A standard commercial ream contains 500 sheets, but a printer's ream includes an extra 16 sheets. This overage provides the press operator with spare material for setup, test prints, and spoilage without eating into the final delivered count. Buying paper in these quantities ensures the shop can deliver a full 500-sheet run to the customer from a single ordered bundle.
Heard on the job
We need a full thousand good copies, so pull two printer's reams from the pallet to cover the setup waste.
Insider tip
Traditional paper suppliers still package fine printing papers in 516-sheet bundles to save shops the hassle of calculating complex waste percentages for short runs.
Also heard as
- perfect ream