How To Make - Paper weights and conversion tables

Paper weights and conversion tables

In an effort to help explain paper weights we have compiled the comprehensive table listed below.

Here is a list of common paper weights, measured in grams per square meter (gsm) and pounds (lbs):

  • 60 gsm / 16 lbs: Very thin paper, often used for mass-produced books or newspapers.
  • 70 gsm / 19 lbs: Thin paper, used for some magazines and booklets.
  • 80 gsm / 21 lbs: Standard copy paper weight, often used for printing documents.
  • 90 gsm / 24 lbs: Slightly heavier copy paper weight, sometimes used for important documents like resumes or certificates.
  • 100 gsm / 27 lbs: Heavier weight paper, often used for business cards or some flyers.
  • 120 gsm / 32 lbs: Thicker weight paper, commonly used for brochures, invitations, or some business cards.
  • 150 gsm / 40 lbs: Heavyweight paper, often used for book covers or postcards.
  • 200 gsm / 54 lbs: Very heavy paper, often used for high-quality art prints or posters.
  • 300 gsm / 81 lbs: Extremely heavy paper, commonly used for premium business cards or some types of packaging.

Definitions:

  • Basis Weight
    The basis weight of a paper is the designated fixed weight of 500 sheets, measured in pounds, in that paper's basic sheet size.
    It is important to note that the "basic sheet size" is not the same for all types of paper.
  • Caliper
    Caliper refers to the thickness of a sheet of paper expressed in thousandth of an inch. This measurement is taken with a micro meter.
    Normally, paper caliper should not have more than a + or - 5% variance within a sheet.
    Generally, the relation between caliper and basis weight is the greater the caliper (the thicker the paper), the greater the paper weight.
  • Equivalent Weight
    While different paper types have different basic sizes, papers can still be compared by using equivalent weight.
  • Basis Weight ("Category") Table

Type Paper

Basic Size - 500 Sheets

"Bond"
Ledger
Mimeo
Duplicator
Rag Paper

17" x 22"

"Offset"
Book
Text
Coated Paper

25" x 38"

"Cover"

20" x 26"

"Tag Stock"

24" x 36"

"Index"

25-1/2" x 30-1/2"



Basis Weight ("Equivalent") Table

The Values in the table below are intended to serve as a guide only.
They should not be used as specifications because there are variances
within the same basis weight due to other characteristics of the papers.
Similar weight papers may vary between different paper manufacturers.

To use the chart read across to find the equivalent,
example 16 Lb. Bond paper weight is equivalent to 40 Lb. Offset paper weight

Bond

Offset
Text

Cover

Tag

Index

Points

Caliper
(inches)*

Millimeters

Metric
(grams/sq meter)

16

40

22

37

33

3.2

.0032

0.081

60.2 gsm

18

45

24

41

37

3.6

.0036

0.092

67.72 gsm

20

50

28

46

42

3.8

.0038

0.097

75.2 gsm

24

60

33

56

50

4.8

.0048

0.12

90.3 gsm

28

70

39

64

58

5.8

.0058

0.147

105.35 gsm

29

73

40

62

60

6

.0060

0.152

109.11 gsm

31

81

45

73

66

6.1

.0061

0.155

116.63 gsm

35

90

48

80

74

6.2

.0062

0.157

131.68 gsm

36

90

50

82

75

6.8

.0068

0.173

135.45 gsm

39

100

54

90

81

7.2

.0072

0.183

146.73 gsm

40

100

56

93

83

7.3

.0073

0.185

150.5 gsm

43

110

60

100

90

7.4

.0074

0.188

161.78 gsm

44

110

61

102

92

7.6

.0076

0.193

165.55 gsm

47

120

65

108

97

8

.0078

0.198

176.83 gsm

53

135

74

122

110

9

.0085

0.216

199.41 gsm

54

137

75

125

113

9

.009

0.229

203.17 gsm

58

146

80

134

120

9.5

.0092

0.234

218.22 gsm

65

165

90

150

135

10

.0095

0.241

244.56 gsm

67

170

93

156

140

10.5

.010

0.25

252.08 gsm

72

183

100

166

150

11

.011

0.289

270.9 gsm

76

192

105

175

158

13

.013

0.33

285.95 gsm

82

208

114

189

170

14

.014

0.356

308.52 gsm

87

220

120

200

180

15

.015

0.38

312 gsm

105

267

146

244

220

18

.0175

0.445

385.06 gsm

 

* Normal paper manufacturing tolerance within a paper production run is + or - 5% to 7% caliper

International Metric Paper Sizes - ISO Standard

SIZE

WIDTH
(mm)

HEIGHT
(mm)

WIDTH
(inches)

HEIGHT
(inches)

A0

841 mm

1,189 mm

33.11 in.

46.81 in.

A1

594 mm

841 mm

23.39 in.

33.11 in.

A2

420 mm

594 mm

16.54 in.

23.39 in.

A3

297 mm

420 mm

11.69 in.

16.54 in.

A4

210 mm

297 mm

8.27 in.

11.69 in.

A5

148 mm

210 mm

5.83 in.

8.27 in.

A6

105 mm

148 mm

4.13 in.

5.83 in.

A7

74 mm

105 mm

2.91 in.

4.13 in.

B0

1,028 mm

1,456 mm

40.48 in.

57.32 in.

B1

728 mm

1,028 mm

28.66 in.

40.48 in.

B2

514 mm

728 mm

20.24 in.

28.66

B3

364 mm

514 mm

14.33 in.

20.24 in.

B4

257 mm

364 mm

10.12 in.

14.33 in.

B5

182 mm

257 mm

7.17 in.

10.12 in.

B6

128 mm

182 mm

5.04 in.

7.17 in.

 

Reference Charts for Common Envelopes Size Chart

Commercial / Official Sizes
( Commercial Flap; unless noted )

No.

Inches

Millimeters

6 1/4

3 1/2 x 6

89 x 152

6 3/4

3 5/8 x 6 1/2

92 x 165

7

3 3/4 x 6 3/4

95 x 171

Monarch (pointed Flap)

3 7/8 x 7 1/2

98 x 191

8 5/8

3 5/8 x 8 5/8

92 x 219

9

3 7/8 x 8 7/8

98 x 225

10 (also Square Flap)

4 1/8 x 9 1/2

105 x 241

11 (also Square Flap)

4 1/2 x 10 3/8

114 x 264

12 (also Square Flap)

4 3/4 x 11

121 x 279

14 (also Square Flap)

5 x 11 1/2

127 x 292

 

Booklet (Wallet Flap)

No.

Inches

Millimeters

3

4 3/4 x 6 1/2

121 x 165

5

5 1/2 x 8 1/8

140 x 206

6

5 3/4 x 8 7/8

146 x 225

6 1/2

6 x 9

152 x 229

6 5/8

6 x 9 1/2

152 x 241

6 3/4

6 1/2 x 9 1/2

165 x 241

7 1/4

7 x 10

178 x 254

7 1/2

7 1/2 x 10 1/2

191 x 267

9

8 3/4 x 11 1/2

222 x 292

9 1/2

9 x 12

229 x 305

10

9 1/2 x 12 5/8

241 x 321

13

10 x 13

254 x 330

 

Window (Commercial Flap)

No.

Inches

Millimeters

6 1/4

3 1/2 x 6

89 x 152

6 3/4

3 5/8 x 6 1/2

92 x 165

7

3 3/4 x 6 3/4

95 x 171

Monarch

3 7/8 x 7 1/2

98 x 191

8 5/8

3 5/8 x 8 5/8

92 x 219

9

3 7/8 x 8 7/8

98 x 225

10

4 1/8 x 9 1/2

105 x 241

11

4 1/2 x 10 3/8

114 x 264

12

4 3/4 x 11

121 x 279

14

5 x 11 1/2

127 x 292

 

Announcement (Square Flap)

No.

Inches

Millimeters

A-2

4 3/8" x 5 3/4"

111 x 146

A-6

4 3/4 x 6 1/2

121 x 165

A-7

5 1/4 x 7 1/4

133 x 184

A-8

5 1/2 x 8 1/8

140 x 206

A-9

5 3/4" x 8 3/4"

 

A-10

6 x 9 1/2

152 x 241

Slimline

3 7/8 x 8 7/8

98 x 225

 

Baronial (Pointed Flap)

No.

Inches

Millimeters

4

3 5/8 x 5 1/8

92 x 130

5

4 1/8 x 5 1/2

105 x 140

5 1/2

4 3/8" x 5 3/4"

111 x 146

6

4 3/4 x 6 1/2

121 x 165

Lee

5 1/4 x 7 1/4

133 x 184

 

HELPFUL GUIDELINES for Inkjet Paper

Prior to use, paper should be allowed to acclimate at least 48 Hours in the environment in which it will be used.

Optimum storage facility would retain temperatures between 70-80 degrees F with 50% relative humidity.

Before loading paper, fan the sheets on all four sides. This creates a small layer of air between the sheets which should help printer feeding mechanisms.

Do Not Stack Materials. Feed into printer one sheet at a time.

Load Materials according to the instructions in the printer owner's manual.

Recommended feeding is generally to use the manual feed tray, or the straightest path through the printer.

Upon Completion, the unused material should be stored in a closed package, resealed and stored flat.

ADDITIONAL CONVERSION TABLES

How to Convert to Metric

Length and Distance

When you know

Multiply by

To Find

inches

2.54

centimeters

feet

30.480

centimeters

miles

1.609

kilometers

centimeters

0.394

inches

meters

1.094

yards

kilometers

0.621

miles

 
Weight

When you know

Multiply by

To Find

pounds

0.454

kilograms

tons

0.907

metric tons

kilograms

2.205

pounds

metric tons

1.202

tons

Temperature

When you know

Do This

To Find

degrees
Fahrenheit

Subtract 32
multiply by 5/9

degrees
Celsius

degrees
Celsius

Multiply by 9/5
then add 32

degrees
Fahrenheit

Surface or Area

When you know

Multiply by

To Find

square feet

0.093

square meters

square miles

2.590

square kilometers

square centimeters

0.155

square inches

square kilometers

0.386

square miles

 

Decimal Equivalents

1/64

=

0.015625

1/16

=

0.0625

1/8

=

0.125

3/16

=

0.1875

1/4

=

0.25

5/16

=

0.3125

3/8

=

0.375

7/16

=

0.4375

1/2

=

0.5

9/16

=

0.5625

5/8

=

0.625

11/16

=

0.6875

3/4

=

0.75

13/16

=

0.8125

7/8

=

0.875

15/16

=

0.9375

1

=

1.0