティングなしのオフセット	80	95	Text led journals and essay issues
コーティングなしのオフセット	100	115	High opacity non fiction text pages
コーティングなしのオフセット	120	140	Illustrated journals and workbooks

Read the caliper column as the bridge to binding. Pages times per sheet caliper set the spine, and the spine decides whether a binding is possible. The gsm to thickness conversion belongs to our paper thickness guide. Every step up in interior gsm pushes a page count toward glue routes and away from staples. Every step up in cover gsm needs scoring and lamination choices to keep the wrapper flat.

Page budget planning belongs alongside this chart, and signatures are covered in our page budget guide for magazine issues. の magazine printing category page lists the builds we quote most often if you want a physical reference point.

Common Paper Problems And Their Fixes

Most magazine paper complaints trace to a mismatch between weight, コーティング, and ink load, not to a defect in the sheet. Here are the four we see most, with the paper side fix for each.

Show through. The reverse side of a page shows through the paper, so the first lever is opacity, not just weight. からの移動 80 GSMから 105 gsm coated usually clears it on text pages. On uncoated stock a higher opacity grade at the same gsm can fix it without adding bulk. Heavy coverage on feature pages makes it worse, so avoid full bleed dark images facing light text pages.

Bleed through and ghosting. Ink migrates to the other side on light coated stock under heavy coverage. The fix pairs paper and process. Raise the interior weight one step, and keep total ink coverage inside what the chosen stock can hold. Let the press handle the rest with the drying and powder settings in the magazine printing process guide.

Curling. Curl is a moisture and stress imbalance, and paper choices aggravate or calm it. A single sided laminate on a heavy cover pulls toward the film, and a 157 gsm and up cover benefits from scoring. Interior sheets stored unwrapped in a humid container can wave at the trim. Request two sided films on heavy covers, and set grain direction with the binder.

Flat or muddy color. Undercolor on coated stock is usually an ink absorption story, because uncoated and low grade matte sheets absorb more and read softer. If a proof looks dull against your screen, check that the quote assumed the right grade. あ 105 gsm matte coated rarely matches the density of a 128 gsm gloss at the same ink settings. Titles where color fidelity is the product, like the runs on our custom lifestyle magazine line, justify a printed dummy over a digital proof.

None of these are reasons to fear a paper choice. They are reasons to confirm the combination of stock, 重さ, 仕上げる, and binding on a physical sample before the bulk run.

最終的な考え

Paper is the spec readers touch first and judge longest. Fix the text stock to the content, size the cover one step past the obvious, and check both against the binding before you commit. Then confirm the whole combination on a printed sample rather than a screen.

Keep the thickness math, the page budget, and the press workflow on the pages that own them, and keep this one on choosing the paper. That separation is what makes a first print run predictable.

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