Useful Facts about Copy Paper

American version of this page

The typical U.S. office worker uses about 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year.

How much paper is 10,000 sheets?  In one large stack, 10,000 sheets of unused paper weighs about 45 kg and rises just over 1,20 meter (for a variety of reasons, as you use paper it takes up more space).  Spread the paper out and you could cover the floor of a 3 meter square office 65 times, or a 90 x 180 cm desk more than 360 times.  For every hour worked, about 5 sheets are used.  The 10,000 sheets only cost US$50 to buy, but buying paper is just one of many relevant costs.
 

	An "A4" sheet is 210 x 297 mm and has an area of 0.06 m2.  "Standard" U.S. office paper is 75 g/m2 lb. weight; each sheet is 215 x 280 mm and so also covers about 0.06 m2.
	"Standard" U.S. office paper is 75 g/m2 lb. weight; each sheet is 215 x 280 mm and covers about 0.06 m2.
	There are about 220,000 such sheets in a ton. There are 220 sheets to a kg and so each sheet has about 5 grams of mass.  A ream of such paper is 500 sheets, so there are about 440 reams per ton, and each ream weighs 2.3 kg.
	Paper prices vary, but a typical bulk cost is US$1,100/ton, which is US$2.50 per ream of 500 sheets, half a cent per sheet, US$1.10 per kg.
	A ream of unused paper is about 5 cm thick, so there are 100 sheets per cm, and each sheet is 0.1 mm thick.
	In the U.S., paper is measured by a totally non-metric, traditional system.

For an excellent discussion of ISO paper sizes, see Markus Kuhn's International Paper Sizes page.  
 

U.S. Paper Use