Quire
Count · Also called: ream
Values
| Value | That is | Period | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| quire, long | 25 | 1706 to today | paper · the UK |
| quire, short | 24 | 1706 onwards | speciality papers · the UK |
| ream, long | 500 | c. 1594 to today | paper · the UK |
| ream, short | 480 | 1706 onwards | handmade and speciality papers · the UK |
| printer’s ream | 516 | to the 20th century | printing paper · the UK |
What the unit was used for
Paper is a rare case where an old counting unit is still commercial.
A quire is 24 or 25 sheets and a ream twenty quires, so 480 or 500 sheets; reams of 500 were known in England by about 1594 and a statute of 1706 recognised both sizes, which is why both survived so long.
The 500-sheet long ream is now the international standard and is what a British office buys, while the 480-sheet short ream persists for handmade and speciality papers such as tissue, greaseproof and blotting paper.
The printer’s ream of 516 sheets had a practical purpose: the extra sheets covered make-ready and spoilage on the press so that the finished job was not left short of a full ream.
The 24-sheet quire reflects the craft itself, a gathering of folded sheets forming one section of a bound book.
In the system
1 ream = 20 quires