GSM to lb converter
This GSM to lb converter turns the grams per square meter printed on a ream of paper into the pounds a US print shop quotes, for bond, text or cover stock.
Formula: lb = GSM Bond ÷ 3.769 75 ÷ 3.769 = 19.8991775
In every unit (3)
How the GSM to lb converter works
Pick the paper type in the list, GSM Bond, GSM Text or GSM Cover, type the grammage and read the pounds. The round button swaps the units to go from pounds to gsm. Paper weight is the one place where the unit alone is not enough: the paper type matters.
Examples: 20 lb bond is about 75 gsm, 80 gsm of bond is 21.2 lb, 100 lb text is about 148 gsm and 80 lb cover is about 217 gsm. Type the figure on your quote or your ream label and the GSM to lb converter reads the other side, and lbs to gsm works just as well.
In the US, a pound weight is the weight of 500 sheets, a ream, cut to the basic sheet size of its paper class. Bond, text and cover each start from a different basic size, so the same sheet carries a different number of pounds in each class. The GSM to lb converter applies the right ratio for each class. 75 gsm of bond reads as 19.9 lb, 100 gsm of text as 67.6 lb and 250 gsm of cover as 92.3 lb.
Choosing paper abroad and at the print shop
Grams per square meter is the same everywhere: it is the weight of one square meter of the sheet, so it needs no sheet size. The pound itself is exactly 0.45359237 kilogram (NIST). That is why a European printer quotes gsm and a US printer quotes pounds for the same paper.
In printing, heavier stock, such as a postcard or a business card, is usually quoted as cover, while a flyer or a magazine page is text. Ask the printer which class the lb figure belongs to, then use the GSM to lb converter to compare quotes with a European supplier.
Paper also comes in different sheet sizes: see our A4 vs letter guide. For the other weights, the kg to lbs converter covers kilograms and pounds.