Folded Leaflet Paper Stock Guide: Silk, Uncoated & Recycled

Paper does more work than most people give it credit for. The same leaflet design, printed on 150gsm silk and on 250gsm uncoated, arrives as two different pieces of print — one reads as a handout, the other as something considered. Neither is better. They're different tools.

We print folded leaflets on seven stocks across three families. This guide covers all seven: what each one is, how it behaves under ink, and when we'd actually recommend it.

The three families

Coated silk has a thin mineral coating that stops ink soaking into the fibres. Colour sits on the surface, so it stays sharp and saturated. Silk specifically has a low sheen — brighter than uncoated, without the glare of gloss.

Uncoated has no coating. Ink absorbs slightly into the sheet, which softens colour and edges a little and gives a warmer, more natural result. It's the only family here you can reliably write on.

Recycled is uncoated in behaviour, made entirely from post-consumer waste. Slightly warmer in tone than virgin uncoated, with a faint natural fleck.

All seven stocks are FSC certified.

Silk

150gsm Silk

Our standard leaflet weight and by a distance our best seller. Substantial enough to feel like proper print rather than photocopier paper, light enough to fold crisply and post economically.

If you're printing a service leaflet, a rack leaflet or anything going out in volume, start here. There's no weakness to design around — colour reproduces cleanly, folds sit flat, and the cost per copy is the lowest we offer.

Choose it for: general business leaflets, rack distribution, mailings, high-volume runs.

170gsm Silk

A modest step up in weight and a noticeable one in feel. The difference between 150 and 170 is subtle on a table and obvious in the hand — it has a bit more body and holds its shape better when held open.

Worth the small premium when the leaflet will be handed over personally rather than picked off a rack, or when it needs to survive a few days in a bag.

Choose it for: leaflets handed out at meetings and events, pieces that need to feel a step above standard.

250gsm Silk

A light card rather than a paper. This is where a leaflet stops feeling like a leaflet and starts feeling like a proper printed piece.

It handles repeated use well, which is the real reason to specify it — a restaurant menu, a treatment list on a salon counter, a price list that lives on a desk. It creases rather than folds, so the fold line is scored before folding to keep it clean.

Choose it for: menus, price lists, counter and table use, premium service literature, anything handled repeatedly.

Uncoated

150gsm Uncoated

The same weight as our standard silk, with an entirely different character. Matt, slightly textured, no sheen at all. Colour reads softer — blacks are a little less dense, photographs a little quieter.

That softness is the point. Uncoated reads as understated and trustworthy, which is why solicitors, accountants, therapists, heritage sites and independent food businesses gravitate to it. It also takes pen and pencil without smudging, so it's the only sensible choice if anyone needs to write on it.

Choose it for: professional services, booking and order forms, appointment cards, heritage and craft brands, anything requiring writing.

250gsm Uncoated

Light card in the uncoated family. Tactile, warm, and genuinely lovely to handle — the closest thing in the range to a letterpress feel without the letterpress price.

Priced level with 250gsm silk, so choose between them on character rather than cost. Silk if colour needs to be vivid; uncoated if the piece should feel restrained and expensive.

Choose it for: premium professional services, wedding and event stationery, food and drink menus with a natural feel, considered brand pieces.

Recycled

150gsm Recycled

100% post-consumer recycled, at standard leaflet weight. Soft, tactile, with a very slight fleck that reads as deliberate rather than cheap — recycled stock has moved a long way from the grey, fibrous paper people remember from the nineties.

Colour behaves much like uncoated: softer, warmer, slightly muted. If your brand or your audience cares about environmental credentials, this stock communicates that before anyone reads a word.

Choose it for: environmental and sustainability messaging, charities, outdoor and wellbeing brands, B Corps, and public sector work with green procurement criteria.

250gsm Recycled

The heaviest and most expensive stock in the range. Recycled card with real substance and a distinctly tactile surface.

It's the premium option for brands whose sustainability position is central rather than incidental. Because recycled fibre costs more than virgin, expect it to sit above 250gsm silk and uncoated — a difference worth explaining internally if someone's comparing quotes on price alone.

Choose it for: premium sustainable brands, environmental campaigns, menus and literature for eco-conscious venues.

Weight, quickly

GSM is grams per square metre — the weight of one square metre of the sheet. It's a proxy for thickness and stiffness, not quality.

• 150gsm — standard leaflet weight. Folds crisply, posts cheaply.
• 170gsm — a step up in body without a step up in postage class.
• 250gsm — light card. Scored before folding. Feels premium.

For comparison: office copier paper is 80gsm, a typical business card 400gsm.

Two practical notes

Postage. If you're mailing thousands, weight has a real cost. The step from 150gsm to 250gsm can push a large run into a higher Royal Mail band and cost more in postage than in paper. Tell us the quantity and we'll flag it before you commit.

Folding heavier stock. Anything at 250gsm is scored before folding — a shallow crease pressed into the sheet so the fibres bend rather than crack. It's standard on every 250gsm job we run, and it's why heavy folded work needs an extra day in the schedule.

Ask for a sample

Paper is close to impossible to judge on a screen. We keep printed samples of every stock here and we're happy to post them — tell us which you're weighing up and we'll send them out.

Call 0141 237 1924 or email sales@printstudioscotland.com. Or see the complete buying guide and the folds explained.