Worried about choosing the correct weight of paper or cover stock? Whether you are preparing an invitation card, a letter printed on company letterhead, or a tri-fold brochure, a knowledge of different paper stocks is the key to enhancing the presentation of your project.
Paper weight can be evaluated in pounds (the English standard), or grams (the European standard). We list the weights of our papers using both standards.
Paper Weight In Pounds
The English standard lists the weight in pounds of a given paper as a ream of 500 sheets at a standard sheet size. Text Stock is measured at a standard sheet size of 25" x 38" (see "Basic Sheet Size" on the chart below) . So, a ream of paper listed as "24# Text" weighs 24 pounds in a ream of 500 sheets measuring 25" x 38". Cover Stock is measured at 20" x 26". This means that a ream of "80# Cover" measuring 20" x 26" per sheet weighs 80 pounds.
the European standard measures a sheet of paper using a two-dimensional height and a width of one square meter. This yields a measurement of g/m2 (this measurement can also be written as gm/m2, gsm, g/m2).
