Paper Caliper

There are multiple ways of denoting the caliper (thickness) of a paper, and there are also multiple types of papers with identical calipers but different characteristics.

 

Standard Paper Caliper & Equivalent Conversions:
Bond Text Caliper GSM
Economy Subject Notebooks 16 lb 40 lb .0032 in 60.2
Student Notebooks 20 lb 50 lb .0038 in 67.7
Standard Lab Notebooks 24 lb 60 lb .0048 in 90.3
Vela Lab Notebooks 28 lb 70 lb .0058 in 105.4


Each row of the above chart represents a single caliper of paper (eg. 16 lb bond is identical to 40lb text paper in thickness). In the US, the most common way of denoting caliper is with Bond. Generally, thicker paper has less ink show-through and bleedthrough, but equivalent caliper papers may have very different opacities.

Vela uses a high opacity (95% opacity) paper that minimizes ink show-though and bleedthrough with most pens.