Frequently Asked Questions
General - Measuring Envelopes - Standard Sizes
Why are there no prices on the website?
Each print job is bespoke and hence different from the next, we therefore quote each job individually. In addition with the paper industry being so volatile at present, prices fluctuate regularly and we wish to offer you the best possible price on the day.
What is GSM?
GSM is a measurement of weight and stands for Grams Per Square Metre. Invariably, the heavier the paper the better the feel and the stronger the envelope. But there is more to it than that! Take the International standard of DL (110 x 220mm). It is usual to find this size in a choice of 70, 80, 90, 100, 115 or 120 GSM. So which do you choose? Whilst it's common in major mailing campaigns to attempt to reduce the envelope price to the lowest possible, often this can lead to higher cost elsewhere. For instance enclosing machines will accept 80 GSM envelopes, but they will have less machine crashes when 90 GSM or even 100 GSM paper is used. So paying a few pence less per 1000 on envelopes only to increase enclosing costs by pounds per 1000 is no saving at all.
Paper weight will also be a consideration when what you wish to enclose is either heavy, bulky or has sharp corners. The more protection needed, the heavier the paper that should be used. In addition it may also be important to consider the impact the envelope has on the recipient, does the message you're sending indicate quality? A low GSM choice in envelope could contradict the intended message...
What Tolerances can I expect?
The speed at which envelope manufacturing machines work together with the vagaries of the raw paper itself can lead to inconsistencies. Manufacturing tolerances are given as +- 2mm in any direction. Whilst the window size will always be consistent, again a position tolerance of +- 2mm in any direction is acceptable. In terms of printing envelopes, the industry variance is between 5-10% wastage which could mean ending up with 18,000 envelopes from an order of 20,000. We DO NOT agree with this "standard" and aim for a much more satisfactory 1-2% wastage allowance in production, which we make up to provide the quantity required by you.
Why choose an envelope with an Internal Opaque?
Opaque refers to the basic pattern on the inside of an envelope. It is useful as it fulfils a security function by preventing people from reading matter inside the envelope. For bespoke mailings you can opt for a customised opaque, perhaps featuring your company name or logo.
I am an Individual - can I just buy one box?
Of course you can. If you let us know we can arrange for even 100 envelopes to be delivered.
