On our booklets, cover and text stock are chosen independently. That is not an upsell, it is how booklets are actually made: the cover takes all the handling and the interior pages take none.
Text stock: 115 or 150gsm
This is every page inside the cover. Two things change between the options:
- 115gsm — lighter, so the booklet feels more like a magazine and costs less to post. Some show-through is normal on a heavy double-sided page.
- 150gsm — noticeably more substantial, better opacity so less of the reverse side shows, and it holds heavy ink coverage better.
If your interior is mostly text, 115gsm is fine and the saving is real across a whole print run. If the inside pages carry full-page photography or solid colour backgrounds, 150gsm is worth it — show-through on a dark page is genuinely distracting.
Cover stock: 250 or 300gsm
The cover has to survive being carried, posted, stacked and opened repeatedly. Both options are stiff enough to do that; 300gsm simply holds its shape longer and resists curling.
There is a proportional consideration too. A 32-page booklet on 150gsm text is fairly thick, and a 250gsm cover on top of it can feel slightly under-built. A slim 8-page booklet is well served by either.
Laminating the cover
Cover lamination is optional. It adds a film that resists scuffing and moisture, and it stops the cover's ink marking when booklets are stacked and slid against each other — worth knowing if these are being boxed and shipped rather than handed out on the day.
A gloss laminate deepens the cover's colours; matt flattens them slightly and eliminates glare. The same trade-offs apply as on cards — see matt vs gloss laminate.
One thing to decide before you design
If the cover is laminated and the interior is not, there is a visible and tactile change when the reader opens it. That is completely normal and usually reads as quality. But if your cover design bleeds onto page 2 as one continuous image, the join will be obvious. Worth knowing before you commit to that layout.
Minimum order on booklets is 100 copies.