GSM In Pounds – Conversion With Text & Cover Weight

When dealing with paper, it’s key to understand the difference between GSM and pounds. These two measurements are used in different regions but represent the same thing: the weight of paper. If you’re working with suppliers or printers across borders, converting between these units can get tricky. In this article, we’ll walk you through the basics and help you convert between GSM and pounds with ease.

Definition: GSM in pounds

GSM, or grams per square metre, is a unit that tells you how much a single square metre of paper weighs in grams. It’s commonly used around the world, especially in countries that follow the metric system. In other countries, the unit “pounds” (lb) is used to indicate paper weight. Knowing the weight of printer paper helps you understand its density and paper thickness (also known as caliper). For a deep dive into GSM, click on the button below.

To GSM

Text weight vs. cover weight

As mentioned in our paper weight article, North America uses pounds (lb), which measures the weight of a ream of paper. Each category has a different standard (uncut) size, which is essential when converting from GSM to pounds or vice versa. Below, we will break down the two categories, text and cover, and why they matter.

This table shows that differentiating between text and cover paper matters since they use different sizes and therefore different thicknesses, even when they both weigh 70 lb for instance. Without knowing the category, you can’t calculate GSM accurately.

Conversion formulas

To make accurate conversion between GSM and pounds, you’ll need a couple of simple formulas. Below, we’ll walk you through both directions: converting from GSM to pounds, and from pounds to GSM.