Various measures of paper quantity have been and are in use. Although there are no S.I. units such as quires and bales, there are ISO and DIN standards for the ream. Expressions used here include U.S. Customary units.
Units
; Writing paper measurements ; 'Short' paper measurements ; Posters and printing measurements ; Cover and Index paper
Quire
A quire of paper is a measure of paper quantity. The usual meaning is 25 sheets of the same size and quality: 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. Quires of 15, 18 or 20 sheets have also been used, depending on the type of paper.
Nomenclature
The current word "quire" derives from OE "quair" or "guaer", from OF "quayer", "cayer",, from L. 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 was most often formed of 4 folded sheets of vellum or parchment, i.e. 8 leaves, 16 sides. The term "quaternion" designates such a quire. A quire made of a single folded sheet is a "bifolium" ; a "binion" is a quire of two sheets ; and a "quinion" is five sheets. 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 to protect the good quires. These outside quires were known as "cassie quires", or "cording quires" and had only 20 sheets to the quire. The printer William Caslon 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 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": Ger. Buch von Papier, Dan. bog papir, Du. 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 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 in 'short' reams of 480 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 80gsm paper equals 500 sheets.
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 were known in England in c1594; 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. J.S. Bach's manuscript paper at Weimar was ordered by the ream of 480 sheets. In 1840, a ream in Lisbon was 17 quires and 3 sheets = 428 sheets, and a double ream was 18 quires and 2 sheets = 434 sheets; and in Bremen, blotting or packing paper was sold in reams of 300. A mid-19th century Milanese-Italian dictionary has an example for a risma as being either 450 or 480 sheets. In the UK in 1914, paper was sold using the following reams:
472 sheets – Mill ream
480 sheets – – now called 'short' ream
500 sheets – – now also called 'long' ream
504 sheets – Stationer's ream
516 sheets – Printer's ream – also called 'perfect ream'
A paper bundle is a quantity of sheets of paper, currently standardized as 1,000 sheets. A bundle consists of 2 reams or 40 quires. As an old UK and US measure, it was previously equal to 960 sheets. When referring to chipboard, there are two standards in the US. In general, a package of approximately 50 pounds of chipboard is called a bundle. Thus, a bundle of 22 point chipboard 24" × 38", with each sheet weighing 0.556 pounds, contains 90 sheets. However, chipboard sold in size 11" × 17" and smaller is packaged and sold as bundles of 25 pounds.
Bale
A paper bale is a quantity of sheets of paper, currently standardized as 5,000 sheets. A bale consists of 5 bundles, 10 reams or 200 quires. As an old UK and US measure, it was previously equal to 4800 sheets.
