Text / Book Weight
Paper Weight & Grammage · 7 specs
Direct Answer
Text Paper (Basis Weight: Text / Book / Offset, standardized under TAPPI T 410) is a North American commercial printing paper grade defined as the weight in pounds of a 500-sheet ream of uncut master sheets measuring 25 × 38 inches. It is standard for commercial book interiors, magazines, brochures, and marketing collateral.
Source: TAPPI T 410 / Printing Industries of America (PIA) · Last reviewed Aug 28, 2026
Specs
| Master Parent Sheet Size | 25.0 × 38.0 inches (yields sixteen 6 × 9 in trade book pages per master sheet) |
| Standard Ream Basis | 500 master sheets (25 × 38 in) |
| 50 lb Text Equivalent | 74.0 gsm (Standard lightweight trade paperback novel interior paper — equals 20 lb Bond) |
| 60 lb Text Equivalent | 88.8 gsm (Standard quality trade non-fiction book paper — equals 24 lb Bond) |
| 70 lb Text Equivalent | 103.6 gsm (Heavier illustrated textbook and booklet interior paper) |
| 80 lb Text Equivalent | 118.4 gsm (Standard commercial full-color brochure and magazine paper) |
| 100 lb Text Equivalent | 148.0 gsm (Heavy premium annual report and high-end marketing collateral paper) |
The 25×38-Inch Master Sheet
Because commercial offset printing presses use large 25 × 38 inch parent sheets (capable of printing 16 book pages at once), a 500-sheet ream of this larger size naturally weighs more than a ream of smaller 17 × 22 Bond paper. As a result, 50 lb Text is virtually identical in thickness and density to 20 lb Bond (both ~75 gsm).