Watercolor Paper Weight Gsm

The thickness of a sheet of paper is indicated by its weight which can be measured either in grams per square meter gsm or pounds per ream lb.

Watercolor paper weight gsm. Heavier watercolor papers are much more expensive but the minimized need for stretching makes it perfect for professional use. It is also the least expensive. They rarely need stretching and come at a weight range of 600 850 gsm. Heavy paper can absorb more water and rarely needs stretching.

Rembrandt watercolor paper blocks hold 20 sheets of 140 lb 300 gsm paper glued on all four edges to prevent the paper from buckling while being painted on in the block. Otherwise it is likely to warp. The three standard watercolor paper weights are 90 140 and 300 pounds. The thickness of watercolor paper is measured by how much it weighs per 500 sheets measured either in grams per square meter gsm or pounds per ream lb.

Heavy paper can be very expensive but is preferable for some artists because it doesn t need stretching unless you re using very heavy washes. The standard machine weights are 190 gsm 90 lb 300 gsm 140 lb 356 gsm 260 lb and 638 gsm 300 lb. 638 gsm 300 lb. Light paper is anything less than 140 lb 300 gsm and heavy is 300 400 lb 600 850 gsm.

The thicker the paper the more it weighs and the more water it will take without warping. 90 pound watercolor paper will accept a fair amount of water but is best used with less water than the average watercolorist uses and cannot survive a lot of scrubbing or abrasion of the paper. The gsm grams per square meter tells paper consumers how dense a paper is. It buckles when wet and can t endure much scrubbing for changes.

The standard weights of machine made paper for artists are. 190 gsm 90 lb or student grade 300 gsm 140 lb 356 gsm 260 lb and. 1 measuring a ream of 500 sheets 22 x 30 in pounds lbs or 2 by measuring a single sheet in grams per square meter gsm or g m2. Heavier paper can absorb more water hence helping out in the drying process.

The thickness of watercolor paper is indicated by its weight measured either in grams per square meter gsm or pounds per ream lb. Paper weight is determined by two different methods. 190 gsm 90 lb. 140 pound paper is probably the most popular choice.

This is used as a baseline measurement in metrics and as a result it is still used as the standardsize when comparing the weights of different sized papers. Measuring paper weight in grams per square meter commonly referred to as gsm or g m 2 is literally taking the weight in grams of 1 square meter of paper. Rembrandt watercolor paper is made from 25 cotton content and has a cold press surface with a medium texture. The four standard watercolor paper weights are.

Typical weights for watercolor paper are 90 pound paper is a student grade and is rather thin.