Choosing the right binding cover for your
needs can be both confusing and difficult. This article is designed to give you a
quick overview of the different measuring standards used for cover
stocks and paper stocks that are commonly used in binding.
Choosing the right binding cover for your
needs can be both confusing and difficult. Different terminology
concerning the thicknesses of the covers make comparing different cover
stocks incredibly difficult. This article is designed to give you a
quick overview of the different measuring standards used for cover
stocks and paper stocks that are commonly used in binding.
Most
of the clear binding covers and poly binding covers available on the
market are measured in Mil's (also sometimes referred to as gauge). At
first glance, it might appear that this is a measurement in
millimeters. However, one mil actually equals 0.001 inch. Thus a 10mil
clear cover has a caliper measurement of 0.010 inches and a 19mil poly
cover has a caliper measurement of 0.019 inches.
Regency
composition / leatherette covers are measured in points rather than
mils. For instance, most of the regency composition / leatherette
covers are rated as 17pt covers. Each point is equal to 0.001 inches
(the same as mil's or gauge). Thus 17pt covers have a caliper
measurement of approximately 0.017 inches.
Most paper
binding covers are measured in weights. For instance, GBC's linen weave
paper covers are made from 80lb cover stock. This measurement is the
actual weight of 500 master sheets (25" x 38" in size for cover
stocks). Depending on the type of paper you are using the weight is
based on different master sheet sizes making it very difficult to
compare weights of bond paper with offset paper or index stock with
cover stock. However, to give you an idea, 80lb cover stock is
approximately equivalent to 9.5 Mils, 90lb cover stock is approximately
equivalent to 10 Mils and 100lb cover stock is approximately equivalent
to 11 Mils.
We know that this can all be a little bit confusing but to help you
compare apples to apples, there are quick reference conversion charts
available on the internet that show several of the different types of
paper and their approximate equivalents.
Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com. He has written over 100 articles on binding machines,binding supplies,binders,laminators,binding covers,laminating supplies,paper handling equipments,index tabs, and shredders.
