If your business uses a substantial amount of bond paper, it is often easier to purchase it online rather than trying to buy it from a local shop that may only carry small boxes. However, ordering anything online does come with a few challenges, largely because you cannot see and try the paper before buying it. Here are some tips that should help you when you do order bond paper online.

Know your sizes

Bond paper tends to come in four different sizes. First, there are rolls of bond paper. If these are what you need, you'll know it — since they can only be used by certain printers and equipment. Then, there are three sizes of flat sheets of bond paper. They are:

• Small: These are your ordinary, everyday, 8 1/2" x 11" sheets of paper.
• Long: These are slightly longer, 8 1/2" x 13" sheets of paper.
• Legal: These are the longest, 8 1/2" x 14" sheets of paper.

It's possible that you use several sizes of bond paper and want to keep each of them on-hand. In this case, you should check whether the company sells assorted boxes or "kits" with multiple sizes in one order. You can sometimes get a discount when buying in this way.

Check whether the paper is coated

People often assume that they are ordering uncoated bond paper, and sometimes they are in for a surprise when the paper comes in and it has a coating. Bond paper can be prepared with several different types of coating. Some coatings are matte finish, and others are glossy. If you do not want your paper to have any sort of finish, make sure the type you order is specifically listed as "un-coated." This will be significantly cheaper, so there's no point in paying for coated paper if you don't need it.

Buy a larger box if you know you'll use it

Buy as much bond paper rolls at once as you are confident you will use. Not only do companies typically charge less on a per-unit basis for larger quantities of bond paper, but shipping costs tend to be lower if you buy one large box versus two smaller boxes on separate occasions.

With the tips above, you should have a better experience when buying bond paper online. Once you do this once, you will know what to expect with any future paper orders.