Price per MSI/MSF Calculator

MSI is a way of measuring how much paper or board is on a roll or in a quantity of sheets. The “M” comes from the Roman numeral for 1,000, and the “SI” stands for “Square Inches.” That’s the kind of simple efficiency you can expect as a standard in the paper biz. You can use this information to find out how many rolls or sheets you need to purchase for your project, which is handy information to have!

You might start to see a pattern here. Similar to MSI, MSF measures how much paper is on a roll or the quantity of sheets, but this time, in square feet. One-thousand in Roman numerals is “M,” and, you guessed it, “SF” stands for “Square Feet.” Just like MSI, MSF can be used to help you figure out how many rolls or how many sheets you will need for your packaging job or printing piece.

Paperboard printers can use Price per MSI or Price per MSF as a way to purchase paper without having to worry about weight differential. Due to differing mill and tolerance levels, every caliper of board is made to a different basis weight. Want to see what we mean? Try comparing the caliper and basis weight specs of our GPI Everest to our MetsäBoard Pro FBB!

For this reason, buying based on Price per MSI or MSF, is a smart way to ensure that weight differential will not make a difference to the value of your purchase. 

Price per MSI/MSF can help you scale your printing projects. Whether you’re working on a small run or a large-scale production, understanding the price per unit area allows you to get an idea of the cost and adjust your budgets accordingly. That means our calculator will help take the stress out of an important part of your planning.

So, are you ready to get calculating?

We’ve made our calculator simple to use to make paper ordering easier. Here is a walkthrough. First, input the paper grade and size you need. In the next box, enter the basis weight in pounds. (If you need to calculate basis weight, we have a basis weight calculator too!) Finally, in the third box, fill in the price per pound. Press “Calculate” and you will receive your Price per MSI and your Price per MSF. Two prices for the “price” of one! Talk about convenience!

Let’s get you some answers for all those burning questions you have about Price per MSI and Price per MSF!

How do you calculate Price per MSI?

You use our calculator! Okay, but if you really want to do your own calculations, the formula is (Basis Weight ÷ Area of Basic Size) × 2 × Price per Pound = Price per MSI. Remember your order of operations (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally, anyone?) and solve the expression in parentheses first!

How do you calculate Price per MSF?

We recommend our calculator, but admittedly we’re biased. For you math fans, here is the formula: Price per MSI × 144 = Price per MSF. The long way of saying that is: Calculate the Price per MSI (see above) and then multiply that result by 144 to get the Price per MSF. 

What does MSI mean in measurements? 

In case you missed it above, MSI means mille (thousand) per square inch. When you use this measurement to find Price per MSI, it helps you understand the amount of paper or board on a roll or in a quantity of sheets in a uniform way without having to worry about the thickness or weight of different types of paper or board.

By the way, if you need to calculate MSI, instead of Price per MSI, we have an MSI calculator that does that too!

What does MSF stand for in paper?

Literally, “thousand per square foot,” MSF describes how many thousand square feet are on a roll of paper or paperboard, or in a quantity of sheets. It gets used the same way that MSI does, but it is for square feet instead of square inches. Do you need to calculate MSF, rather than Price per MSF? We have an MSF calculator with your name on it!

What kind of brilliant, charming, and certainly good-looking people would make such a useful calculator?

Okay, we might have embellished that question a little, but we’d still like to introduce ourselves! We are Case Paper, a premium paper and paperboard company. For over 80 years, we have provided high-quality paper and board and we don’t plan to stop! We are always “On the Case” to help customers find what they need, so we made these paper and price calculators to make planning your process easier.

When you need to purchase premium paper and paperboard, Case Paper makes it easy to find exactly what you need. Remember that while our calculators, including this Price per MSI/MSF calculator, can be helpful in making estimates as you plan your project, only a Case Paper sales representative can quote you the actual price of your order.  

When you have paper or paperboard questions, we are here to help. We understand that finding the right product for your project can seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be! Check out all of the useful tools on our Resources page and contact us today to get in touch with a sales representative who will help you with pricing and placing your order!