Using recycled paper is a major consideration for many clients and designers. As a general rule, the more recycled the paper is, the less white it will be. However, some paper companies have recently introduced ranges which offer much better whiteness in their uncoated papers - for example Revive 100 and Cocoon (both 100% FSC-certified post-consumer recycled papers). These papers are whitened on their surface with natural additives, which works well on the uncoated papers, but doesn't work on coated papers. So the gloss coated version of Revive 100 is much greyer than the uncoated version.
Uncoated papers generally go down very well with the consumer - they can feel right away that it is something different, and it can help to create a warm ambience and a positive reception for your brand or message. The downsides are
1) although they take colour well, they won't have the colour 'lift' that you would expect from a coated paper. So if your message is colour-critical, it's better to go with a coated paper, and maybe switch to a 50% recycled version (eg. Revive 50:50) to get good whiteness in the paper.
2) drying times can be long on the uncoated versions, especially if you have large areas of solid colour. Because the paper soaks up ink, it can be necessary to put a lot of ink down during printing, in order to get the colour up to the strength you want. This can then take a long time to dry - days or even weeks! So it's definitely best to avoid large areas of solid colour if you want to use these papers. If production time is critical, use a coated version.
