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• • February 14, 2011 at 2:17 pm #58718
    jimmykup

    Member

    Hi everyone,

    My apologies if this isn't the right forum for this. But since InDesign is so closely related to print, I figured this would be an okay place to at least start.

    I'm currently printing a large catalog for my company. I need to get a quote on how much it would cost to mail it out. Unfortunately I won't know the weight until it's done being printed.

    I was wondering if there was some sort of calculator out there that would estimate the weight of a catalog based on the dimensions, number of sheets, and paper type. I've got all of the details available if there's an application out there that will take them and process them.

  • February 15, 2011 at 2:49 am #58724
    Theunis De Jong

    Member

    It should be easy to calculate!

    Paper specs are usually given in “grams”, such as “80g”. That is the weight per square meter. Given the paper weight, the page size and the number of pages, I think this would suffice:

    width x height x weight x numberOfPages/2

    where width and height are in meters, weight in grams, and numberOfPages in, erm, numbers. (…) The result is in grams as well.

    You can test it with an 80 g A4 page — this should be about 5 g (1 A4 is 1/16th of a square meter, per definition).

    … I don't know exactly how much the ink weighs, though.

  • February 15, 2011 at 4:00 am #58727
    Colin Flashman

    Member

    there's a brilliant calculator that a competitor of mine offers on their website:

    https://www.printgraphics.com.a…..and-creep/

    in australia and europe, what jongware says rings true, and that is that paper specs are usually given in grams. when i lived in canada though, the GSM measurement was never on the pack though, it was normally written 20# (e.g. 20lb/500 sheets), but the paper supplier should have the GSM measurement on their website. so could still find it, but it just took longer.

    don't forget that there are other ways to save on postage, such as barcoded mail if it is offered in the OP's region.

  • February 16, 2011 at 12:31 am #58734
    Eugene Tyson

    Member

    You should be able to ask your printer to provide the exact weight of 1 copy of the print. Most are obliging.

    Even if it's not the same printing company, perhaps a printing company you have used before or a printing company that is in your area locally.

    If you feel weird asking them to provide the information then you can always ask printers for a “dummy” where they send out a blank magazine complete with cover at the right size and paper weight. A lot of printing companies provide these dummies at no cost. You can then take a trip to the local post office to weigh it.

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