---
title: "Offset paper | Printing glossary | IN TEMPO"
description: "An uncoated paper, smooth and bright, of ordinary density: thinner for its weight than a high-bulk stock, more absorbent than a coated one. It is the everyday paper of documents, workbooks and many text books."
url: "https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-offset/"
lang: "en"
---

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# Offset paper

Also called uncoated woodfree, bond

An uncoated paper, smooth and bright, of ordinary density: thinner for its weight than a high-bulk stock, more absorbent than a coated one. It is the everyday paper of documents, workbooks and many text books.

![Cross-section diagram of two papers: coated paper, sealed by a thin mineral coating that keeps the ink on top; offset paper, uncoated and more absorbent, where the ink soaks in.](https://www.intempo.fr/diagrammes/en/coated-or-offset-paper.png)

Coated or offset paper, in cross-section: the ink sits on top or soaks in. Diagram: IN TEMPO, licence [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en). [Reuse this diagram](https://www.intempo.fr/en/reutiliser-nos-schemas/)

## In practice

It suits text with diagrams or line drawings, and it takes handwriting well, which matters for a workbook or a society’s publication that readers annotate. Photographs come out flat on it: if the book has many, compare with a matt coated stock. Its white is cooler than a cream high-bulk paper; look at the two side by side before choosing.

## Related terms

- [High-bulk paper](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-bouffant/)
- [Coated paper](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-couche/)
- [Paper weight](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/grammage/)
- [Bible paper](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-bible/)

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