Please use this as a guide for people living in areas where paper is not sold by US Weights.
This is a general guide to help understand the sizes and terms and to associate them with items that you are familiar with.
There are two basic systems in use: <ul>[*]The U.S. system (traditional English system), which sizes the weight in pounds,[/list]<ul>[*]And the Metric system, which sizes the weight in grams / meter squared (g/m²)[/list]The U.S. system is more difficult to understand because the same number in pounds can be used for the thicker card stock or the thinner text papers.
In the U.S. system, a paper's weight is the weight, measured in pounds, of one ream [500 sheets (Courtesy of rvb4life)]. But every type of paper has its own size of ream!
The metric system however is standard across all weights of papers. It measures a fixed size--one square meter.
As a general rule, <ul>[*]10-35 gsm is of tissue consistency;[*]35-70 gsm is lighter textweight,[*]70-100 gsm is medium textweight,[*]100-120 gsm is heavy textweight/light cardstock,[*]120-150 gsm is regular cardstock weight,[*]150-200 gsm is heavy cardstock,[*]and greater than 200 gsm is super heavy cardstock.[/list]For Pepakura Use, 175-250 gsm is the recommended weight.
Anything lighter will be too flimsy to work with when the Resin goes on.
Anything Heavier will begin to get complicated when making HD folds, but can be used for rigid structural integrity.
Conversion Table:
I take no credit for the information, but researched from reliable sources.
Simplified Table generated by me.
Note: All Values are Averages, Paper Types are Generalised.
Paper Type------------------------------------US Weight---------------GSM
Bond/Writing/Ledger (A4/Letter)-----------------20 lb---------------------90 gsm
Translucent Vellum Paper (A4/Letter)-----------29 lb----------------------109 gsm
Solid Card Stock (A4/Letter)-----------------110 lb--------------------175 gsm
3" x 5" Index Card-------------------------------110 lb---------------------200 gsm
If you would like more information, please ask!
Cheers
Introduction
Paper weights and types can be very confusing. This is a general guide to help understand the sizes and terms and to associate them with items that you are familiar with.
There are two basic systems in use: <ul>[*]The U.S. system (traditional English system), which sizes the weight in pounds,[/list]<ul>[*]And the Metric system, which sizes the weight in grams / meter squared (g/m²)[/list]The U.S. system is more difficult to understand because the same number in pounds can be used for the thicker card stock or the thinner text papers.
In the U.S. system, a paper's weight is the weight, measured in pounds, of one ream [500 sheets (Courtesy of rvb4life)]. But every type of paper has its own size of ream!
The metric system however is standard across all weights of papers. It measures a fixed size--one square meter.
As a general rule, <ul>[*]10-35 gsm is of tissue consistency;[*]35-70 gsm is lighter textweight,[*]70-100 gsm is medium textweight,[*]100-120 gsm is heavy textweight/light cardstock,[*]120-150 gsm is regular cardstock weight,[*]150-200 gsm is heavy cardstock,[*]and greater than 200 gsm is super heavy cardstock.[/list]For Pepakura Use, 175-250 gsm is the recommended weight.
Anything lighter will be too flimsy to work with when the Resin goes on.
Anything Heavier will begin to get complicated when making HD folds, but can be used for rigid structural integrity.
Conversion Table:
I take no credit for the information, but researched from reliable sources.
Simplified Table generated by me.
Note: All Values are Averages, Paper Types are Generalised.
Paper Type------------------------------------US Weight---------------GSM
Bond/Writing/Ledger (A4/Letter)-----------------20 lb---------------------90 gsm
Translucent Vellum Paper (A4/Letter)-----------29 lb----------------------109 gsm
Solid Card Stock (A4/Letter)-----------------110 lb--------------------175 gsm
3" x 5" Index Card-------------------------------110 lb---------------------200 gsm
If you would like more information, please ask!
Cheers
Last edited by a moderator: