A guide to paper weights
and thicknesses

If you have not worked in the printing industry, the term 'paper weight' can easily be confused with something you'd buy as a desk accessory or holiday momento. In print, the weight of the paper (measured in grams per square metre - gsm). For example; our business cards are printed on 350gsm board (another name for card) whereas standard photopying or printer paper is 80gsm, thus the higher the gsm, the thicker the paper or card.

Business cards
The majority of printers print business cards onto a 325-350gsm card. A business card printed on anything thinner than 325gsm will be flimsy and unimpressive when handed out.

Leaflets
For single sided leaflets that don't have a lot of ink coverage, economy leaflets can be printed on 80gsm paper. The advantage of this is mainly cost. If however you require full colour double sided leaflets we recommend you them printed on a 170gsm paper - anything thinner is somewhat see-through and can spoil the effect of a well designed leaflet.

It is also worth remembering that printers offten refer to paper as 'stock' and card as 'board'.