- What it is
- Uncoated stock has no clay layer at all, so ink sinks in and the surface stays completely matt however heavy the coverage. Kraft is uncoated and unbleached as well, which means the pulp keeps its own colour and the sheet is brown right through — the cut edge is the same brown as the face, and the shade shifts a little between reels. Both are chosen for what a hand reports rather than for what a photograph does, and both accept a pen, which no coated sheet does.
- What it is printed on
Kraft board where the brown is meant to be seen, and uncoated woodfree where a warm, natural white is wanted with a tooth on it. Both come in more than one weight, and the weight matters more here than on a coated sheet: an uncoated stock feels thinner than a coated one at the same caliper because it has no hard shell.
- Kraft board, 350 gsm0.46 mmBrown through the sheet, so the cut edge needs no finishing and every colour is mixed with it.
- Uncoated woodfree, 400 gsm0.55 mmNo coating at all: it takes a pen, stays matt under any coverage, and never looks cheap.
- How it feels
- Dry, warm, with a faint tooth that a fingertip catches on. Kraft is coarser and slightly furry at a fresh cut. Both make a soft sound rather than a click, both take a ballpoint or a pencil without smudging, and both age visibly — an uncoated card that has been in a pocket looks like it has been in a pocket, which is either the point or the problem.
- What it suits
- Cafés, bakeries, craft and wellness brands, packaging sleeves, swing tags, menus, and any card that gets written on after it is handed over. It does not suit four-colour photography, which goes soft and grey as the ink sinks, and on kraft it does not suit any colour that has to be accurate, because there is no white in the sheet to mix with.
- Lead time
- Standard turnaround is 7–14 working days. Counted from approved artwork rather than from the enquiry.
- The common mistake
- Approving a proof on a coated sheet and then printing the job uncoated. Chroma drops noticeably as the ink is absorbed, so everything lands duller and warmer than the thing that was signed off, and on kraft it lands browner as well. Build for the sheet before the run: strengthen the separations, or specify an opaque white underprint beneath the areas that genuinely have to hold their colour.
Print idea
Kraft and uncoated texture
Two sheets with nothing on top of them: unbleached kraft, brown the whole way through, and uncoated woodfree, where the ink dries into the fibre instead of sitting on it.
Standard turnaround is 7–14 working days.
What kraft and uncoated texture is
Uncoated stock has no clay layer at all, so ink sinks in and the surface stays completely matt however heavy the coverage. Kraft is uncoated and unbleached as well, which means the pulp keeps its own colour and the sheet is brown right through — the cut edge is the same brown as the face, and the shade shifts a little between reels. Both are chosen for what a hand reports rather than for what a photograph does, and both accept a pen, which no coated sheet does.
Kraft board where the brown is meant to be seen, and uncoated woodfree where a warm, natural white is wanted with a tooth on it. Both come in more than one weight, and the weight matters more here than on a coated sheet: an uncoated stock feels thinner than a coated one at the same caliper because it has no hard shell.
- The printed face, drawn in this stock’s own shade and its own surface structure.
- The cut edge, drawn at the estate scale of 1 mm = 22 px.
The specification
Six fields, and the last one is the useful one.
The same six questions are answered for every entry in this section, in the same order, so two objects can be compared without reading two pages of prose. The mistake is stated last and stated plainly, because it is the one that costs a reprint and it is the reason this page is worth sending to a colleague.
Where this sits.
Every entry is indexed three ways, because a buyer arrives knowing the occasion, the object or the material and almost never all three.
- Application
- Format
- Material and effect
Also worth looking at
- Foil blocking on kraft and dark boardStandard turnaround is 7–14 working days.
- Textured and laid paperStandard turnaround is 7–14 working days.
- Die-cut shapesStandard turnaround is 7–14 working days.
- FlyersThe specification, and how it is quoted
- PostcardsThe specification, and how it is quoted
- NCR booksThe specification, and how it is quoted
- PackagingThe specification, and how it is quoted
- Paper bagsThe specification, and how it is quoted
- Digital printingThe specification, and how it is quoted
- Every print idea, indexed three waysThe section index
- The materials libraryCaliper, weight and what each finish costs
Send the specification for this, and it comes back quoted.
Every job is quoted from its specification — stock, quantity, sides, finish, size and deadline.
- Quantity
- Stock — or the feel you want, if you do not know the stock
- Sides printed
- Finish
- Flat and finished size
- The deadline
Artwork is welcome but not required to start. Email sales@ezprint.com.sg if you would rather attach files.