Hi there:

I want to get some plans printed, but am wondering what weight of paper is usually used for this....I got quotes from a print shop for #20 (regular printer paper), #32 and #48 but was wondering if anyone out there has ideas of what's best for stability, durability, etc....

hamilton

For stability, get the prints made on frosted Mylar sheet. It is perfectly stable. I'm not aware of any paper that is, except perhaps vellum.

I have my own plotter and use #20 bond over 99% of the time, the other paper I have used is vellum but only rarely. Mylar and vellum are more stable but are also much more expensive. I just print off what I need when I need it. It is much more important to make sure they are printed to the exact scale needed.

Don

The print shop I'm consulting with does use a synthetic material (polyprophelene) but not mylar......the cost of printing 3 30" x 40" sheets on #20 bond is 30$ and about $40 for the #32 bond - $130 for the polyprophelene...so it's a pretty big leap in cost.....I have a roll of mylar at home and I may just ask if they can print onto it if I supply it...but it may be that they're finicky about this sort of thing - which I wouldn't necessarily fault them for. The customer may always be right, but they can also be annoyingly particular.....

hamilton

Good luck with your print shop!