300 GSM to LB Paper Conversion, Grade by Grade
One metric weight turns into four different pound numbers, depending on the grade. Here is the math, the caliper it works out to, and how 300 gsm stock behaves once it is printed.
300 gsm is 111 lb cover, the same sheet as 166 lb index or 80 lb bond depending on which grade you are buying. Cover is the answer that matters for cardstock, and it comes from dividing 300 by 2.708. In thickness terms a coated 300 gsm sheet runs about 0.012 inches, which printers call 12pt, one step below the 14pt stock our business cards start on.
Quick answer
111 lb cover, and why the grade has to be named
300 gsm equals 111 lb cover. Gsm weighs one square metre of any paper; the pound system weighs 500 sheets at a size that changes with the grade, so the same stock reads 111 lb as cover, 166 lb as index and 80 lb as bond. Cardstock is sold in cover weight, so that is the number to quote. Thickness is a separate measurement: coated 300 gsm calipers near 0.012 inches, uncoated a touch more.
The Conversion, Grade by Grade
Gsm counts grams in one square metre of paper, and every paper on earth is measured the same way. The American pound system weighs a ream of 500 sheets, but at a sheet size that changes with the grade, which is where the confusion starts.
| Grade | Basis size | Divide 300 by | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | 20 x 26 in | 2.708 | 111 lb cover, the cardstock answer |
| Index | 25.5 x 30.5 in | 1.813 | 166 lb index, used for tabs and file cards |
| Bond / writing | 17 x 22 in | 3.760 | 80 lb bond, a heavy letterhead sheet |
| Text / book | 25 x 38 in | 1.480 | 203 lb text, a number no mill actually sells |
Read the last row carefully, because it explains a lot of bad quotes. Text stock is manufactured up to about 100 lb and stops there, so a 300 gsm sheet simply is not a text weight. When somebody hands you a gsm figure and asks for pounds, the useful question back is which grade they are buying in.
For anything card-shaped, the answer is cover. That is why standard business cards and postcards are both quoted in cover weight and caliper rather than gsm, and why the difference between cover stock and cardstock is worth ten minutes before you order.
What 300 GSM Feels Like, and Why Weight Is Not Thickness
Hold a sheet of 300 gsm and it flexes a little before it resists. It is stiff enough to stand in a card holder, soft enough that a hard crease will stay in it. Most people compare it to a good greeting card or a restaurant menu insert.
The caliper is where the surprises hide. A coated 300 gsm sheet measures around 0.012 inches, which the trade calls 12pt. Take the coating away and the same weight can measure 0.014 inches, because clay coating compresses the fiber mat while uncoated stock keeps its loft. Two sheets, identical on the invoice, visibly different at the edge. Bulk is a property of how the paper was made, not of what it weighs.
So when a designer specifies 300 gsm and the client says the card feels thin, the fix is usually not more weight. It is a different finish, or a jump to the next caliper. Here is the practical ladder printers use, and it is close enough to work every time:
- 300 gsm is roughly 12pt. A real card, on the lighter side of the card range.
- 350 gsm is roughly 14pt. Our starting business card stock, and the weight most people picture when they say business card.
- 400 gsm is roughly 16pt. Noticeably more rigid, and the point where a card stops bending in a shirt pocket.
If the exact step matters, hold the stocks rather than the numbers. The point-weight guide lays out the whole ladder, and the paper thickness chart puts every common weight next to its caliper.
Ordering When Your Spec Sheet Says 300 GSM
Convert the gsm to cover weight, then order by caliper. That single move avoids nearly every mismatch, because our configurator and our presses both speak in points.
For cards, 300 gsm means you are shopping in the 12pt to 14pt band. Standard business cards start at $17.57 and open at 14pt, so a 300 gsm spec lands you slightly under our lightest card and you will get a marginally sturdier card than you asked for. Standard postcards start at $16.48 and run from 14pt gloss cover up through 16pt uncoated and 18pt premium, so the same spec sits at the bottom of that range.
For anything that folds or stacks in quantity, drop out of cover weight entirely. Standard flyers at $39.54 and standard brochures at $57.11 run on text weights because a 300 gsm flyer is expensive to mail, awkward to fold, and reads as a card rather than a handout. That is a genuine trade-off, not a downgrade: text stock is the right material for a piece that gets picked up, read, and put down.
Two limits are worth planning around before you commit. Folding 300 gsm without a score will crack the surface, worse on coated stock than uncoated, so score every fold. And postage caps card-rate mail at 0.016 inches, which 300 gsm clears easily while 18pt does not. Build the file at the right size from the start using the blank template library, and compare the stocks that carry the finish you want across business card printing and postcard printing.
Where the Conversion Goes Wrong
Four mistakes account for most of the reprints, and all four come from treating gsm as if it were a single fact about a sheet.
Quoting a pound number without the grade. Asking a mill for 300 lb paper gets you a confused phone call. Asking for 111 lb cover gets you paper. Always attach the grade to the number.
Assuming heavier means thicker. An uncoated 280 gsm sheet can out-caliper a coated 300 gsm sheet. If the brief is about how the piece feels, specify points.
Comparing gsm across mills as if it settles quality. Two 300 gsm sheets can differ in brightness, opacity, surface, and how they take a dense solid. Weight tells you almost nothing about how the ink will sit, which is why choosing stock by job beats choosing it by number.
Rounding 111 down to 110 and then again to 100. 100 lb cover is roughly 270 gsm, a real step lighter, and the drop shows on a card even if it hides on a folded piece. The 100 lb paper guide covers where that weight belongs, and it is not usually where a 300 gsm spec was heading.
Wally converts 300 gsm
One square metre, 300 grams, 111 lb cover
Wally puts a square metre of the sheet on the scale and it reads 300 grams. That is all gsm ever means. To get pounds he has to ask which grade the paper is sold as, because cover, index and bond each weigh a different sized ream. Cover divides by 2.708, so 300 gsm is 111 lb cover. Then he reaches for the caliper, because weight will not tell him how thick it is: coated lands near 12pt, uncoated bulks a little more.
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Common Questions
Your 300 gsm questions, answered
What is 300 gsm in pounds?
300 gsm is 111 lb cover. The conversion divides the metric weight by the factor for the grade, and cover stock uses 2.708, so 300 divided by 2.708 gives 110.8 lb. If the sheet is being sold as index it is 166 lb index, and as bond or writing paper it is 80 lb bond. Retail cardstock labelled 110 lb is the same material, rounded down a pound by the packager.
Why does one gsm number convert to several pound weights?
Because the American system weighs 500 sheets at whatever size that grade is manufactured in, and every grade uses a different size. Cover is measured at 20 by 26 inches, index at 25.5 by 30.5, bond at 17 by 22, text at 25 by 38. The metric system skips all of that and weighs one square metre of every paper the same way. So gsm to lb is never one number until you say which grade you mean.
Is 300 gsm thicker than 14pt cardstock?
No, it is a little thinner. 14pt means 0.014 inches of caliper, which on a coated sheet works out near 350 gsm. Coated 300 gsm sits closer to 0.012 inches. You can feel the difference if you hold the two side by side, though most people describe both as sturdy. If rigidity is what you are after, order the caliper rather than the gsm.
Can you fold 300 gsm without it cracking?
Not reliably, not without scoring first. At 300 gsm the outer fibers on the fold stretch far enough to split, and a coated surface cracks sooner than an uncoated one because the coating has no give at all. Score the fold line, fold with the grain where you can, and keep heavy ink coverage away from the crease. Our folded work is scored on press as a matter of course.
What is 300 gsm in millimetres and inches?
Around 0.30 mm, or 0.012 inches, for a coated sheet. Uncoated and textured stocks of the same weight run thicker, sometimes 0.014 inches, because bulk varies with how the sheet was made. That is why a spec sheet that gives only gsm still leaves the thickness open, and why printers quote caliper in points.
Does 4OVER4.COM sell paper by gsm?
We spec in points and pounds because that is what the presses and the paper merchants use here. If your designer or your overseas supplier handed you a gsm figure, convert it to cover weight, then match it to a caliper: 300 gsm lines up with 12pt, 350 gsm with 14pt, 400 gsm with 16pt. Order free samples if the difference between those three matters to the job.
Will a 300 gsm postcard qualify for the USPS card rate?
Yes. USPS requires card-rate mail to measure between 0.007 and 0.016 inches thick, and a 300 gsm postcard lands near 0.012. The stock that gets people in trouble is 18pt, at 0.018 inches, which is over the ceiling and gets rated as a letter. If postage is the deciding factor, stay at or below 16pt.
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