How do I choose the right paper for my book?

Paper stock affects more than how your book feels, it influences print quality, finished weight, and spine width. Bradford & Bigelow's paper comparison tool lets you evaluate our in-house stocks side by side so you can make an informed decision before your project goes to press.

What the tool compares
The tool displays Bradford & Bigelow's available paper stocks and compares them across three key specifications:

• Brightness: affects how whites and colors appear on the printed page. Higher brightness can make colors appear more vivid but may feel stark for long-form reading content.
• Opacity: how much text or imagery shows through from the reverse side of the page. Higher opacity is especially important for two-sided printing on text-heavy pages.
• PPI (pages per inch): how many pages fit within one inch of spine thickness. PPI directly affects your spine width calculation, so your paper choice has a direct impact on your cover file dimensions.

Compare B&B's paper stocks

A note on paper and spine width
Your paper stock choice affects your spine width. If you change stocks after your cover file is built, recalculate your spine width using our spine size calculator to confirm your cover dimensions are still accurate before submitting your files.

Want to see a sample before you decide?
If you'd like to see and feel a paper stock before committing to it for your project, contact us and we'll send you a sample.