Best paper for coloring pages: copy paper vs cardstock

The best paper for coloring pages depends on what the kids color with. Crayons and colored pencils work well on plain copy paper, and the slightly rough surface actually grabs the wax. Markers, dot markers and paint sticks soak through thin paper, so for those use a heavier sheet, such as a premium copy paper or a light cardstock your printer can feed. Print one side only, whatever you choose.

That is the short answer. The rest of this guide explains paper weights, which are genuinely confusing, and how to pick a sheet for each kind of coloring.

Match the paper to the coloring tool

What they color with	Paper that works	Why
Crayons	Everyday copy paper	Wax sits on top, no bleed, cheap enough to print a stack
Colored pencils	Copy paper, or a slightly heavier sheet	Holds up to pressing and erasing
Washable markers	Heavier copy paper or light cardstock	Thin paper soaks through and pills when a marker is held in one spot
Dot markers, paint sticks, watercolor	Cardstock	Wet media warps and tears thin paper
A page to frame or mail to grandma	Cardstock	Survives handling, looks like a keepsake

If you are not sure, print one page on copy paper and one on something heavier, hand both over with the real markers, and look at the backs. Kids color very differently. A two-year-old scrubbing one patch of a page with a fat marker puts far more ink in one place than a five-year-old staying in the lines.

How paper weights work (and why the numbers do not compare)

In the US, paper is sold by "basis weight" in pounds, which is where labels like 20 lb, 65 lb cover and 110 lb come from. French Paper's guide explains that the number comes from weighing 500 sheets of that paper type's standard sheet size, and that the standard size differs between text, cover and bond papers. So a "60 lb text" and a "60 lb cover" are not the same thickness, and a 110 lb cardstock is not five times heavier than a 20 lb copy paper. The pounds only compare within one grade.

The more useful number is grams per square meter (gsm or g/m²), which measures every grade the same way. Many packs print it in small type. For example, Hammermill lists its Premium Cardstock as 110 lb and 199 GSM. When you compare two packs, compare gsm if both show it.

A rough ladder from thinnest to thickest, using the names you will see in stores:

1. Everyday copy or multipurpose paper. What most printers come loaded with.
2. Premium or "heavyweight" copy paper. A step up, smoother and less see-through.
3. Light cardstock (often labeled 65 lb cover). Stiff enough for markers, still feeds through most home printers.
4. Medium cardstock (80 to 110 lb). Great for keepsake pages, check your printer first.
5. Heavy cardstock (above that). Often too thick for a home inkjet.

What your home printer can take

Before buying a ream of cardstock, look up your printer's maximum paper weight in its manual or on the manufacturer's support page, and whether it wants heavy paper in a rear or manual feed slot rather than the main tray. That one check prevents most jams.

As a general guide, French Paper's printer compatibility chart marks its text weights and its 65, 80 and 100 lb cover stocks as compatible with home printers, and flags 125 lb cover with a caution. Your own printer's manual wins over any general chart.

A few habits that help with heavier paper:

• Load a small stack, not a full tray.
• Set the paper type in the print dialog to cardstock or heavy paper if the option exists.
• If sheets come out curled, let them sit flat under a book for a while before coloring.

The printing guide covers the rest of the print settings, including why pages come out gray.

Coated or uncoated?

Most copy paper and craft cardstock is uncoated, which is what you want for crayons and pencils. Coated papers have a smoother surface. Lulu, which prints coloring books on demand, says its 60# uncoated paper is best for the roughest texture, while its 80# coated paper gives a smoother surface that accepts markers, crayon and colored pencil, and it recommends test printing a few combinations because the right surface depends on how a book will be used.

At home, avoid glossy photo paper for coloring pages. Crayon skids on it, and marker ink can sit on the surface and smear.

One side only, and other ways to stop bleed-through

Heavier paper is only half the fix. The rest:

• Print one-sided. Lulu's coloring book FAQ also advises printing coloring pages on one side to prevent show-through. At home it means a marker cannot ruin the next picture.
• Use a scrap sheet underneath. It protects the table and catches what does soak through.
• Choose washable, broad-tip markers. The crayons vs markers guide has more on picking markers by age.
• Tape the page down. A page that slides around gets scrubbed harder in one spot.

Paper for a book you are binding

If you are printing a whole book rather than loose pages, think about the cover and the inside separately. A cardstock cover with copy paper or heavier copy paper inside gives a book that feels sturdy without a spine too thick to staple. The guide to printing and binding a coloring book at home walks through staples, booklet printing and ring binding, and the guide to making a coloring book from photos covers turning your own pictures into the pages.

A simple shopping list

• One ream of everyday copy paper for crayon and pencil pages, and for test prints.
• One pack of light cardstock for marker pages, covers and anything you want to keep.
• Nothing glossy.

That covers almost every family: cheap paper for everyday coloring, heavier paper for markers and keepsakes.

Colorkin's printable PDFs are set up for US Letter, so they print on any of the papers above. For more free guides on making and printing your own pages, see make your own.

Questions parents ask