Paper weights

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 (of course) handmade cards.