Results from Proper and Improper Paper Selection.
Speaking before the Cleveland convention of the Direct Mail Advertising Association, George F. McKenney, a practical printer, told of a specialty manufacturer selling to druggists who got up a very beautiful two-color booklet, printed on a heavily coated paper. The results were not satisfactory. After some study it was found that this glaring white paper when read under electric light was very hard on the eyes, and it was found that the class appealed to almost always read their mail under this condition. Druggists usually work long hours too. A new booklet, identical except that it was printed on a dull-finished paper, was prepared and, to quote Mr. McKenney, "the resulting business clearly showed that the change was worth far more than the expense."

At the same convention, B. E. Hill, advertising manager of a firm wholesaling by mail, told of a test of two different pieces, one of which, on colored paper, produced five times the results of the one on white paper.

While Charles S. Wiggins, a Canadian advertiser, at the same meeting recited the case of a mailing into Canada for the Encyclopedia Britannica which was inclosed in an envelope of a highly finished, therefore brittle, paper. Traveling a long distance the contents worked through the envelope with the result that it was necessary to readdress the pieces in new envelopes before delivering them, in addition to paying duty on advertising material which would not have been chargeable had the original envelopes held together.

Postage for October, 1919, tells of a test made by an advertiser using quality stationery on one lot of one thousand names and cheap stationery on another thousand. There was no difference in the copy or quality of list. The cheap stationery brought 20 per cent inquiries and the high-grade stationery brought 32 per cent inquiries.

Many other interesting examples were cited, but one more, this one from the catalogue field, will serve to point the moral.

T. R. Emerson, a shoe wholesaler, in Printers' Ink for November 26, 1914, told of a catalogue which cost $1.25 to produce, at that time considered a very high-priced catalogue. This was his second venture into the field of de luxe catalogues and Mr. Emerson said of it : "It is pulling more strongly than the first one. The cost of selling shoes on the road is, roughly, 5 per cent. Even with a $1.25 catalogue, which is high for the line, our costs run only from 11/2 to 2 per cent. It would be higher with a poorer catalogue, poorer mailing list, or a poorer line."

The Psychology of Paper.
Aside from references already made in preceding sections little study has been given to the psychology of paper. It will suffice, to point the way, to say that in advertising a massive piece of machinery your appeal will register better mentally with the prospect if the paper upon which it comes is strong and has an appearance of durability. If you are advertising fine laces, a delicate, though not cheap or flimsy, paper will help to impress Mrs. or Miss Prospect. If it is a highly polished piece of cut glass, or polished tools, you may need to use the highly finished coated papers. While if it is a baker's product you will find that offset papers aid the mental appeal. Offset papers also add to the eye-appeal of woolen products. A linen-finish paper makes an impression upon women. Paper with deckle-edges seems to impress both sexes.

Where it is desired to use the color of the paper to suggest certain ideas to the recipient, see Section 302, which applies practically as well to paper as to ink.

In selecting the cover paper to be used on "The Optimism Book for Offices," shown on Fig. 15, for instance, a paper was chosen which suggested an optimistic note. That is, the very paper itself suggested brightness, life, and vigor.

William Aspinwall Bradley in "The Printing Art Suggestion Book" some years ago said : "There can be no question that a slightly toned book paper is preferable to a dead white. For the toned paper certainly presents a more agreeable surface to the eye than white paper. It reduces the black and white contrast of the printed page which can be so painful." Yet few advertising men have followed the idea of colored papers in making booklets, catalogues, and the like.

There is a rich, scarcely touched, field for development in the study of paper's psychological appeal. For an appeal to juveniles or to an uncultured class it may be found that the cheapest, most ordinary paper is a better investment than the higher-grade and necessarily higher-priced paper !

Two Main Classifications of Papers to Be Considered.
In the production of direct advertising there are two main classes of papers to be considered : (1) Cover papers, used not only for covers, but for mailing cards, folders, broadsides, and even upon occasion for letterheads, and (2) body or text stock.

Either or both of these stocks may be used for making envelopes, wrappers, or "the outside" referred to in Chapter VI.

Occasionally' a transparent paper is used either as an actual part of the cover of a book or as a book jacket to add "class" to the book itself. "The Optimism Book for Offices" (see Fig. 15) made use of the loose transparent paper jacket to create a feeling of richness for the beautiful three-color process work on the cover. Fig. 15 also illustrates a booklet, "The Story of Silk," upon which a trans-parent paper jacket was used to add distinctiveness.

Technical Terms Used in Referring to Paper.
Paper is usually quoted by the pound or by the ream. Cover stocks are sometimes sold by the "sheet." The count for a ream is 500 sheets.

In making up specifications for ordering paper it is the rule to name the brand or maker, the size of the sheet, the weight, the finish, and the tint or color.

The weight signifies the number of pounds to the ream. For example, 3 reams of Best Plate Finish, 25 x 38-80, indicates that you require 1500 sheets of this grade, size of each sheet 25 inches x 38 inches, 500 sheets of which weigh 80 pounds.