Paper.com 5 Star Paper Rating System

Paper.com rating system

Our objectives in designing the Paper.com paper rating system was to educate our end users and assist with their purchase decision. This is not an easy task because the criteria can be very subjective. Most of the time people buy the paper they like even if it is not the most expensive available. Perhaps it is because they've tried it before and they know it works well. Unfortunately, at Paper.com it is impossible to touch the paper, write or print on it, or even see the colors. This rating system is designed to provide some basis for comparing papers within a category. We tried to stay away from a rating system that was simply based on the prices of the paper. After all, often the most expensive paper is simply the most difficult to make, or contains the most expensive materials within it, but is not the ideal paper for the task at hand. Therefore, we've identified some of the most common uses of paper in the tables below and identified which of them were clearly superior for that use. And, when we were able to identify what criteria we used we tried to indicate that in the space below each chart. We hope you find this useful, and we invite your comments and arguments and additions to our rating system. It is a work in progress.

System Based On 5 stars – including ˝ stars (potential for 10 rankings/levels)

• Outstanding – 5 stars
• Excellent – 4 stars
• Good– 3 stars
• Average– 2 stars
• Below Average – 1 star*

Paper.com makes a conscience decision to NOT market any products with less than 2stars

Equivalent – 5star=A 4star=B 3star=C 2star=D 1star=F

The reality is that it is extremely rare to rate either 5 stars or 1 star.

Ranking done by independent panel that meets regularly and reviews ALL paper.com

Grade offerings

• These are paper experts and are not biased
• This ranking WILL create controversy! Bring it on. Tell us how you feel.
• Panel will confirm overall qualitative placement among peers

Components that assist with ranking include:

• ranked against peer grades
• Consistency of quality – reliability
• Brightness
• Fiber composition
• Manufacturing Process
• -Functionality
• Price `
• Strength

Separate rankings by category:

• Office
• Stationary
• Art and Exotic
• Scrapbook
• -Printing process