Paper Stock Weights

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.

Paper Weight In Grams
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).

Text stock and cover stock

Paper Stock	Common Weights	Basic Sheet Size	Description
Text	70# - 80# (104 gsm -118 gsm)	25" x 38"	Higher quality than Bond stock, Text Stock is a lightweight paper used for magazines, letterhead, and annual reports.
Cover	60# - 120# (162 gsm - 325 gsm)	20" x 26"	A heavyweight paper commonly used for invitations, postcards, business cards, and paperback book covers.

As you can see, an 80# Text paper is lighter than an 80# Cover paper due to it's greater basic sheet size. Do not be confused by the terms "card stock" and "cover stock" used interchangably for most of the heavyweight papers at LCI. All of our card stocks are measured in terms of standard Cover Stock weight.