Paper Weights - USA vs Metric
The weight of metric paper is given in grams per square meter (gms). By definition, one
square meter is one A0 (A zero) size sheet or 16 A4 (A four)size sheets.
The weight of United States letter size paper is given in pounds per 500 sheet ream of
uncut C size paper. For the letter size paper, a C size sheet is cut into 4 pages 8.5x11,
so that a cut ream of letter size paper, 500 letter size sheets, weighs 5 pounds if
the paper is nominally 20 pound paper.
Note that each type of paper has a different "base size," so 200 gsm of one paper will give
a differnt Lbs/ream equivalent for a different paper. For instance: 20 lbs of Bond is almost
the same as 28 Lbs of cover.
Weight
in
Pounds |
Bond
Dual Purpose
Duplicator
Ledger
Safety
Writing |
Cover |
Bristol |
Index |
Offset
Text
Book |
| Basis size (inches) |
| 17 x 22 |
20 x 26 |
22.5 x 28.5 |
25.5 x 30.5 |
25 x 38 |
| 20 |
75.3 gsm |
54.1 gsm |
43.9 gsm |
36.2 gsm |
29.6 gsm |
| 24 |
90.3 gsm |
65.0 gsm |
52.7 gsm |
43.4 gsm |
35.6 gsm |
| 28 |
105.4 gsm |
75.8 gsm |
61.5 gsm |
50.7 gsm |
41.5 gsm |
| 60 |
225.8 gsm |
162.4 gsm |
131.7 gsm |
108.6 gsm |
88.9 gsm |
| 67 |
252.1 gsm |
181.3 gsm |
147.1 gsm |
121.2 gsm |
99.3 gsm |
| 80 |
301.0 gsm |
216.5 gsm |
175.6 gsm |
144.8 gsm |
118.5 gsm |
| 110 |
413.9 gsm |
297.7 gsm |
241.4 gsm |
199.1 gsm |
163.0 gsm |
United States Paper Sizes in Inches
| Name | Size |
| Executive | 7.5 x 10 |
| A (letter) | 8 1/2 x 11 |
| Legal | 8.5 x 14 |
| B (ledger) | 11 x 17 |
| Super A3/B | 13 x 19 |
| C | 17 x 22 |
| D | 22 x 34 |
| E | 34 x 44 |
| F | 28 x 40 |
| G | 11 x (22 1/2 to 90) |
| H | 28 x (44 to 143) |
| J | 34 x (55 to 176) |
| K | 40 x (55 to 143) |
Metric Trimmed Paper Sizes
The basic size of metric paper is one square meter, which is the area of an A0 sheet of
metric paper. This size, taken along with the aspect ratio, fully determines the size
and shape of metric reprographics paper. For a given sheet size, United States paper
is a little wider than metric paper in the short dimension, and a little shorter than
metric paper in the long dimension. As can be seen, A0 size folded once is A1 size,
folded twice is A2 size, folded thrice is A3 size, and folded 4 times is A4 size.
Metric paper also has a B series of sizes for posters and wallcharts and a C series
of sizes for envelopes.
| Metric Name |
Metric Size in mm |
Size in Inches |
United States Size |
Size in Inches |
| A8 |
53 x 74 |
2.07 x 2.91 |
Business card |
2 x 3 1/2 |
| A7 |
74 x 105 |
2.91 x 4.13 |
3 x 5 |
3 x 5 |
| A6 |
105 x 148 |
4.13 x 5.83 |
Microfiche |
4.13 x 5.83 |
| A5 |
148 x 210 |
5.83 x 8.27 |
5 x 8 |
5 x 8 |
| A4 |
210 x 297 |
8.27 x 11.69 |
A |
8 1/2 x 11 |
| A3 |
297 x 420 |
11.69 x 16.54 |
B |
11 x 17 |
| A2 |
420 x 594 |
16.54 x 23.39 |
C |
17 x 22 |
| A1 |
594 x 841 |
23.39 x 33.11 |
D |
22 x 34 |
| A0 |
841 x 1189 |
33.11 x 46.81 |
E |
34 x 44 |
| 2A |
1189 x 1681 |
46.81 x 66.22 |
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