Paper an often overlooked, yet highly important component to the functioning of any office. Out of all office stationery, paper is probably the one item that your office orders most frequently and in large quantities. After all, we use paper in nearly every task we perform at work. There is countless printing to be done, whether you are printing off daily reports or perhaps printing letters to potential clients or existing customers. In the UK alone there is a printer printing on a sheet of A4 paper approximately every 0.01 seconds. That’s a lot of paper we are using daily, the majority of which is printed in offices up and down the country. It is clear, therefore, that paper is an essential part of any office although its importance in the office is often overlooked.

Of course because everyone uses their paper/printers for different purposes, there are many types of paper that can compliment what you wish you do. For example, if you plan to be printing a lot of text (e.g. typing letters to potential clients etc) then you will probably be better off with the standard white A4 paper – coloured paper is suitable for home projects etc but white paper is far more professional for office uses. The main types of paper available are: correspondence paper, economy copier paper, inkjet paper, laser paper, multi-functional paper, photo paper, pre-printed stationery, recycled paper and specialist papers. Although the majority of offices will tend to use only a few of these - usually economy copier paper, inkjet paper, laser paper and multi-functional paper. As most paper in the office is used for photocopying, faxing, printing letters etc so the standard office is not really going to need anything other than these types.

However this does depend on what kind of business you run and what type of image you wish to present to your clients. Like most products, paper is available in a variety of qualities, or ‘grade’ - usually 3 grades, A, B and C. Grade A being the best/highest quality, Grade B the nest best, Grade C the next and so on. Grade A papers have a high-white, smooth and bright finish. They are primarily used for letterheads as well as important or prestigious documents. A grade papers will normally be able to run in all types of printers including inkjet and laser. Grade B papers are not as smooth or bright white as the A grade papers, but nevertheless still a good paper – perfect for internal reports and some external communications. They can be used in most machines but tend to perform best with mono (black) printers. Grade C papers are less smooth, bright or sturdy than both the B and A grade. C grade papers are perfect for internal memos or informal documents. They are designed to work well with high volume printing (without jamming) but will not deliver the appearance of either a B or A grade paper.

Because paper is used for such a variety of purposes in the office, it comes in a variety of sizes. Most people will be familiar with the most common size, A4 which is the type you use in your standard printer/photocopier. The most common types (in order or size) are A5 (half the size of an A4 sheet), A4, A3 (twice the size of an A4 sheet), although you can get sizes both smaller and larger than those mentioned above.