Everything You Need To Know About Paper Thickness
Have you ever bought a cheap notebook just to find the paper is crazy thin and practically unusable? Paper thickness is one area that retailers skimp on to cut costs, and understanding what paper thickness you need for what you want to use it for can save you a lot of heart ache.
In this article, we look at:
1. How is paper thickness measured
What Is Paper Thickness Measured In?
There are two ways that paper can be measured in, microns and GSM:
One micron is the equivalent of one thousandth of a millimeter. Microns are more commonly used for industrial purposes, but are less common in retail.
GSM stands for grams per square meter, and is measured by weighing a square meter of paper. While it is technically a measurement of weight rather than thickness, the higher the GSM, the thicker and higher quality the paper usually is.
Because GSM is more commonly used when buying paper, that’s what we’ll refer to in the rest of this blog.
Why Is Paper Thickness Important?
Paper can be more or less suited for different applications depending on their thickness. Paper with a low GSM are more prone to bleed through, especially when using paints, felt tips, and ink pens. The lower the GSM, the more likely the paper is to warp when introduced to moisture too – for example, with glue.
However, lower GSM paper is usually cheaper and is more sustainable as it uses less wood pulp. It’s also more flexible, which is useful for books.
It’s not always necessary to go for the highest GSM available! A great example of where a lower GSM paper is more suitable is newspapers: these are thrown away so don’t need to be high quality. Newspapers are usually printed on paper that is 35 – 55 gsm, compared to standard printer paper which is usually 80 gsm.
What Paper Thickness To Use And When
Knowing what paper thickness to use helps to make sure your paper products are the right durability and quality you need, while avoiding overpaying.
People will always have their own preferences about paper thickness, but generally a good paper GSM to use for different purposes are as follows.
Paper thickness for journals and notebooks
We’d recommend at least a minimum of 80 gsm for journals, but 100-120 gsm paper is ideal if you want to prevent bleed through. For a more cost effective journal, 80 gsm will do the job but you are more likely to find bleed through or ghosting (where you can see the words, but ink hasn’t bled through).
All of our notebooks and journals use 100gsm paper. You can shop our journals here and our handmade notebooks here.
Scrapbook paper thickness
Scrapbook paper needs to be thick enough to hold up lots of layers, and be subject to lots of glue. For light spreads, 100-120gsm paper should be fine, but we’d recommend looking for a minimum of 130-170 gsm paper in a scrapbook, especially if you’re planning on using both sides of a page.
Best paper thickness for planners
Similar to notebooks and journals, 100 gsm paper is great for planners. 100 gsm is a happy medium between durable and high quality, without being too bulky or inflexible.
All of our handmade planners use 100gsm paper.
Sketchbook paper thickness
For light sketching, a 100 gsm paper notebook can work fine, but we’d recommend 130-150 gsm as a minimum for any dedicated sketchbook using pencils or pens. This paper thickness is sturdy and will not bleed through and tend to feel a lot nicer to sketch on.
Paper thickness for painting
If you veer towards painting, a thicker paper is needed to prevent warping when the water touches the paper. 200 gsm paper is great for painting, but anywhere from 180 – 260 gsm should do the trick.
What paper to use for art prints
For art prints, 170 gsm paper is a good place to start. The higher the GSM the higher quality the print will feel, but if you choose something higher than 300 gsm you may struggle to print on it. Many home printers can get jammed with paper that is thicker than this.
What paper to use for leaflets
Leaflets and flyers are usually printed on 130-170 gsm paper, but this can be more or less depending on how durable they need to be. If you’re handing our mass amounts of flyers for brand awareness and expect them to be binned, you might choose a lower GSM. For a higher quality feel, you might go higher.
Paper thickness for invitations and greeting cards
For invitations, a paper thickness of 100-150gsm works great. Most cards are around 300 gsm, with a good range being 280-350 gsm.
Paper thickness for business cards
Business cards need to hold their integrity while being tossed around in bags and wallets. Most business cards are 300 gsm as standard, but 250 gsm – 400 gsm are also used.
Looking for notebooks and journals with the right paper thickness? We use 100 gsm paper for our handmade stationery, including notebooks, planners, and journals. Shop them all here!
