mil vs lb

[William Seaward]

Hi Guys,

Can someone enlighten me on how photo paper thickness is represented? When I look for this in the stores, I see a mixture of "mil" and "lb" stock. Is there some kind of cross-reference I can use to convert one to another?

William

 

[The Hat]

I have never seen “Mil” but have seen it in lb. but very seldom now, it was phased out here in the EU some time it’s mostly all g/m.

It’s easy to get confused because normal stock and copy paper have one weight and the Glossy photo papers has another, and they are total different.

I don’t remember now, the way they are actually calculate it, but to further confuse you, a 200 g/m photo paper only feels half the weight of the equivalent marked copy paper, but of course it’s not..

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I just happen to have the datasheet of a Tecoo PHG260 Photo High Gloss in front of me - with a thickness of .29mm and a weight of 260 grams/squaremeter. Which of those are relevant - the weight is something you feel when you grab it, and you might adjust the thickness , the platen gap on you printer to avoid contact of the paper to the nozzle plate. Some papers are somewhat denser than other papers so there is no single and fixed conversion number possible. But the weight and the thickness should correlate somewhat linearly - double thickness - about double weight with photo papers for which the paper base is more compressed than with normal paper.

 

[stratman]

From Google, mil and lb are approximate similar measurements for paper but with different approaches to define an amount of paper. Mil is a unit of length or thickness (also known as "Caliper") and lb is a unit of weight. Either may be used to describe the dimensions of a unit of paper such as 500 sheets. As @The Hat said, g/m2 (grams per squared meter) is the European standard.

The material used and the manufacturing process of that paper will determine the useful thickness required for the desired end use of that paper (how thin it may be cut and still perform the desired task) and the resultant weight of each unit of paper.

For more reading...

http://www.castleink.com/category/303/Inkjet-Printer-Paper.html

http://help.na.printsafari.com/us_en/info/paper-guide (see bottom for approximate equivalencies)

http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/paper/bb/inkjetpaper.htm (need to follow the links within for more info)

 

[William Seaward]

Thanks for all the responses... Frys had a sale on some photo paper and the information threw me for a bit. It's weight is 230mg and the thickness is 11 mil. You never stop learning, do you!

 

[The Hat]

. Mil is a unit of length or thickness (also known as "Caliper") and lb is a unit of weight.

Ah, is that what its called, I’d usually call that substance..

 

[Roy Sletcher]

Ah, is that what its called, I’d usually call that substance..

You are quite right. But that is traditional terminology.

When was the last time you purchase a quire of paper?

rs

 

[The Hat]

You are quite right. But that is traditional terminology.
When was the last time you purchase a quire of paper?
rs

I am a child of the 500 sheet ream, and quires were traditional heard at Christmas…
Or was that a Choir, the terminology escapes me…

 

[stratman]

Ah, is that what its called, I’d usually call that substance..

Better talk with your Guild.

http://www.casepaper.com/resources/...ing_wp_cron=1465231674.2075030803680419921875

 

[The Hat]

Better talk with your Guild.

I’d forgotten about the Guild..