Paper
Paper is quite literally the base of card making. Depending on the medium you want to use on your paper or the look you're going for, you'll need to use a different kind.
Contents
Types of paper
Paper weight
Units
Paper weight is either listed as lbs or gsm.
- Lbs shows the pounds per 500 larger sheets (before cutting them to size). The size of this sheet is determined by the manufacturer.
- Gsm shows grams per square meter of paper.
Since the size of the gsm indication is always the same (as opposed to the lbs), it makes way more sense to look at the gsm to determine the paper weight. Keep in mind that the paper might feel a little bit thinner or less sturdy, depending on the finishes that were applied to the paper. But gsm is in any case the best way to figure out which paper is the sturdiest.
You can find online converters for lbs to gsm, but keep in mind it won't give you a guarantee of the actual paper weight since lbs is dependent of the brand or manufacturer.
Common paper weights
80 gsm is your standard printer paper you use at home or in the office
250 or 300 gsm is most commonly used for business cards, post cards or handmade cards
Paper size
ISO A4 to A6
Most of the world uses the ISO standard A4 size paper. This measures 210 mm x 297 mm.
If you fold the paper in four, you would have a standard A6 card size, which measures 105 mm x 148,5 mm.
US letter to A2
The United States and Canada are the only two countries that officially don't use the ISO standard, but use the US letter paper. This measures 8,5 inch x 11 inch.
If you fold the paper in four, you would have a standard A2 card size, which measures 4,25 inch x 5,5 inch.