MAK Paper Weight Calculations

This tool makes paper weight conversion easy! MAK Paper Weight Calculations allows you to convert between North American standard printing paper weight units.

No matter if you own a printing company, produce in-house printing or procure printing, it’s important to know your paper weights (your printing equipment and/or print provider will thank you!).

Paper weight classifications in North America can be quite confusing. Did you know that a 20# bond letter sized sheet is basically the same as a 50# letter sized book sheet? And that a 65# cover is heavier than a 90# index of the same size? That’s because base weights of these differently named types are taken from different sheet sizes. And that’s where math comes in…  and our easy to use paper weight conversion software tool.

We use mathematical formulas to convert these different paper weights between each other including a “gsm” (grams per square meter) weight conversion that is used in most other areas of the world.

And to top it off, our paper weight conversion tool also calculates how heavy several sheets should be. We say “should”, because evaporated water content, ink coverage and manufacturing discrepancies can change that in real world conditions (we may get a little technical here, but with over 20 years experience in the printing industry, we’ve handled thousands of sheets of paper in all different sizes and weights before designing the tool).