Various measures ofpaper quantity have been and are in use. Although there are noS.I. units such asquires orbales, there areISO[1] andDIN[2] standards for theream. Expressions used here includeU.S. Customary Units.
Aquire 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.[9]) Quires of 15, 18 or 20 sheets have also been used, depending on the type of paper.
The current wordquire derives fromOld Englishquair orguaer, fromOld Frenchquayer,cayer, (cf. modernFrenchcahier), fromLatinquaternum, '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 ofquaire withfour was quickly lost.
In the Middle Ages, a quire (also called a "gathering") was most often formed of four folded sheets ofvellum orparchment, i.e. eight leaves orfolios, 16 sides. The termquaternion (or sometimesquaternum) designates such a quire. A quire made of a single folded sheet (i.e. two leaves, four sides) is a bifolium (pluralbifolia); 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 thepaper 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 Frenchcassée, 'broken'), or "cording quires" and had only 20 sheets to the quire.[10] The printerPhilip 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 damagedcassie quires.[11] An 1826 French manual on typography complained that cording quires (usually containing some salvageable paper) from the Netherlands barely contained a single good sheet.[12][Note 1]
It also became the name for any booklet small enough to be made from a single quire of paper.Simon Winchester, inThe Surgeon of Crowthorne, cites a specific number, definingquire as "a booklet eight pages thick." Several European words for quire keep the meaning of "book of paper":GermanPapierbuch,Danishbog papir,Dutchbock papier.
In blankbook binding,quire is a term indicating 80 pages.
Aream of paper is a quantity of sheets of the samesize and quality.International standards organizations define the ream as 500 identical sheets.[1][2][Note 2] 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,[13] but inretail outlets paper is typically sold in reams of 500. As an old UK and US unit, a perfect ream was equal to 516 sheets.[9]
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.[1] In Europe, theDIN 6730 standard for Paper and Board includes a definition of 1 ream ofA4 80gsm (80 g/m2) paper equals 500 sheets.[2]
The word "ream" derives fromOld Frenchreyme, fromSpanishresma, fromArabicrizmah 'bundle' (of paper), fromrasama, 'collect into a bundle', reflecting theMoors having brought the manufacture of cotton paper to Spain. The early variantrym (late 15c.) suggests a Dutch influence.[14] (cf. Dutchriem), probably during the time ofSpanish Habsburg control of the Netherlands.
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;[15] in 1706 a ream was defined as 20 quires, either 24 or 25 sheets to the quire.[16] In 18th- and 19th-century Europe, the size of the ream varied widely. InLombardy a ream of music paper was 450 or 480 sheets; in Britain, Holland and Germany a ream of 480 sheets was common; in theVeneto it was more frequently 500. Some paper manufacturers counted 546 sheets (21 quires of 26 sheets).[17]J. S. Bach's manuscript paper atWeimar was ordered by the ream of 480 sheets.[18] In 1840, a ream inLisbon 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 inBremen, blotting or packing paper was sold in reams of 300 (20 quires of 15 sheets).[19] A mid-19th centuryMilanese-Italian dictionary has an example for arisma (ream) as being either 450 or 480 sheets.[20]
In the UK, prior to 1922, the following definitions of "ream" were in use:[21]
The UK paper industry began to use the following revised definitions of "ream" on 1 January 1922:[26]
Since the late 20th century, the 500-sheet ream has become thede facto international standard.
A paperbundle is a quantity of sheets of paper, currently standardized as 1,000 sheets. A bundle consists of two reams or 40 quires. As an old UK and US measure, it was previously equal to 960 sheets.[9]
When referring tochipboard, 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 (0.022" thick) 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.
A paperbale is a quantity of sheets of paper, currently standardized as 5,000 sheets. A bale consists of five bundles, ten reams or 200 quires.[27] As an old UK and US measure, it was previously equal to 4800 sheets.[9]
reams of cover and index paper are more likely to consist of 250 sheets than 500
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