80 gsm paper
80 g/m²
21 lb bond · 54 lb text · 30 lb cover
What 80 gsm is for
The world standard for office paper. Outside North America this is what a copier is loaded with and what "a sheet of paper" means with no further qualification.
80 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 | 80 gsm is | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bond / Writing | 17 × 22 in | 21.3 lb | Office copier paper, letterheads and business stationery. |
| Text / Book | 25 × 38 in | 54.0 lb | Book pages, brochures, magazine interiors and flyers. |
| Cover | 20 × 26 in | 29.6 lb — not made at this weight | Business cards, book covers, postcards and folders. |
| Index | 25.5 × 30.5 in | 44.2 lb — not made at this weight | Index cards, tabbed dividers and stiff record cards. |
| Tag | 24 × 36 in | 49.2 lb — not made at this weight | Tags, tickets and hanging labels. |
| Bristol | 22.5 × 28.5 in | 36.5 lb | Drawing board, presentation card and heavy stock. |
Nearby weights
| gsm | lb bond | lb text | lb cover | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 16 | 41 | 22 | Thin book paper and economy copier stock |
| 70 | 19 | 47 | 26 | Budget office paper and mass-market paperback pages |
| 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 |
Frequently asked questions
What is 80 gsm in lb?
It depends which grade — that is the whole difficulty. 21 lb bond, 54 lb text, 30 lb cover. American basis weights are not comparable between grades, so a pound figure means nothing without the grade beside it.
How thick is 80 gsm paper?
Roughly 0.1 mm for an uncoated sheet — about 0.100 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 80 gsm paper used for?
The world standard for office paper. Outside North America this is what a copier is loaded with and what "a sheet of paper" means with no further qualification.
All paper weights, and why lb figures disagree · Paper sizes