TAPPI/ANSI T 411 om-15

OFFICIAL STANDARD – 1926

REVISED – 1968
REVISED – 1976
OFFICIAL TEST METHOD – 1983
REVISED – 1984
REVISED – 1989
REVISED – 1997
REVISED – 2005
REVISED – 2005
REVISED – 2010
REVISED – 2015
©2015 TAPPI

The information and data contained in this document were prepared by

a technical committee of the Association. The committee and the
Association assume no liability or responsibility in connection with the
use of such information or data, including but not limited to any
liability under patent, copyright, or trade secret laws. The user is
responsible for determining that this document is the most recent
edition published.

CAUTION:
This Test Method may include safety precautions which are believed to be appropriate at the time of publication of the method. The intent of these is
to alert the user of the method to safety issues related to such use. The user is responsible for determining that the safety precautions are complete and
are appropriate to their use of the method, and for ensuring that suitable safety practices have not changed since publication of the method. This
method may require the use, disposal, or both, of chemicals which may present serious health hazards to humans. Procedures for the handling of such
substances are set forth on Material Safety Data Sheets which must be developed by all manufacturers and importers of potentially hazardous
chemicals and maintained by all distributors of potentially hazardous chemicals. Prior to the use of this method, the user must determine whether any
of the chemicals to be used or disposed of are potentially hazardous and, if so, must follow strictly the procedures specified by both the manufacturer,
as well as local, state, and federal authorities for safe use and disposal of these chemicals.

Thickness (caliper) of paper, paperboard, and

combined board

1. Scope

1.1 This method describes the procedure for measuring single-sheet thickness and variations in single sheet
thickness of paper, paperboard, and combined board. The term “combined board” encompasses both corrugated and solid
fiberboard.
1.1.2 Selection of samples/specimens cut across the web (perpendicular to the machine direction) may be used
to determine the cross machine caliper profile.
1.2 Because of the relatively high pressure 50 kPa (7.3 psi) used in this test method, it may not be suitable for
measurement of tissue or other soft or low density materials, because the structure may collapse (decrease in thickness) at
the prescribed pressure of 50 kPa.
1.3 Another method for measuring the thickness of paper is TAPPI T 500 “Book Bulk and Bulking Number
of Paper,” which describes a procedure for measuring the overall thickness of a stack of book paper under pressure of
250 kPa (35 psi).
1.4 An essentially identical method is described in ASTM D 645-96.
1.5 TAPPI T 551 “Thickness of Paper and Paperboard (Soft Platen Method)” describes a method for
measuring the effective thickness of paper and board products utilizing soft rubber platens. This method always yields
smaller values than TAPPI T 411.

2. Summary

This method involves measuring the thickness of a single sheet of paper, paperboard, or combined board by the
use of an automatically operated micrometer when a specified static load is applied for a minimum specified time 1.

1
Names of suppliers of testing equipment and materials for this method may be found on the Test Equipment Suppliers list, available as

Approved by the Standard Specific Interest Group for this Test Method
TAPPI
TAPPI/ANSI T 411 om-15 Thickness (caliper) of paper, paperboard, and combined board / 2

3. Significance

Thickness is an important property of paper, paperboard, or combined board, and variations in thickness are also
important especially for papers and paperboards used for mechanical purposes. This test is useful for research work,
routine control, design of end-use products, and for acceptance testing for conformance to specifications. Thickness is
one of the important characteristics that affects flexural stiffness.

4. Definition

Thickness or caliper of paper, paperboard, and combined board as measured by this method is defined as the
perpendicular distance between the two principal surfaces of the paper or paperboard under prescribed conditions, as
measured between hard metal platens. This should not be confused with apparent thickness as determined by other
means, e.g., between soft platens or calculated from bending stiffness.

5. Apparatus1

5.1 Automatically-operated micrometer 2, a dead-weight type instrument, provided with:

5.1.1 A flat ground circular movable face (hereafter called the pressure foot), having an area of 200 ± 5 mm2
(equivalent to about 0.31in.2) and corresponding to a diameter of 16 ± 0.15 mm (0.63 in.).
5.1.2 A flat ground circular fixed face (hereafter called the anvil) of such size that it is in contact with the whole
area of the pressure foot in the zero position.
5.1.3 Surfaces of the pressure foot and anvil shall be parallel to within 0.001 mm (0.00004 in.). The pressure
foot movement shall be on an axis perpendicular to the anvil. The minimum distance between the anvil and the pressure
foot in the “up” or raised position shall be 0.75 mm (0.030 in.) for paper or 12 mm (0.500 in.) for a combined board.
5.1.4 Pressure foot lowering speed of 1.0 ± 0.3 mm (0.04 in.)/s (see also Additional information). There may be
differences in the results as compared to the previous rate of lowering. In manually operated caliper instruments, the
pressure foot must be lowered slowly and not be allowed to “drop” onto the specimen surface.

NOTE 1: This may be checked by measuring the eccentricity and speed of rotation of the cam operating the pressure foot.

5.1.5 Pressure foot, when lowered, exerting steady pressure of the anvil on the specimen of 50 ± 2 kPa
(approximately 7.3 psi) for 2 ± 1 s.
5.1.5.1 The frame of the micrometer shall be of such rigidity that a load of 1.5 kg (3 lb) applied to the dial
housing, out of contact with either the weight or the pressure foot spindle, will produce a deflection of the frame not
greater than 0.0025 mm (0.0001 in.), as indicated by the micrometer readout system.
5.1.6 Readings (5.1.6.1 or 5.1.6.2 as applicable).
5.1.6.1 Dial, graduated to 0.002 mm (0.00008 in.) or less, readable to at least 0.001 mm (0.00004 in.), or 1% of
paper thickness, whichever is larger. If the large indicating hand of the dial is required to revolve more than once to cover
the capacity of the gauge, equip the dial with a revolution counter to indicate the number of complete revolutions of the
indicating hand.
5.1.6.2 Digital display with indication to at least 0.001 mm (0.00004 in.), or 1% of paper thickness, whichever is
larger.
5.1.7 Capability of repeating readings to within 0.001 mm (0.00004 in.) at zero settings or on a steel gage
block.
5.1.8 Accuracy within 0.001 mm (0.00004 in.) or 1% of paper thickness, whichever is larger.

part of the CD or printed set of Standards, or on the TAPPI website general Standards page.

2
Manually operated micrometers are not allowed in this method due to nonconformity.
3 / Thickness (caliper) of paper, paperboard, and combined board TAPPI/ANSI T 411 om-15

6. Calibration

6.1 Accuracy of dial indications. Use standard steel gage whose thickness is known to within 0.0005 mm
(0.00002 in.); check the accuracy of the dial reading over the required range. Prepare a calibration curve or table if
necessary.
6.1.1 Digital read out instruments capable of greater accuracy than dial indicator instruments may require
standard steel gages accurate to within 0.00025 mm (0.00001 in.) or better if this greater accuracy is required.

NOTE 2: In the use of steel gage, a nondeformable material, it must be remembered that the value corresponding to the thickest portion of the
gage, rather than the average thickness, should be used in calibration of the micrometer.

6.2 Parallelism of the faces. Use a uniform diameter wire of any size up to half the operational opening of the
faces, e.g., 0.05 mm (0.020 in.) diameter. Place the wire alternately on the left side, right side, front side, and back side
approximately 3 mm (0.125 in.) from each respective edge of the foot and note the readings. Adjust anvil so that all
readings are within 0.001 mm (0.00004 in.) of one another. A thickness gauge may also be used if a uniform wire is not
available.
6.3 Pressure between the faces. Within the normal thickness measuring range measure the pressure exerted
by the deadweight mechanism, and pressure foot on the anvil shall be 50 ± 2 kPa. Any suitable means to verify may be
used.

7. Sampling

Obtain a sample in accordance with TAPPI T 400 “Sampling and Accepting a Single Lot of Paper, Paperboard,
Containerboard, or Related Product.”

8. Test specimens

From each test unit of the sample, cut ten specimens, each specimen consisting of one ply of paper (i.e., a single
sheet) at least 40 mm (1.57 in.) (preferably 80 mm for combined board) in its shortest dimension and at least 120 mm
(approximately 4.75 in.) in its longest dimension. For thickness profile measurements, cut the specimen strips so that the
longer dimension is across the machine direction. (Determine the machine direction in accordance with TAPPI T 409
“Machine Direction of Paper and Paperboard.”)

9. Conditioning

Precondition, condition, and test all specimens in atmospheres controlled in accordance with TAPPI T 402
“Standard Conditioning and Testing Atmospheres for Paper, Board, Pulp Handsheets, and Related Products.”

10. Procedure

10.1 Before using the micrometer, make sure the pressure foot and anvil surfaces are clean, the calibration of
the instrument has been verified and a calibration curve has been prepared, if necessary, and the instrument is mounted on
a solid level surface free from noticeable vibration. Place the specimen on the anvil in such a position that all points on
the peripheries of the contact surfaces are at least 6 mm (approximately 0.25 in.), or 12 mm for combined board, from the
edges of the specimen. To determine the cross-machine caliper profile, measure the thickness of each specimen at five
non-overlapping regular intervals in a line at right angles to the machine direction of the paper. If only the lot or test unit
average is required, i.e., variations of thickness within a sheet are of no interest, then only two readings per specimen
need be made.
10.2 Take each reading near the end of the dwell time (2 ± 1 s). If necessary, apply the calibration corrections
to the readings.

NOTE 3: If the thickness of noticeably compressible papers is being measured, it is particularly important that the rate of fall of the pressure
foot and the dwell time be within the specified limits. (See 5.1.4 and 5.1.5.)
TAPPI/ANSI T 411 om-15 Thickness (caliper) of paper, paperboard, and combined board / 4

11. Report

For each test unit of the sample report the overall average (50 or 20 readings) in millimeters (or inches) to the
nearest 0.001 mm (0.00004 in.). Also, when specified, report the minimum and maximum thickness obtained for each
specimen to the nearest 0.001 mm (0.00004 in.). For coarse paperboards and combined boards, report average to 0.01
mm (0.0004 in.).

12. Precision

12.1 Repeatability (within a laboratory) = 1.25% (based on 50 readings).

12.2 Reproducibility (between laboratories) = 5.50% in accordance with the definitions of these terms in
TAPPI T 1200 “Interlaboratory evaluation of test methods to determine TAPPI repeatability and reproducibility.”
12.3 The above precision was calculated from data taken from 24 reports of the CTS-TAPPI Collaborative
Reference Program for paper. The user of these precision data is advised that it is based on actual mill testing, laboratory
testing, or both. There is no knowledge of the exact degree to which personnel skills or equipment were optimized during
its generation. The precision quoted provides an estimate of typical variation in test results which may be encountered
when this method is routinely used by two or more parties.

13. Additional information

13.1 Effective date of issue: October 20, 2015.

13.2 For a method in which the pressure foot is lowered at a speed slower in comparison with the speed in this
method, test results have been reported to be as much as 3% higher, depending on the type of paper.
13.3 Related methods: AS 1301.426s “Thickness of Single Sheets of Paper, Paperboard and Corrugated
Fiberboard,” Technical Association of the Australian and New Zealand Pulp and Paper Industry, Parkville, Australia; BS
3983; PAPTAC D4 “Thickness and Apparent Density of Paper and Paperboard,” Pulp and Paper Technical Association
of Canada, Montreal, Canada.
13.4 ISO procedure. ISO 3034 “Corrugated fiberboard – Determination of Thickness.” The most recent draft
of the International Standard (ISO 534) lists the preferred pressure exerted by the foot to be 100 kPa. The results may not
be the same.
13.5 Revisions in the 2010 edition of this standard include deletion of reference to ISO 534 as an alternative
method (including the deletion of former Note 2), correction of measurements in 5.1.3, and deletion of a reference to
alternative pressure in the Report. Revisions in the 2015 edition included clarification of section 1.1.2, information about
manually operated instruments in 5.1.4, and updates to the related methods in Additional Information.

14. Keywords

Micrometers, Thickness, Combined boards, Paper, Paperboard, Corrugated boards

Your comments and suggestions on this procedure are earnestly requested and should be sent to the TAPPI Standards
Department. 