FAQ

We are up to our elbows in pulp these days and are a little cramped for space so unfortunately we do not offer tours at this time.

Stock Paper - up to a week to ship

Custom Paper - up to 3 weeks

Printing - typically 2-3 weeks

These timelines can change depending on the season and work load, contact us for a more accurate turnaround. 

If you are a registered business you may request a wholesale account through the website navigation. Once your account is approved you will see your discounted pricing. Printing and custom order pricing are currently being evaluated.

Due to the custom nature of our business we require a deposit on all orders and the balance to be paid in full before the order ships.

Depending on your project we can give general pricing over the phone. However we recommend filling out the paper/print request form for an accurate estimate or you can always email us with your specs.

We utilize USPS, UPS and FedEx. If you would like to use your shipping account please let us know when you place the order. For international orders we do our best when filling out customs forms and scheduling the pickup but we always suggest that the client handle the shipping.

We can not be responsible for additional customs fees or taxes.

If you are curious about a few sample, we are happy to send some along. Please email hello@porridgepapers.com with your shipping address and we will drop them in the mail at no charge.

If you are interested in a particular line, we do sell swatch books on our site.

Letterpress and inkjet/digital are all available. Of course our favorite and recommended is letterpress.

Our two main fiber sources are Cotton and Pre Consumer Waste (envelope trimmings), which are made from wood fibers.

We do! We realize not everyone wants the same color or size of paper. We love nothing more than to create a custom paper for your specific project. Looking for more than color? Scented, iridescent, inclusions…we will try everything at least once. To get a quote go here.

Yes and No. If it is a stock paper then you can purchase just one sheet. If it is a custom paper then a minimum of one batch will be required which amount to 35-40 parent sheets (19"x25"). You will need to contact us for smaller size quantities.

The largest sheet we can produce is 19"x25" with a full deckle edge. We can trim it to 18″x24″ so you have a clean edge to work with.  In addition we also can make a wide variety of smaller sheets including but not limited to -

Business/Escort Card - 3.5" x 2"

4bar - 3.5" x 4.87"

A2 - 4.25" x 5.5"

A6 - 4.5" x 6.25"

A7 - 5" x 7"

A9 - 5.5" x 8.5"

Tea Length - 3.87" x 9.5"

8" x 10"

8.5" x 11"

9" x 12"

Depending on the line of paper you purchase the weight will vary. We prefer to give the thickness of the paper rather than the weight as paper weights vary from paper type. Below is both approximate weight and thickness of our stock papers. If you are in need of thinner or thicker just reach out.

1889 Collection - 355gsm | 30-35 pt

Blue Collar - 310gsm | 30-35pt

Mary Jane - 265gsm | 20-25pt

We have produced over 5,000 parent sheets per week when the workload called for it, but most of the time we average 500-900 parent sheets or 11,520 of our smallest sheet per week.

Depending on how full our schedule is and the size of the job, we can get most paper orders made, packaged and shipped within 2-3 weeks from the date we receive the purchase order and deposit. However, it is always a good idea to ask us about our current schedul when placing your order. We do try to keep the majority of papers in stock for immediate shipping.

Absolutely! When we started Porridge Papers we were just a papermill! Pulp runs through our veins. You want one sheet or 20,000 sheets, just give us a call and we will be glad to help you out.

Back in the '90s we started putting seeds into paper! Why? We are not sure, but it sounded like a good idea at the time, and now almost 25 years later people are still loving it! The idea goes like this…send the paper with your message on it, your recipient reads and plants it. Weeks later they have a flower garden, tomato plant, or maybe even a birch tree sprout. 

Our papers are all made by hand and air-dried. This puts the seeds through as little trauma as possible. Commercially made seeded papers are often dried with heat, which essentially roasts the seeds and prevents germination.

Yes. We do test for germination on our wildflower mix, while we have had great success, growing conditions and printing processes can have different effects on the paper. Because of this we cannot guarantee germination until a test has been done. However, we have used a wide variety of seeds over the years including but not limited to: basil, parsley, chives, dill, oregano, tomato, lettuce, and chile pepper as well as our wildflower mix and have had success germinating them. Germination rates will vary depending on the printing process used with the paper.

While we can make our seed paper in a range of thicknesses the typical thickness is between 20pt-25pt or similar to a 100lb cover. This is suitable for business cards, folded card, post card and much more.

Moisten card and plant just under the surface of some soil in a sunny spot. Water regularly until seeds germinate and watch them grow!

For specific seeds, such as tree seeds, the planting instructions may vary, ask us for details.

Generally speaking, we choose seeds that are small (so the paper they go into can be printed easily) and that are easy to grow. We have made paper with a variety of seeds that range from the barely visible to the practically edible (pine and spruce seeds). If you’re interested in using larger seeds, it’s a good idea to stick them into projects that don’t involve printing. Even smaller hard seeds can damage the plates used for letterpress printing, resulting in damaged type and splotchy colors.

The best way to find out whether or not a specific seed will work for your project is to contact us.

Our wildflower mix may contain a mixture of the following seeds: black-eyed susan, spurred snapdragon, sweet alyssum, bird’s eye, farewell to spring, dwarf catchfly, and Shirley Poppy (depending on availability).

Our herb mix contains dill, thyme, oregano, parsley, chive, and basil.

Our vegetable mix contains carrot, lettuce and tomato.

Certain seeds can cause slight discoloration of the paper. Usually this is minimal and does not take away from the quality of the finished product.

Due to the unpredictable nature of organic matter, we can’t guarantee whether or not the seeds will bleed.

Make sure all vectors and fonts in your press ready file are outlined and converted to 100% CMYK black.

Images need to be either vector or bitmap. DO NOT SEND .JPG OR RASTER FILES.

Please use Uncoated PANTONE swatches in your file or include PANTONE information with artwork.

Smallest line width is .3 of a point.  If you have trailing dots or swooshes, make sure they are wide enough. Those tend to be trouble areas and may break off your printing plate.

If there are bleeds please have them bleed 1/8".

Screens are not ideal, letterpress is best at 100%. If you are trying to achieve a screen/halftone it is best to print it as a separate, lighter color.

Light ink on dark paper is not ideal. Letterpress inks are translucent, because of this you will see the darker paper show through a bit. In order to achieve this look foil stamping or engraving are a better option.

Heavy solids are not meant for letterpress but can be achieved. Keep in mind that in order to print a heavy solid we use more ink than normal and that will cause any finer details to look thicker than normal. Ideally it would be best to print fine details and heavy solids in different runs. If you are uncertain on how your design will print feel free to contact us and we will do our best to let you know. With large solids the paper shows through a bit creating a salty or mottled look (which can look pretty cool).

Yes we can, it is best to use a heavier stock so that there is less imprression that may show  through on the other side. We typically print the “feature” side last so that has the best impression.

We would like a press ready .PDF or .EPS file, Illustrator (.ai) or Indesign file(.indd).

Make sure all images are embedded in your file and fonts are converted to outlines.

If there are bleeds please have them bleed 1/8".

Keep in mind that there will be some bounce from sheet to sheet as it goes through the printer ,design accordingly.

Heavy solids are not recommended.

Allow at least .25 inches around the edges of your design, as the deckled edge and irregular shape of handmade papers may impact your print's placement.

As with any handmade paper printing, we cannot guarantee perfect vertical or horizontal alignment or center since the shape of each sheet can vary slightly.

If you are printing text make sure all fonts are expanded to an outline. You know your font is expanded when you have a colored outline around each character when selected.

See Photo*

If your artwork touches the edge of the trim-line we ask that you add a .125 inch bleed. 

*See Photo

While we can register pretty darn good it never hurts to add trapping if the art work has a lot of hair line registration. With that being said most of the time we receive artwork without trapping. We will leave that up to you.

Yes we can print screens; however, we recommend printing in a lighter color. While we can hold a screen, it can get plugged up especially when printing on seeded paper. We output our film at 100LPI which will generate the halftone you specified. Halftones can be an interesting effect and 4 color process can be achieved with even more interesting results.

Whether we design it for you or you send us your file we can provide a proof for final approval before production. We ask all clients to review text and images closely so we can have the best possible outcome.

Yes we can. However, it can add time and cost to the project.

No we do not, all of our designs are custom.

Yes. We have tested our papers on several different inkjet printers and have had no problem.

We can’t guarantee that your printer will be able to withstand larger quantities and the thickness.

Yes, the germination rate is lower, and in some cases seeds will not germinate. If others tell you yes, we suggest that you get samples.

Yes, our ink for letterpress is vegetable based. Our ink for digital is a water based.

Yes we can! For letterpress It is best to use a heavier stock (220lb or our thicker handmade paper) so that there is no image show through on the other side. We typically print the “feature” side last so that has the best impression.