Researching Paper

We have been thinking about the type and weight of the paper we need to use for our magazine, I (Amber) went down to the reprographics room in the college to research the weights of different paper. The first sheet of paper I looked at was normal office paper which is weighed at 80 GSM (GSM = Grammes per Square Meter), The second sheet of paper I looked at was card, card is weighed at 160 GSM, and the final piece of paper was card as well but instead of weighing 160 GSM this bit weighs 300 GSM. 

I took a sample of each piece of paper and showed it to the rest of the group, we decided that the normal office paper was too thin to use, and that the card was to thick, we thought of using the 160 GSM for the front and back covers. We were told that the 300 GSM card would be too thick for the front and back covers as it wouldn't be able to fold. 

We were thinking about using paper which had been coated, either gloss or silk, We contacted a printer and asked how much it would be for silk paper, She then emailed us back saying she would send us dummy books for an example, she sent us two examples; 80 GSM, silk and saddle stitched, the other was 90 GSM recycled silk and saddled stitched. 

We think that the recycled silk paper would suit our magazine, the quality of the paper is better and it has a shine to it. The only problem we have is that the recycled paper is more expensive that the just silk paper.