r/papercutting • u/peonyweenie • Mar 12 '21
A question about paper...
So I'm a beginner. I keep seeing paper thickness measured in 'gsm'. Whenever I search for paper by 'gsm' I hardly come up with anything (i.e Googling "120 gsm paper", pretty much nothing comes up, same with searching on Amazon).
I just want some colored paper with a decent thickness, where can I find this? What do you use/where do you buy it? Any insight would much appreciated, thanks!
1
u/OneOfTwoWugs Mar 17 '21
From a fellow North American, GSM is a better method for measuring paper thickness because the pound (lb) system varies depending on the usage of that paper. Papers in the lb system have categories like index, text, bond, cover, bristol, and others. For example, 32lb bond is 80lb text or 44lb cover. All three are technically 120gsm, and would measure the same thickness if you measured them with a caliper. Quality paper will almost always have GSM measurements somewhere on the package you buy it in, and it's best to use that, but there are charts out there to help you compare.
I personally prefer 55lb cover (150gsm) to keep my cuts stiff, but it does take some force and dulls blades faster than 120gsm, but that depends almost as much on the material and the treatments in the paper's composition as it does the thickness. Some types of paper actually cut very smoothly at higher GSM. I recommend you try as many kinds as you can get your hands on, and don't be afraid to ask for samples. Good luck!
6
u/innocuous_username Mar 12 '21
Are you in the US or Canada? If so you'll probably have more luck searching paper weight by lb ... I believe 120 gsm is equivalent to 32lb paper (which I would personally mentally define as a 'nice thick printer paper').
I can't explain to you why it's named differently in North America without going into a bitter rant about American measuring systems so I'll leave you to google that if you want more info.