Today I am going to start a mini series on Paper Comparisons. This all started a couple months ago when a few people and I were talking about papers we use for making cards and such. Since that chat I have gotten many e-mails asking about cardstock for stamping so I figured it was a good time to experiment a bit.
I did some digging around to answer 2 of the most asked questions...
What does the pounds mean at the end of the cardstock - ex: 80lbs., 110lbs, etc.
The poundage found on various papers has to do with how thick/heavy a predetermined stack of that type of paper. This gets a bit confusing because different types of papers are weighted differently. Text weight papers are weighted differently than index or cardstocks so the pound numbers don't really cross over. For example 80# Text papers and 80# cardstock have the same poundage designation but the cardstock is almost twice as thick as the text paper. It's like comparing apples to oranges.
You can use this poundage though when choosing various papers - just remember the higher the pounds the heavier the paper is per sheet.
Once I got to digging around I found this really cool chart which kind of helps put the various weights and types of paper into better perspective.
Paper Weight Comparison Chart (lightest to heaviest)
(Source: Chansen Printing)
| #'s | gsm | Paper Stock |
| 16lb | 60.2 g/m2 | Bond/Writing/Ledger |
| 40lb | 60.2 g/m2 | Book/Text/Offset |
| 20lb | 75.2 g/m2 | Bond/Writing/Ledger |
| 50lb | 75.2 g/m2 | Book/Text/Offset |
| 24lb | 90.3 g/m2 | Bond/Writing/Ledger |
| 60lb | 90.3 g/m2 | Book/Text/Offset |
| 80lb | 104 g/m2 | Book/Text/Offset |
| 28lb | 105.4 g/m2 | Bond/Writing/Ledger |
| 70lb | 105.4 g/m2 | Book/Text/Offset |
| 40lb | 109.1 g/m2 | Cover |
| 50lb | 135.5 g/m2 | Cover |
| 60lb | 161.8 g/m2 | Cover |
| 100lb | 161.8 g/m2 | Tag |
| 90lb | 161.8 g/m2 | Index |
| 65lb | 176.8 g/m2 | Cover |
| 110lb | 199.4 g/m2 | Index |
| 80lb | 218.2 g/m2 | Cover |
| 90lb | 244.6 g/m2 | Cover |
| 140lb | 252.1 g/m2 | Index |
| 100lb | 270.9 g/m2 | Cover |
| 170lb | 308.5 g/m2 | Index |
| 220lb | 385.1 g/m2 | Index |
What is the difference between Index and Cover/Cardstock?
Index stock is heavier than text but not as heavy as cover/cardstock. But that's not to say that it's not as good, it's just made differently.
What type of paper do I use?
Usually Georgia Pacific 110lb (I think it's Index but it says cardstock on the paper). It's inexpensive, good for all round use and I can buy it locally ~ either at Wal-Mart or a couple different office stores.
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