What Paper should I use for my Leaflets?

The Size, Shape & Weight of Paper you use for your Leaflets can Make a Big Difference to Your Response Rates

Let’s not kid ourselves – most people will receive a lot of leaflets over time.  This means that it is important to make yours stand out from the crowd.  One way to do this is bu using interesting and innovative design (see our article on the importance of good leaflet design).  The other element that will make your leaflet stand out from others in the size shape and type of paper it is printed on.

A5  is by far the most common size of leaflet that we distribute, in fact, it probably accounts for well over 80% of the leaflets that we distribute.  The next most popular is A4 half fold and then A4 tri-fold.

The element that varies most is the weight (or thickness) of paper that the leaflet is printed on with a relatively even split between thin (150gsm or 170gsm) paper and better quality 250gsm paper.  Occasionally clients opt for high quality 350gsm card – which is similar in weight to a postcard.

So what does all this mean for your leaflet print and distribution?

Let’s deal with the question of the weight of the paper used for the leaflet first. To some extent the weight of paper you use will depend on the product or service that the leaflet is promoting.  Basically the higher the quality of the product/service, the better the quality of paper you should use.  In general we would always advise using at least 250gsm paper because it has a good quality feel to it so it gives a good impression of your business.  Importantly, it also goes through letterboxes easier and, therefore, does not crumple as it goes through.  Lesser quality paper feels cheap (which reflects poorly on your business) and usually has to be folded to get it through letterboxes.

The size of the leaflet is a less easy issue to deal with.  The fact that A5 (which is half A4) is the most popular has more to do with cost/benefit because it is a size that you can put a reasonable amount of information on to and/or use decent sized images and the cost is not excessive because it is a very common size and, therefore, tends to be cheaper to print.

So if cost is an issue, the A5 250gsm is the way to go.  If you have a good budget for print then you can get creative with the size and/or design.  Since people are used to receiving standard sized leaflets, being creative on print by using unusual sizes or shapes or including cut-out or pop-out sections can be a very effective strategy in your  leaflet distribution campaign as it helps your leaflet stand out from the crowd and can, therefore, help improve response rates.

A good example that we have experience of was a leaflet we distributed for a pharmacy who made their leaflet look like a prescription both in design and in shape and size.  This worked well for them and they got a good response to their leaflet distribution campaign.  Similarly, we distributed a leaflet for Glasgow Taxis which included a pop-out card.