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White On White {Cardstock Comparison}

Monday, January 20, 2014

 
I finally gave in and purchased several other brands of white cardstock.
Until now I had always used Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White Cardstock.
 
I just received my first order of  Neenah Solar White
and decided to do a comparison and once and for all decide
which is the right white for me.
{White is so difficult to photograph!}
 
Cost
As you can see, PTI offers the best price at only $0.15 per sheet.  Neenah Solar White is a close second with only $0.16 per sheet. However, I have placed a little asterisk there because in order to get that price you must purchase 250 sheets @ $39.99.  Otherwise it comes to $0.23 per sheet.  The same is true for all companies listed.  The smaller the quantity, the higher the price.  Wplus9 for example can go for up to $0.27 per sheet.
But price isn't everything!
 
Color
All of these are great whites.
If you looked at them alone you would think they were....well....white!
When you look at them together you can see that, obviously, Avery Elle is the truest white of the bunch, followed by Neenah, PTI, and then WP9.
However, they are so close that this will not be a factor for me in determining my favorite.
 
Weight
Weight is something that is very important to me.  I often use white as my card base and I like it to be nice a sturdy.  Papertrey Ink wins in this category for me.  At 110lbs. it is the heaviest of the four.  I like that it will stand up on its own and it has a very high quality feel to it when you are holding a completed card.  WP9 and Avery Elle are a close second at 100lbs. Neenah Solar White is 80lbs. 
Now if you are someone who likes to fussy cut your images as opposed to using dies the lighter weight would be easier to use.  Also, if you like to use a Silhouette you may have more success with the lighter weight paper.  I do own a silhouette, but have not used it in over a year because I was never successful in getting it to cut PTI cardstock.  I plan to try again with some of these lighter weight papers and perhaps find reason to keep more than one white in my collection.  However, I do not like Neenah SW for card bases or popped up panels on the front of cards.  It is too flimsy and dents too easily.
 
Feel
The Neenah SW is super smooth. I think if you are someone who enjoys calligraphy and/or hand lettering this cardstock would be great for that.  Avery Elle is very smooth too.  I would say that the PTI and WP9 feel very similar to one another.  They are not rough, but not particularly smooth enough to make it noteworthy.
 
Have you tried all of these?
Do you already have a favorite?
 
I wrote this post a few weeks ago.  Since then I have also tried Recollections {from Michael's} white cardstock.  It's 110lb, the color is comparable to PTI, it costs approx. $0.08 per sheet.  The only negative is that the paper is not free of imperfections, meaning that some of the pieces have a small dark fleck here or there, but not so much that you can't turn it over or cover it up.  I have used this cardstock here, here, here, and here.  The flecks are very small and not every sheet has them.  Kristina also mentioned in one of her videos  that Neenah now carries a 100lb paper, but I have not tried that.
 

19 comments :

  1. Interesting perspective, Kara. I remain committed to PTI white, which is the cheapest and thickest and best for my purpose. The only thing I would add is that I bought a couple of packs of Gina K Luxury White because I was told that Copics would not bleed through, and I was looking for a white I could use for one layer cards where I was coloring with Copics. I found that it is true--I can color my heart away on this Gina K white, and it does not bleed through. I believe it is 120lb. It is very thick and super smooth. I don't use it all the time because it sometimes cracks a bit when I fold it and it is also expensive. But, it is a great paper to have around for those times when I need it, but not right for me every day. Here is a link: http://www.shop.ginakdesigns.com/product.sc?productId=1478&categoryId=204

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  2. Thank you soooooo much far doing this. I have been curious for so long and also curious how the Wright of Mft compares two pti cardstock. Not necessarily just white but the colors as well. I would love to be able to gel Note colors in the pti weight. Especially a better pinks like Mft carries. I really really appreciate this comparison. I will stick with pti white for sure for my bases.

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  3. That's what I get for not proof reading. Oops.Thank you soooooo much for doing this. I have been curious for so long and also curious how the Weight of Mft compares to pti cardstock. Not necessarily just white but the colors as well. I would love to be able to get more colors in the pti weight. Especially better pinks like Mft carries. I really really appreciate this comparison. I will stick with pti white for sure for my bases.

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  4. Aren't whites perplexing. I've used Stampin'Up Whisper White until recently. I thought it was too light weight for the card base and so I got PTI for the base but intended to use SU for the popped up stamped panel, however, the whites didn't match. So then I got Neenah SW for the stamped panel and it matches PTI nicely. I'm still not sure which I like best for the stamping though. Have you done a stamping comparison? Of course that also depends on which brand of ink you use. So many choices and combinations! Thanks for doing this comparison!!

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  5. Thanks for the comparison. I use Papertrey Select White for most of my card making, but use Neenah when I'm using my Copic markers, though I recently got the Xpress Blend paper from Ellen Huston for Copic coloring and prefer that to Neenah. It's more expensive though. I've never had paper from Avery Elle, but ordered a beautiful navy paper from WPlus9 which I like very much.

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  6. Great review for the various white cardstocks. Thanks! I used to buy Recollections from Michaels (because they are the cheapest with the coupons and also I can get it in a store, not online so I can get any time I need). But I found they are not as good especially when I need to apply distress ink. I guess it's not smooth enough so I often get very spotty result. And I feel like the Recollections paper is not heavy enough, definitely not heavier/thicker than Neenah just my opinion. However, since it's very cheap, I use it in masking or I don't put too much care on how I stamp on it.
    I tried the Neenah white and I do like the smooth texture so I bought the biggest pack. I bought also a pack of Papertrey Ink to try and I like it too. Didn't try the Avery Elle and Wplus9 as the cost seems too high. One thing to mention is that I also like the PTI cream card stock and the rustic cream/white too.

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  7. Kara what a fantastic feature. Like you I strive to find the perfect white cardstock. Thank you for doing so much of the work for me, for everyone. I love use PTI for cards, I love the weight, I use Neenah for my Silhouette and Michael's for stand by and for backing my Avery Elle folders Thank you!

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  8. Great post, Kara! I have similar opinions of the PTI and Neenah 80 lb. cardstock. Another one worth trying is Bazzill Card Shoppe in marshmallow white. It's the most expensive at about $0.36 at Supermart (through Amazon) but it has a nice weight and quality.

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  9. Thanks for the comparison and review, Kara. I haven't tried any of these besides the PTI Select White. Joyce mentioned GKD white. I have used it for single layer Copic marker coloring as the colors do not soak through. However, I do not use it unless I am using Copics because, like Joyce, I find the cardstock is too thick and it cracks when I fold it (I use the Scor-Buddy and teflon bone folder). I found your Recollection review interesting. I think I will pick up a pack next time just to play around with it. Thanks, Kara.

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    Replies
    1. I just thought I'd mention that Gina has a video on Stamptv where she shows you how to prevent cracking on her cardstock. Yes, it is expensive (I live in Canada so you can imagine with the exchange rate plus shipping that I pay through the nose), however, I absolutely love it! I do however also use Neenah 110lb. because of the great blendability with Distress Inks and the fact that I can get it far cheaper through SSS as opposed to GKD. As well, the Neenah 110lb does not bleed through when using Copics, unless you are extremely saturating the paper but I have not had an issue yet. Hope this helps

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  10. Thanks for the info Kara, I love PTI for my white card bases too!

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  11. Thanks for the comparison photo & notes. I have yet to try Avery Elle but have used the other three. There are so many factors to consider and I am continually searching for the perfect white, although there probably isn't such a thing!

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  12. A great post Kara. The other company I love is MFT, but it is more expensive - they have a 110 weight Smooth White ($.28/sheet), but most of their cardstock is 100 weight. I have bought a few colors to fill in, but find PTI is best quality & price for now.

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  13. Love this post....thanks for the comparisons...I've always wondered about the differences.

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  14. I love all of them Kara! Great Post! My favorite is PTI all the way, But I found the NEW Recollections Brand at Michaels with a 110 lbs. thicker than the old 60 lbs. they carry. You can check out my post here:

    http://jonininaandaya.blogspot.com/2013/11/info-share-cardstock-recollections.html

    Just another info to add in your collections, if you are interested :)

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  15. Great comparison, Kara. Thank you!

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  16. How nice of you to write this post for us! Until recently, I was still using the Georgia Pacific 60 lb from Target ... hahaha!! Now that I know better, I am really loving these better papers. I found some Neenah SW online, and the more you bought the cheaper the shipping. So I ended up with 3 reams of 250 for $75, only 10 cents, but now I do have 750 sheets of paper in my craft room! Then I found the Recollections 110 lb paper through Joni. The price is crazy-good! BUT, the ream I just purchased IS NOT SQUARE. I couldn't figure out why things weren't lining up when I cut my bases and that's when I figured it out. I'll live with it just because I love the weight so much. What do you do to keep the 110 lb papers from cracking when you fold them? That's the only disadvantage I see (besides the ones you mentioned, and that they don't stand up as straight).

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  17. I love that you did this...
    I've always stuck with PTI because it's the sturdiest and the price is best...
    but I like knowing about other options out there and where they may be able to fit in! :)

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  18. Hi Kara - just wanted to let you know I linked to this post today http://jacquiesouthas.blogspot.com/2014/02/aeiu-1-ric54-cardstock-comparisons.html :)

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