---
title: "Bible paper | Printing glossary | IN TEMPO"
description: "A very thin, light paper, generally between 30 and 50 gsm, yet opaque and strong, made with no mechanical pulp. It is used for works with a great many pages: bibles and missals, dictionaries, law codes, collected works such as the Pléiade editions. It is not onionskin, which is thin too but translucent."
url: "https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-bible/"
lang: "en"
---

[Back to the glossary](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/)

# Bible paper

Also called India paper, Oxford India paper, thin paper, thin opaque offset

A very thin, light paper, generally between 30 and 50 gsm, yet opaque and strong, made with no mechanical pulp. It is used for works with a great many pages: bibles and missals, dictionaries, law codes, collected works such as the Pléiade editions. It is not onionskin, which is thin too but translucent.

![Diagram: two papers of the same gsm, very different in thickness; high-bulk paper, thick for its weight; bible paper, very thin, generally between 30 and 50 gsm.](https://www.intempo.fr/diagrammes/en/paper-weight-gsm.png)

Paper weight measures weight, not thickness: high-bulk paper and bible paper. Diagram: IN TEMPO, licence [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en). [Reuse this diagram](https://www.intempo.fr/en/reutiliser-nos-schemas/)

## In practice

Its weak point is show-through, and it is handled when the book is typeset. Opaque as it is for its weight, it lets the reverse show: choose a typeface of moderate weight, avoid solids and very black display headings, and set the lines of the recto to fall on those of the verso, what typesetters call backing up in register. Ask for a proof printed on both sides, on the paper itself.

It keeps a thousand-page book easy to handle: the spine stays slim and the volume light, without splitting the text into several volumes. The spine is worked out from the exact caliper of this paper, which the printer will give you.

It suits photographs poorly: with no coating, it absorbs the ink, and pictures lose contrast and sharpness. For an illustrated work, gather the pictures in a plate section on another paper.

It needs a printer who can run it, since a sheet this light creases and handles badly, and few keep it in stock. Plan for a sewn binding: glue alone holds poorly on paper this thin, and the book must open without cracking.

## Related terms

- [Paper weight](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/grammage/)
- [Offset paper](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-offset/)
- [Sewn binding](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/dos-carre-cousu/)

## Need us? We are here to help.

We want to know exactly what you need so that we can propose the right solution. Tell us what you are looking for and we will do our best to help.

[Get in touch →](https://www.intempo.fr/en/contact/)