Paper Specifications/Weight question...

[lancer525]

I have an opportunity to get a REALLY good deal on some paper. It is listed as "cardstock, 13pt" but I have absolutely no idea how that compares to the 65lb cardstock I have been using practically forever.

My normal paper used is "Color Mates 65lb" in any one of their 144 colors, and I know how that prints on my printer. I also know that I can't print anything much stiffer than that, else it won't feed, and will jam.

So how does 13pt compare to 65lb cardstock? How does 180gsm and 245gsm compare to 65lb cardstock?

I've read a couple of the "paper comparison" posts and charts, and they don't make any sense to me.

[davelant]

RenoPrintStore.com, Full Color Printing Postcards, Business Cards, Flyers, Brochures

According to this chart, it's a third of a millimeter thick, 286 grams per square meter. Really, really, thick cardstock. This stock is often used to make durable paper tags, the kind that come with a little metal eyelet.

[airdave]

I use 110lb cardstock (8.5x11) and that is 9pt

I like the weight of this paper, but it doesn't curve as easy as 65lb.

and yes, it can be tight sometimes going thru the printer.
(just clean the rollers in the printer and it will go thru fine!)

13pt looks like about 160lb cardstock which is pretty heavy stuff.
You could build formers/internals with that weight!

[KCStephens]

Most card stock is usually about .007" to .009" thick. Your .013" stock seems a bit heavy.

[jacberk]

Thanks for the link to the conversion table davelant and the info guys! I use a conversion program on my computer while working, that chart is going on my wall.

Jack

[ahmet]

Hi everybody,
I use 90 gr/m2 for small parts, 120 and 160 gr. for medium sizes and 200 gr for large areas. Therefore sometimes I print pages twice.

ahmet

[lancer525]

I have to admit, I still don't follow all this "point" or "gsm" or any of that.

I also don't know what "007" or "009" is since I'm not a caliper and don't have one available...

I think I might just have to give up, because none of these answers help much.

[SCEtoAUX]

"gsm" is grams per square meter. You take a square sheet of paper that measures 1 meter or 39.370 inches (1 yard 3-3/8 inches approx) on each side and see how many grams it weighs. There are 28.35 grams in an ounce.

Using the information in that paper weight chart referenced earlier would make the 13 pt paper be 105 lb cover stock or 285.95 gsm.

Most of the 65 lb cardstock I have seen available is the same as 65 lb cover stock which would be 8 points.

A point is 1/1000th of an inch or .001 in. In that chart some of the measurements appear to be rounded out.

Caliper is the measurement of thickness taken with a caliper.

You will see some people reference 110 lb cardstock which is 110 lb index. It is 9 points thick or 199.41 gsm.

Using gsm as a basis to compare stock is a better way since you use a square meter for all of the stock. The lb method uses different size sheets of stock.

Points and Caliper are measurements of the thickness of the stock and require a caliper instrument to measure (either that or a very well calibrated eyeball).
The "lb" is a measure of the weight of different sheet sizes, weight being the important operative.
The "gsm" is a measure of the weight of one square meter of any paper stock.

So using that chart mentioned before:
65 lb Cover is 8 points or .0078 Caliper or 176.83 gsm

110 lb Index is 9 points or .0085 Caliper or 199.41 gsm

The 13 pt stock you mentioned appears to be 105 lb Cover or 158 lb Index or .013 Caliper or 285.95 gsm.

So how does 13pt compare to 65lb cardstock? How does 180gsm and 245gsm compare to 65lb cardstock?

To keep things in the same (Cover stock) column on that chart:
65 lb is 176.83 gsm (which is close to 180 gsm), 8 points
90 lb is 244.56 gsm (which is close to 245 gsm), 10 points
105 lb is 285.95 gsm (which is close to 286 gsm), 13 points

Clear as mud yet?

[elliott]

Okay, the plot sickens, sorry - thickens. From PaperCatalog.com - Metric Measurements

Basic formula: To convert from basis weight in pounds to grams per square meter, multiply the basis weight by 1406.13 and divide by the square inches in the base sheet. For example, to convert from 20 lb. 17" x 22"/500, multiply 20 lbs. by the constant 1406.13 and divide by 374 = 75 g/m2.

To convert from g/m2 to pounds the procedure is reversed:
Multiply the g/m2 by the square inches in the base sheet and divide by 1406.13.

Easy as pi, no?

[lancer525]

Well, I was fine after I read SCE's reply, but Elliott's response messed me up again.

<sigh> I am not a mathematician, engineer, or able to do any kind of calculations of any sort beyond addition or subtraction without some kind of calculator or program that does calculations on the computer.

Sad, I know.

I had the worst possible math teachers in school, many of whom used certain types of difficult problems as punishment, and some others who didn't grasp that all the steps in between needed to be explained. You know, the type who write the problem and then the answer as if all the minutiae in between was somehow obvious, and those of us who didn't see all the steps on our own were considered not too much smarter than your average slab of concrete...

I think I follow, so what I have to do is find paper that is 65 lb is 176.83 gsm (which is close to 180 gsm), 8 points, as SCE wrote.If I use that guideline, then I shouldn't go wrong, unless I factor in whether they're inkjet or laser compatible, and all that other junk. I suspect I'll have to have the parts sheets professionally printed now, since the paper is a metallic. Oh well...

Thanks for all your help guys. Even you, Elliott! :D