What does the "grams" mean in terms of the paper?
Most of our paper types are indicated by a weight: 80 grams, 100 grams, 160 grams, 250 grams, etc. But what does this exactly stand for?
Weight Calculation
Many people think that 80 grams stands for a weight of 80 grams per sheet. In principle, this is a correct assumption, but we are not referring to the chosen sheet size, but the sheet as a square meter. Simply put: 1 square meter of 80 grams paper weighs 80 grams. In this way, all weights of a size of paper can be calculated. The proportions of an A0 are such that it represents 1 square meter. Therefore, the weights of an A0 are as follows:
Papertype | Weight A0 |
80 grams standard | 80 gram |
90 grams roman biotop | 90 gram |
100 grams firm | 100 gram |
160 grams extra firm | 160 gram |
170 grams glossy | 170 gram |
190 grams satin | 190 gram |
250 grams very sturdy | 250 gram |
300 grams nature carton | 300 gram |
350 grams card | 350 gram |
So, when you know that all weights are calculated from a square meter, you can also calculate the weight of an A4. Each ratio in the A category is half of a size larger: an A1 is half of an A0, an A2 is half of an A1, an A3 is half of an A2, etc. This means that an A4 sheet is 1/16th of an A0. By dividing the weight of an A0 by 16, you get the weight of an A4:
Papertype | Weight A4 |
80 grams standard | 5,00 gram |
90 grams roman biotop | 5,63 gram |
100 grams firm | 6,25 gram |
160 grams extra firm | 10,00 gram |
170 grams glossy | 10,63 gram |
190 grams satin | 11,88 gram |
250 grams very sturdy | 15,63 gram |
300 grams nature carton | 18,75 gram |
350 grams card | 21,88 gram |
You can calculate this for each size
What is "Grams"
"Grams" refers to the weight of the paper per square meter (gsm), as mentioned earlier. It is indeed a simple way to indicate the difference in weight of various paper types. So, when we say that a particular paper is 80 grams, we mean that the weight of 1 square meter of that paper is 80 grams. This does not mean that every sheet in your A4 book weighs exactly 80 grams, but rather that the weight of each sheet is in the correct proportion to 80 grams per square meter. It is also a simple way to say that a higher number of grams indicates a thicker (and therefore sturdier) papertype than one with less grams.
