Document Printing / 6 min
Coated vs Uncoated Paper: Which One Should You Choose?
Compare coated and uncoated paper for readability, colour, writing, reports, flyers and business materials.
Published / Updated
By BizBee. Factual review: BizBee operations.
Short answer
Choose coated paper when you want sharper colour and a smoother finish. Choose uncoated paper when readability, writing, a softer feel or everyday office use matters more. Paper finish is different from paper weight: a sheet can be heavy or light and still be coated or uncoated.
What is coated paper?
Coated paper has a smoother surface that can make colours and images look sharper.
It is often used for flyers, brochures, covers and marketing pieces.
What is uncoated paper?
Uncoated paper has a more natural writing-paper feel.
It is often easier to write on and can be more comfortable for text-heavy documents.
Which is better for business documents?
For internal documents, training packs and reading copies, uncoated paper is often practical.
For visual handouts, brand pieces or image-heavy pages, coated paper may look more polished.
How does this differ from GSM?
GSM describes paper weight, while coating describes surface finish.
A 120 GSM uncoated sheet can feel different from a 120 GSM coated sheet.
Paper finish checklist
- - Use coated paper for sharper visuals.
- - Use uncoated paper for writing and reading comfort.
- - Do not confuse finish with GSM.
- - Think about whether the document will be handled, written on or filed.
- - For important pieces, compare finish options before ordering quantity.
Next step
Pick paper based on how the document will be used, not only how it looks.
Choose paper for a print order