The firm has appointed exclusive stockists in the US and China, with New York's Legion Paper and Shanghai's Candoo now supplying the entire Colorplan range of coloured papers and boards.

An intuitive new website, www.colorplanpapers.com, allows designers and paper specifiers to experiment by juxtaposing colours from the Colorplan palette. Embossing effects can also be viewed, and the entire Colorplan swatch library can be downloaded.

The new Colorplan website also includes short ‘hands on’ videos to demonstrate how the various paper and board weights in the range behave in use.

The Colorplan swatch book features innovative 'paper marquetry' to show off the brand's characteristics, as well as a comprehensive range of samples detailing the different weights, colours and embossings.

Colorplan is available in eight weights from 100-700gsm, 50 colours and 25 different embossing.

"The global launch has started in the UK with the new Colorplan website," said GF Smith joint managing director John Haslam, who explained that localised versions of the site would apply in America and China.

"The site is beautiful, and we want designers to keep going back to it. It's also an inspirational and educational tool," Haslam added.

"As the world of paper contracts, we are expanding," he said.

Haslam plans to expand Colorplan’s global reach with the appointment of further stockists in other territories in the coming months.

"We are trying to find partners that have the same brand values as we do, that's important to us. People who appreciate design and quality, and who understand the value of paper," he said.

The expansion has been influenced by major European brands that use Colorplan. "People want much higher ROI and they are considering paper types and ink. They want that impact to happen and that’s where Colorplan is so powerful – it’s such a beautiful, tactile product," Haslam added.

He described the investment in the expansion as "considerable and ongoing". GF Smith called upon a host of creative and craft specialists to create the new Colorplan collateral.

London’s Made Thought was responsible for brand creation and the design of the swatch book and website; and the firm also worked with Colophon Foundry on a bespoke typeface for Colorplan. The website was built by Ico Design.

Printing and paper marquetry of the swatch was by Push of south east London, with West Yorkshire’s Wetherby Shade Card handling the specialist paper chipping required.

R Young & Son Printers of Croydon printed the special Colorplan promotional business cards, which also feature paper marquetry.