One of the [many] products that we sell in the promotional products industry is a branded napkin. Popular for private events like wedding receptions, and also common on the corporate level. Many companies also like to have a stock on hand to add subtle branding to employee and corporate events.
The most common sizes are beverage, luncheon and dinner napkins. While the differences in these types of napkins are primarily size, an interesting question I received recently was about the other descriptive word used in association with napkins: the “ply.”
What is “ply,” you ask?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes it simply as, “one of the layers, folds, or strands that make something.” More specifically, “a layer of a paper or cardboard.”
The definition is simple enough, but I needed to dig in a bit more. The photos below can tell a better story than I could through words.