Cardstock Paper Weight: Everything You Need to Know About
Looking at a stack of papers and guessing their weight is what everyone is confused about. It is a common thing that the quality of a particular project depends upon the type of paper used for printing purposes.
For example, if you go out printing invitation cards, you cannot choose a sample photocopy paper for this purpose. There are different types of cardstock paper to print on, depending upon their color, size, and weight.
How is paper weight measured?
Generally, the paper weight is expressed in lbs. In the package of the printing papers, the paperweight is mentioned in-lbs. This is the paperweight for a stack of many sheets, for example, 200 to 500 sheets and cut into separate papers. So it becomes difficult to check the weight of an individual paper.
The size of cardstock paper varies with the type of paper. The size of a vellum or parchment paper and a book or a cover paper would be different. It is quite interesting to know that in the case of paper, the size is not a determinant of the weight. Just because a stack of cardstock papers looks heavy and occupies more space, it is not mean that the paperweight is more.
The size of parchment or vellum paper is about 22 by 28 inches, so the weight expressed in pounds is 67 lbs for 500 sheets of it. The mathematical unit for calculating the actual weight of the paper is gram per square meter, abbreviated as GSM. It shows the weight of 1 meter of paper equal in length and width. GSM value is directly proportional to the paperweight; as the GSM value increases, the weight of paper also increases and vice versa.
Categories of cardstock paperweight on the basis of size and texture
Exclusively the categories of cardstock paper weight range from thin paper to extremely heavy cardstock paper. For writing and photocopying, a thin quality paper is used mostly flexible in nature. These are commonly classified as the papers of a book or any printed document and are the most common types of photocopying and printing papers available in the market.
The other types of paper are heavier in nature and are classified as cardstock paper. First of all, we come across a thin paper which is usually and lighter in weight and can easily be folded. They are simply used for home printers and for decoration purposes due to the colors and beautiful patterns available in them.
The second category of paper is usually thicker than the simple papers, and it can also be called cover papers. They can be used in all types of printers easily and are used for making greeting or invitation cards mostly. You can learn how to print thick paper on hp printer with our easy-to-understand guide.
The category of cardstock paper is heavier than the second one but thin compared to cardboard or chip boxes. They are not used with regular printers for printing the files and documents for daily purposes but are very rare in usage and are mostly used for making decorative cards for invitation or greetings. They are generally classified as quality papers by most of the users.
The Fourth kind of cardstock paper is heavier than all having a weight of about 100 to 110 lbs. Their weight can easily be compared with the chips boxes available in the market. There are many kinds of cardstock paper in this category. Some of them are double bonded with each other, which makes them stronger and more compatible. They are probably one of the most durable cardstock papers available.
Types of cardstock papers on the basis of weight
A twenty pounds paperweight is the lightest paper available in the market, generally used for daily printing and writing purposes for schools and offices. They can also be used for typing daily documents such as different brochures and schedules. They are good with both inkjet and laser printers.
A 24 pounds of paper can be used for making many things specially designed for art and craft for possesses due to its thickness and durability. It can be used for designing patterns and cutting motifs easily. There is a variety in colors of this paper. 28-pound paper is used for business purposes and is a preferable choice by most office workers. This type of paper is used to write newsletters, business letters, and resumes.
A 67 pounds paper is generally classified as parchment paper. The thickness of this paper is ideal for making gift boxes and cards. They can easily be used for cutting various shapes and can be used with different machines such as a Cricut maker.
A 65 pounds paper is thicker as compared to the previous cardstock papers. It is not preferred for business purposes but is good for making albums and scrapbooks. These are multi-layered papers with different color patterns being embedded in the paper base. It satisfies all the needs of a person who loves art and craft.
An 80 lbs cardstock paper is preferable and used exclusively by all the people with all sorts of machines, most probably Cricut machines. They are ideal for making invitation and used to print business cards at home because of their accurate thickness and weight.
Even if you design a card of your own style, the better quality of a cardstock paper would automatically give it a professional look. Folding the 80 pounds cardstock paper is a little tricky process, and you can get wrinkles in your cardstock paper, so it is always better to use a soldering device for this method.
Conclusion
There are different ways and scales for measuring the paperweight. Most probably, the paperweight is expressed in lbs by most of the paper companies, but they do not give the exact weight for a single sheet of paper.
There is a variety in sizes, shapes, and weight of cardstock papers depending upon your requirement and needs. The suggestion of the best quality cardstock paper can be answered by your need.
