Paper thickness is the next item to consider.

Overwhelmingly, EC Press recommends a 70 pound paper weight.  The presentation surpasses that of a lighter weight paper. If, however you would like to cut corners, or if you are making a hand-out for work/conferences a 50 pound weight would suffice. Let's break it down by asking a few questions:

• Is this book a give away for conferences, etc? (50#)
• Does your book contain a lot of color and illustration? (70#)
• Are there a lot of photos planned for your book? (70#)
• Do you mind "ghosting" or bleed through.  This is when you can see what is happening on the opposite page - a sort of ghost image that shows through. (Thinner papers will have ghosting) (No ghosting = 70#)

We have to talk about color…

If you DO NOT have photos/illustrations or color within the pages of your book, you don't have to concern yourself with color options. If you DO have color within your pages there are two options:

• Standard color—upon close inspection you may see the individual dots that make up the images in your book.
• Premium color- is much smoother, the colors flow seamlessly together. If your book is driven by the photos/illustrations the extra cost will be worth it for your images to be as clean as possible.

For the cleanest/sharpest images, choose premium color with heavier weight paper. (70#) Note: premium color is more expensive- but well worth it for your final product!