Paper Weight vs. Thickness
Paper weight and paper thickness are not the same thing, and one does not accurately determine or depend on the other. For example, some sheets of paper are heavier in weight and are thicker in caliper measurements. However, some sheets are so densely packed that they are much thinner for their weight than you would expect.
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Base Weight
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Paper weight is measured in pounds or grams. The weight of 500 sheets reflects the paper's base weight, and this normally corresponds to the amount listed in a product description, typically expressed in grams per square meter.
Thickness
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Paper thickness is measured in thousandths of an inch or calipers. This measurement, commonly referred to as points, is the actual thickness of a sheet of paper. However, the points do not express information about its weight.
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Comparing Paper Weights
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When comparing paper, equivalent weights are normally used to compensate for variance in original sheet sizes. For example, when 500 original or "parent" sheets are weighed, a base weight ratio is calculated based on that particular parent sheet size. However, parent sheet sizes vary, according to type, at paper manufacturing companies, so it's difficult to compare the base weights of different types of paper. Therefore, equivalent weights are calculated to compensate for these differences and to compare different types of paper weights (see Resources section).
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References
Resources
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