120 gsm paper

Q: What is 120 gsm in lb?

It depends which grade — that is the whole difficulty. 32 lb bond, 81 lb text, 44 lb cover. American basis weights are not comparable between grades, so a pound figure means nothing without the grade beside it.

Q: How thick is 120 gsm paper?

Roughly 0.15 mm for an uncoated sheet — about 0.150 mm — though thickness depends on how the paper was made as much as on its weight. A bulky uncoated stock and a compressed glossy one at the same gsm can differ by half again.

120 g/m²

32 lb bond · 81 lb text · 44 lb cover

What 120 gsm is for

Heavy letterhead and single-sheet flyers. It folds once cleanly and twice badly, so anything needing a third fold wants something lighter.

120 gsm in American basis weights

One metric weight becomes six different pound figures, because each American grade is weighed at a different sheet size. None of them is more correct than the others — but some are outside the range that grade is actually sold in, and those are marked.

Grade	Basis size	120 gsm is	Used for
Bond / Writing	17 × 22 in	31.9 lb	Office copier paper, letterheads and business stationery.
Text / Book	25 × 38 in	81.1 lb	Book pages, brochures, magazine interiors and flyers.
Cover	20 × 26 in	44.4 lb — not made at this weight	Business cards, book covers, postcards and folders.
Index	25.5 × 30.5 in	66.4 lb — not made at this weight	Index cards, tabbed dividers and stiff record cards.
Tag	24 × 36 in	73.7 lb — not made at this weight	Tags, tickets and hanging labels.
Bristol	22.5 × 28.5 in	54.7 lb	Drawing board, presentation card and heavy stock.

Nearby weights

gsm	lb bond	lb text	lb cover
75	20	51	28	The North American office default, sold as 20 lb bond
80	21	54	30	The world standard for office paper
90	24	61	33	A step up from copier paper, used for letterheads and documents meant to be handed over rather than filed
100	27	68	37	Quality stationery and the inner pages of good brochures
120	32	81	44	Heavy letterhead and single-sheet flyers
150	40	101	55	Poster and flyer weight

Frequently asked questions

What is 120 gsm in lb?

It depends which grade — that is the whole difficulty. 32 lb bond, 81 lb text, 44 lb cover. American basis weights are not comparable between grades, so a pound figure means nothing without the grade beside it.

How thick is 120 gsm paper?

Roughly 0.15 mm for an uncoated sheet — about 0.150 mm — though thickness depends on how the paper was made as much as on its weight. A bulky uncoated stock and a compressed glossy one at the same gsm can differ by half again.

What is 120 gsm paper used for?

Heavy letterhead and single-sheet flyers. It folds once cleanly and twice badly, so anything needing a third fold wants something lighter.

All paper weights, and why lb figures disagree · Paper sizes