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PAPER SIZES, WEIGHTS & THICKNESS

SPECIFYING PAPER WEIGHT IS CONFUSING FOR MOST PURPOSES

Paper weight is often expressed as the number of pounds for 500 sheets (one ream) of paper in its basis size--and this basis size is determined by factors that have no relevance to most users. We find this to be confusing, because 20 pound bond paper and 50 pound book paper are almost the same thickness and are often used for identical applications, and yet their weights are said to be vastly different. Thickness is what matters most to the normal user -- weight is only of interest to high volume manufacturers, dealers and buyers who buy and sell paper by the pound or ton.

This is why we try to consistently use thickness to describe paper or cardstock and not the weight. We realize this is almost heretical to the experts in the field -- but it makes more sense to us and is certainly less confusing to newcomers to the field. We hope the experts can adapt.

PAPER AND CARDSTOCK THICKNESSES

Copy paper is about .004" thick
Lightweight cardstock is about .008" thick.
Business cards are about .010" thick
Cereal boxes are about .020" thick
Standard corrugated boxes are 1/8" thick (.125")


Standard U.S. Sizes
SIZE WIDTH (Inches) HEIGHT (Inches) COMMENTS
A 8.5 11 Standard Letter Size
B 8.5 14 "Legal" Being Phased Out
C 11 17 Ledger size -- used by accountants
D 17 22
F 22 34
G 34 44
H 28 40
I 11 42 Usually stored rolled.
J 28 48
K 34 48
L 40 48

Metric paper sizes (as standardized by the ISO)
SIZE WIDTH (MM) HEIGHT (MM) WIDTH (INCHES) HEIGHT (INCHES)
2A0 1,189 1,682 46.81 66.22
A0 841 1,189 33.11 46.81
A1 594 841 23.39 33.11
A2 420 594 16.54 23.39
A3 297 420 11.69 16.54
A4 210 297 8.27 11.69
A5 148 210 5.83 8.27
A6 105 148 4.13 5.83
A7 74 105 2.91 4.13
B0 1,028 1,456 40.48 57.32
B1 728 1,028 28.66 40.48
B2 514 728 20.24 28.66
B3 364 514 14.33 20.24
B4 257 364 10.12 14.33
B5 182 257 7.17 10.12
B6 128 182 5.04 7.17