Paper weight US/UK conversion
Paper weight US/UK conversion
In the US they sell paper in pounds (lbs), then they have different categories, Bond, Text, Book, Cover, Index and Tag and to really confuse it they show the weight as a measurement of 500 sheets in its untrimmed size. An uncut sheet of Bond paper is 17 x 22 inches, and an uncut sheet of Cover paper is 20 x 26 inches. So 500 sheets of Bond paper (17” x 22”) weighs 20 lbs, even when cut to Letter size (279 x 215mm) it will be labelled as 20 lb. 500 sheets of Cover paper (20 x 26 inches) weighs 65 lbs, trimmed to tabloid size (432 by 279mm) would still be marked as 65lb.
| Bond | 17″ x 22″ | ||||||||||
| Book, Text | 25″ x 38″ | ||||||||||
| Bristol | 22 1/2″ x 28 1/2″ | ||||||||||
| Cover | 20″ x 26″ | ||||||||||
| Index | 25 1/2″ x 30 1/2″ | ||||||||||
| Tag | 24″ x 36″ |
This chart shows the most commonly used weights and it’s comparison to gsm
| US lbs conversion to UK gsm | |||||||||||
| US Pounds lbs | UK gsm | Paper description | |||||||||
| 13# bond | 45gsm | Thin document paper | |||||||||
| 16# bond | 55gsm | Thin document paper | |||||||||
| 40# text | 60gsm | Thin document paper | |||||||||
| 20# bond | 75gsm | Standard copy paper | |||||||||
| 24# bond | 90gsm | Standard Letterhead paper | |||||||||
| 60# text | 90gsm | Standard Letterhead paper | |||||||||
| 28# bond | 105gsm | Thicker Letterhead paper | |||||||||
| 70# text | 105gsm | Thicker Letterhead paper | |||||||||
| 40# cover | 105gsm | Thicker Letterhead paper | |||||||||
| 32# bond | 120gsm | Sturdy Letterhead paper | |||||||||
| 36# bond | 135gsm | Heavy paper | |||||||||
| 50# cover | 135gsm | Heavy paper | |||||||||
| 40# bond | 150gsm | Heavy paper | |||||||||
| 50# bond | 180gsm | Thin card | |||||||||
| 60# cover | 163gsm | Thin card | |||||||||
| 100# tag | 163gsm | Thin card | |||||||||
| 90# index | 163gsm | Thin card | |||||||||
| 65# cover | 176gsm | Thin card | |||||||||
| 110# index | 200gsm | Medium card | |||||||||
| 80# cover | 216gsm | Medium card | |||||||||
| 90# cover | 243gsm | Standard postcard | |||||||||
| 140# index | 250gsm | Standard postcard | |||||||||
| 100# cover | 271gsm | Standard postcard | |||||||||
| 110# cover | 300gsm | Thick postcard | |||||||||
| 170# index | 310gsm | Thick card | |||||||||
| 130# cover | 350gsm | Business Card board | |||||||||
| 220# index | 400gsm | Business Card board | |||||||||
| 160# cover | 433gsm | Business Card board | |||||||||
Did you know where the term ‘bond’ paper comes from?
The name ‘bond’ paper comes from it having originally being used for documents such as government bonds. It is now used as a term to describe uncoated multi-purpose paper.
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