Paper Recommendations

Hello everyone,

I am looking for some paper recommendations for printing on a Vandercook SP15. We will be printing cards and invitations, so we are looking for something heavy (100#/250-300gsm) and preferably something with matching envelopes. I love the feel of Somerset Velvet but it’s out of range as far as price. So I would like something with a bit of tooth while staying affordable.

I have managed to narrow it down to:

Mohawk Superfine 100# Cover (eggshell)
Mohawk Via Felt 100# Cover
French Paper Dur-O-Tone 100# Cover (too stiff?)

Obviously Superfine would be the safest of the three choices but I am curious is anyone has any experience with the others. Also I would love to hear any recommendations based on personal successes.

Thanks!
Brad.

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I use the crane’s lettra 300gsm paper and it is wonderful for cards & invitations. It is super soft and thick, makes a nice, clean impression, and keeps its shape well. They have matching envelopes as well. The texture isn’t super smooth but isn’t very rough either. I get it at paper.com in the larger sheets/quantity. It works out to like 8 cents a card. Perhaps there are cheaper places too?

French paper is great. The 100# cover isn’t actually that thick. You could go up to the 140# muscletone. I just printed some invites on it last week. But the surface is very smooth on all the French paper so if you are looking for something with a tooth….

i’ve used crane’s lettra… it is by far the best paper i’ve used for letterpress. it is kind of soft and mushy, though, as far as a cardstock goes. but it gives such a nice crisp impression. i’ve also used paper-source.com’s luxe papers… they are pretty inexpensive and print up very very nice. arturo is kind of expensive, and in my opinion not as nice as the lettra. i’ve never printed on any french papers.

good luck!!

A paper that I’ve used and see quite a few companies use is a paper called Somerset Velvet. It’s widely used in the letterpress industry. The impression is awesome. Though this paper is awesome, it’s quite expensive.