The basic properties of the paper relate to features such as format, grammage, thickness and bulk.
Format
Format is understood to mean the "dimensions" of the paper in terms of length and width.
Grammage
Grammage (sometimes also referred to as paper weight or basis weight) is understood as the weight of the paper per area. The most common unit is g/m2.
The physical properties like strength, paper thickness and specific volume depend on the grammage. Thus, for example, the higher the grammage, the greater the opacity.
Grammages of up to 170 g/m2 are referred to as paper, while card weighs from 170 to 600 g/m2 and cardboard over 600 g/m2.
Thickness
The thickness of a sheet of paper is defined as the vertical distance between the two surfaces of the paper. This is one of the features that has a major influence on bending stiffness, among other things.
Bulk (specific volume)
The specific volume is the ratio of thickness to basis weight.
Most types of paper are produced according to grammage. However, there are papers that are produced strictly according to thickness, such as volumised paper for book production. Greater paper thickness gives a print product more volume and stiffness, while maintaining the same grammage.
