What Does GSM Mean?

The term stands for Grams per Square Meter and is a unit of measurement for understanding the thickness of materials. This is measured from a sheet of material that measures one meter by one meter in length.

What is GSM in Paper Weight?

It measures the thickness of a sheet of paper. Put simply: the higher the GSM, the thicker the paper will be.

The paper weight chart ranges from lightweight tissue paper (such as noissue’s 17GSM Custom Tissue Paper) up to heavier weight designs made of card (such as noissue’s 350GSM noissue Custom Cards).

GSM is the most commonly-used unit globally for measuring paper thicknesses. So, it’s important that you understand what this means when ordering printed packaging.

Whether you’re ordering custom tissue paper or custom insert cards, it’s very likely that this will be how printers categorize the type of paper used in the manufacturing process.

So, if you don’t understand the difference between GSM scores, you could end up ordering the wrong paper thickness for your needs. This is a pretty costly mistake, especially when you are a small business!

To make sure your packaging is serving the right function, it pays to choose material that is the right weight.

 

Understanding Paper Thickness :

The paper weight chart below will give you a better idea of how different thicknesses of paper are used.

 

35 – 55 GSM paper: The thinnest form of regular paper, mostly used for newspapers.

90 – 120 GSM paper: The average weight of regular office paper or copy paper.

130 – 250 GSM paper: The weight most commonly used for promotional posters.

260 – 300 GSM paper: Thicker but still bendable card weight which works well for high-end brochures or magazines.

350 – 450 GSM paper: The heaviest and most rigid card which will easily stand under its own weight, and so much gets used most commonly for business cards and invitations.

Choosing the right type of paper for your printed material like posters, business cards, and cards is crucial to a successful finished product– business-related or for personal use.

 

Type of paper: Coated or uncoated paper for custom-printing

After picking your paperweight, you might feel like you’re in the deep end of paper finishes (of which there are hundreds).

 

There are two primary types of finishes for custom printing paper:

 

Uncoated :

Uncoated paper stock will be presented as it’s printed. Uncoated finishing on custom-printed material is cost-effective but isn’t likely to impress any holders or readers.

 

Coated :

Coated paper stock is as the name suggests. Coated custom-printed material is more customisable and can be coated in a finish that will feel more textural and look great.

Many clients choose to coat their custom printing to increase the impact of their promotional material and extend its life as well.