For Small & Home Office Users

Brightness, Whiteness and Weight:
What they mean  

Three of the most often referred to attributes concerning office paper are brightness, whiteness and weight. Each affects the performance of the paper and can influence which one you choose.

Brightness is a measurement originally developed to monitor pulp bleaching. There are two predominant scales for conveying brightness: GE and European. This has caused some confusion in the marketplace. In general, a higher number indicates a higher brightness level, but only when comparing papers measured using the same standard.

Whiteness is a measurement taken by shining a bright light source onto a sample of paper. An electronic sensor takes a reading of the color of the reflected light—or whiteness. Many in the industry believe that it would be a truer indicator of paper performance and a better, easier standard for making apples-to-apples comparisons.

Weight (also known as basis weight), is the designation given to a sheet of paper in terms of the weight of 500 sheets of the standard or parent size for that grade (i.e. the standard/parent size for copy or reprographic grades would be 17" x 22").  Copy paper ranges in weight from 20 to 32 lb.  Reprographic paper is designed for single side and duplex imaging.