Paper Weight
Paper comes in all sorts of sizes and weights. The weight of the paper is a very good indicator of how thick and/or how stiff the paper is. Also, there are many different paper types that make everything just that much more confusing. For example, 20# bond paper has an equivalent weight of 28# cover paper. The chart below compares one paper type to another in terms of weight.
| Bond / Writing Weight | Text/Book Weight | Cover Weight | Bristol Weight | Index Weight | Tag Weight | Metric Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16# | 41# | 22# | 27# | 33# | 37# | 50 gsm |
| 17# | 43# | 24# | 29# | 35# | 39# | 64 gsm |
| 20# | 50# | 28# | 34# | 42# | 46# | 75 gsm |
| 21# | 54# | 30# | 36# | 44# | 49# | 80 gsm |
| 24# | 60# | 33# | 41# | 50# | 55# | 90 gsm |
| 27# | 68# | 37# | 45# | 55# | 61# | 100 gsm |
| 28# | 70# | 39# | 49# | 58# | 65# | 105 gsm |
| 29# | 74# | 41# | 50# | 61# | 68# | 110 gsm |
| 32# | 80# | 44# | 55# | 67# | 74# | 120 gsm |
| 36# | 90# | 50# | 62# | 75# | 83# | 135 gsm |
| 39# | 100# | 55# | 67# | 82# | 91# | 148 gsm |
| 40# | 101# | 55# | 68# | 83# | 92# | 150 gsm |
| 43# | 110# | 60# | 74# | 90# | 100# | 163 gsm |
| 45# | 115# | 63# | 77# | 94# | 104# | 170 gsm |
| 47# | 119# | 65# | 80# | 97# | 108# | 176 gsm |
| 51# | 128# | 70# | 86# | 105# | 117# | 190 gsm |
| 53# | 134# | 74# | 90# | 110# | 122# | 199 gsm |
| 54# | 137# | 75# | 93# | 113# | 125# | 203 gsm |
| 58# | 146# | 80# | 98# | 120# | 133# | 216 gsm |
| 65# | 165# | 90# | 111# | 135# | 150# | 244 gsm |
| 66# | 169# | 92# | 114# | 138# | 154# | 250 gsm |
| 67# | 171# | 94# | 115# | 140# | 155# | 253 gsm |
| 70# | 178# | 98# | 120# | 146# | 162# | 264 gsm |
| 72# | 183# | 100# | 123# | 150# | 166# | 271 gsm |
Note: gsm = grams per square meter or g/m2. Weights in bold are commonly available.
Not all paper types are available in all weights. For example, it would be very unlikely that you could find 28# cover paper, but 20# bond paper is extremely popular. Most office printers and copy machines use 20# bond paper. Cover paper is usually the kind of paper one might use for things like business cards. A popular business card paper is, in fact, 100# cover.
While metric measurements are generally not used in the United States, they are extremely helpful in trying to remember which paper is heavier or thicker than another or to make a choice as to which paper to use. 110# index paper, for example, is commonly sold in office supply stores in the United States. But, note than it is 199 gsm, versus 271 gsm for 100# cover paper. So, if you were ordering business cards, you would likely prefer the heavier 100# cover paper. By looking at the metric weight, you can see immediately that the 100# cover paper is about 36% heavier than the 110# index paper.