Units of paper quantity

Key takeaways

Units of paper quantity belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Units of paper quantity to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Units of paper quantity from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Various measures of paper quantity have been and are in use. Although there are no S.I. units such as quires or bales, there are ISO and DIN standards for the ream. Expressions used here include U.S. Customary Units.

Units Writing paper measurements 25 sheets = 1 quire 500 sheets = 20 quires = 1 ream 1,000 sheets = 40 quires = 2 reams = 1 bundle 5,000 sheets = 200 quires = 10 reams = 5 bundles = 1 bale 200,000 sheets = 8,000 quires = 400 reams = 200 bundles = 40 bales = 1 pallet "Short" paper measurements 24 sheets = 1 "short" quire 480 sheets = 20 "short" quires = 1 "short" ream 960 sheets = 40 "short" quires = 2 "short" reams = 1 "short" bundle 4,800 sheets = 200 "short" quires = 10 "short" reams = 5 "short" bundles = 1 "short" bale Posters and printing measurements 516 sheets (= 21⁠1/2⁠ "short" quires) = 1 printer's ream 1,032 sheets = 2 printer's reams = 1 printer's bundle 5,160 sheets = 5 printer's bundles = 1 printer's bale Cover and index paper 250 sheets = 1 ream

Quire A quire of paper is a measure of paper quantity. The usual meaning is 25 sheets of the same size and quality: 1⁄20 of a ream of 500 sheets. Quires of 25 sheets are often used for machine-made paper, while quires of 24 sheets are often used for handmade or specialised paper of 480-sheet reams. (As an old UK and US measure, in some sources, a quire was originally 24 sheets.) Quires of 15, 18 or 20 sheets have also been used, depending on the type of paper.

Etymology The current word quire derives from Old English quair or guaer, from Old French quayer, cayer, (cf. modern French cahier), from Latin quaternum, 'by fours', 'fourfold'. Later, when bookmaking switched to using paper and it became possible to easily stitch 5 to 7 sheets at a time, the association of quaire with four was quickly lost.

History In the Middle Ages, a quire (also called a "gathering") was most often formed of four folded sheets of vellum or parchment, i.e. eight leaves or folios, 16 sides. The term quaternion (or sometimes quaternum) designates such a quire. A quire made of a single folded sheet (i.e. two leaves, four sides) is a bifolium (plural bifolia); a binion is a quire of two sheets (i.e. four leaves, 8 sides); and a quinion is five sheets (ten leaves, 20 sides). This last meaning is preserved in the modern Italian term for quire, quinterno di carta. Formerly, when paper was packed at the paper mill, the top and bottom quires were made up of slightly damaged sheets ("outsides") to protect the good quires ("insides"). These outside quires were known as cassie quires (from French cassée, 'broken'), or "cording quires" and had only 20 sheets to the quire. The printer Philip Luckombe in a book published in 1770 mentions both 24- and 25-sheet quires; he also details printer's wastage, and the sorting and recycling of damaged cassie quires. An 1826 French manual on typography complained that cording quires (usually containing some salvageable paper) from the Netherlands barely contained a single good sheet. It also became the name for any booklet small enough to be made from a single quire of paper. Simon Winchester, in The Surgeon of Crowthorne, cites a specific number, defining quire as "a booklet eight pages thick." Several European words for quire keep the meaning of "book of paper": German Papierbuch, Danish bog papir, Dutch bock papier. In blankbook binding, quire is a term indicating 80 pages.

Ream

A ream of paper is a quantity of sheets of the same size and quality. International standards organizations define the ream as 500 identical sheets. This ream of 500 sheets (20 quires of 25 sheets) is also known as a "long" ream, and is gradually replacing the old value of 480 sheets, now known as a "short" ream. Reams of 472 and 516 sheets are still current, but in retail outlets paper is typically sold in reams of 500. As an old UK and US unit, a perfect ream was equal to 516 sheets. Certain types of specialist papers such as tissue paper, greaseproof paper, handmade paper, and blotting paper are still sold (especially in the UK) in "short" reams of 480 sheets (20 quires of 24 sheets). However, the commercial use of the word "ream" for quantities of paper other than 500 is now deprecated by such standards as ISO 4046. In Europe, the DIN 6730 standard for Paper and Board includes a definition of 1 ream of A4 80 gsm (80 g/m2) paper equals 500 sheets.

Etymology The word "ream" derives from Old French reyme, from Spanish resma, from Arabic rizmah 'bundle' (of paper), from rasama, 'collect into a bundle', reflecting the Moors having brought the manufacture of cotton paper to Spain. The early variant rym (late 15c.) suggests a Dutch influence. (cf. Dutch riem), probably during the time of Spanish Habsburg control of the Netherlands.

History The number of sheets in a ream has varied locally over the centuries, often according to the size and type of paper being sold. Reams of 500 sheets (20 quires of 25 sheets) were known in England in c. 1594; in 1706 a ream was defined as 20 quires, either 24 or 25 sheets to the quire. In 18th- and 19th-century Europe, the size of the ream varied widely. In Lombardy a ream of music paper was 450 or 480 sheets; in Britain, Holland and Germany a ream of 480 sheets was common; in the Veneto it was more frequently 500. Some paper manufacturers counted 546 sheets (21 quires of 26 sheets). J. S. Bach's manuscript paper at Weimar was ordered by the ream of 480 sheets. In 1840, a ream in Lisbon was 17 (25-sheet) quires and three sheets = 428 sheets, and a double ream was 18 (24-sheet) quires and two sheets = 434 sheets; and in Bremen, blotting or packing paper was sold in reams of 300 (20 quires of 15 sheets). A mid-19th century Milanese-Italian dictionary has an example for a risma (ream) as being either 450 or 480 sheets. In the UK, prior to 1922, the following definitions of "ream" were in use:

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Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Units of paper quantity

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Units of paper quantity claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Units of paper quantity before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Units of paper quantity ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Units of paper quantity

In research: Units of paper quantity appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Units of paper quantity in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Units of paper quantity is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Paper, Units of amount, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Units of paper quantity outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Units of paper quantity in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Units of paper quantity means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Units of paper quantity out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Units of paper quantity in simple terms?

Various measures of paper quantity have been and are in use. Although there are no S.I. units such as quires or bales, there are ISO and DIN standards for the ream.

Why does Units of paper quantity matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Units of paper quantity?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Units of paper quantity.