Ask about the economies of using house stocks. Groundwood and hibrite paper are alternative stocks that can give you more for your money. In recent years, manufacturers have developed groundwoods and hibrite paper that rival regular offset in brightness and opacity at a much better cost. It's also good to have an understanding of how paper and its characteristics affect your finished product. This is most important in printing and binding.
Paper folds smoothly with the grain and is stiffer.
When folded across the grain, it can crack or become rough. For example, grain direction in books and catalogs should be parallel with the binding edge to reduce curl and make the pages lie flat and turn easier. Basis weight is a way of identifying paper. The basis size in the United States is not the same for all grades of paper. Book paper, cover paper, bond paper, newsprint, etc., all differ.