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Xerox Nuvera Paper Guide
A-1
Converting paper weight from pounds to gsm
A. Converting paper weight from
pounds to gsm
Most countries, outside of the United States, use the metric
system and express the weight of paper in grams per square
meter (gsm).
The Xerox Nuvera uses gsm paper weights exclusively. Many
paper manufacturers in the United States, including Xerox, print
paper weight on the paper packaging in both pounds and gsm.
You will need to convert pounds to gsm only if the gsm weight has
not been specified.
Understanding basic size and basis weight
Basic size, in the United States, is the sheet size of a particular
type of paper that is recognized by buyers and sellers as the
standard size. Different types of paper have different basic sizes.
When basic sizes were established, each paper’s basic size was
believed to be its best size for printing, folding, and trimming.
The weight of paper is called its basis weight. In the United States,
basis weight is expressed as the number of pounds of one ream of
paper (usually 500 sheets) cut to its basic size.
NOTE: The industry standard for basis weight allows a plus or
minus 5% variation. Therefore, a ream of 20 pound (75 gsm) bond
paper can have an actual weight from 19 to 21 pounds (71.43 to
78.95 gsm).
Basic size is used to determine basis weight as illustrated in the
following examples:
• One ream (500 sheets) of 80 pound cover, cut to its basic
size (20x26 inch) = 80 pounds
• One ream (500 sheets) of 60 pound offset, cut to its basic
size (25x38 inch) = 60 pounds
Table A-1. shows the basic sizes for common types of paper.
Table A-1. Basic sizes
Paper Grades Basic Size (inches)
Bond / Xerographic / Ledger / Writing 17 x 22
Offset / Book / Text 25 x 38