PAPER WEIGHT
- Grammage
- metric measure of paper weight
- grams per square meter
- Basic Weight
- pounds per ream (ream = 500 sheets of paper)
- dimension: dimensions of an "uncut" vary depending on the type of paper.
- For example
- Newsprint: uncut sheet dimension is 24" x 36"
- Copy Paper: uncut sheet dimension is 17" x 22"
- Book Paper: uncut sheet dimension is 25" x 38"
The standard weight of machine-made paper are:
- 90 lb (190 gsm)
- 140 lb (300 gsm)
- 300 lb (638 gsm)
*when you are working with watercolor, paper less than 260 lb should be stretched before use to prevent warping.
Unit Conversion
- 1 inch = 2.54 cm
- 1 foot = 3.48 cm
- 1 oz = 28.35 g
- 1 lb = 453.6 g
FIBER
- Cotton Paper (rag paper) is made from 100% cotton fibers, and is naturally acid free. Cotton has the longest and strongest fibers. Strathmore 500 series is 100% cotton paper.
- Cellulose paper (wood pulp-based paper) is low to mid quality paper and has the shortest fibers. Newsprint and construction paper are both made from cellulose. Cellulose papers are more acidic and are not archival.
- Combination Paper is a mixture of wood and cotton fiber. It is generally considered a multipurpose paper. Regular Bristol boards, pastel, charcoal paper are combination papers.
