130gsm vs 170gsm Menu Paper — Which Should You Use for Takeaway Menus?

When ordering takeaway menu printing in the UK, one of the choices you'll encounter is paper weight — measured in gsm (grams per square metre). The two most common options are 130gsm and 170gsm. Here's what the difference actually means in practice, and which one is right for takeaway menus.

What does gsm mean?

GSM stands for grams per square metre — it's simply how much one square metre of that paper weighs. The higher the number, the thicker and heavier the paper feels in your hand.

For reference: standard office printer paper is 80gsm. A business card is typically 350–400gsm. Most takeaway menus sit in the 115–170gsm range.

130gsm vs 170gsm — side by side

Feature	130gsm	170gsm
Feel	Slightly flexible — holds its shape, not stiff	Noticeably stiffer and heavier in hand
Posts through letterboxes	✅ Yes — flexes slightly to fit	⚠️ Can resist narrow letterboxes
Print quality	Excellent full-colour reproduction	Excellent full-colour reproduction
Cost (10,000 A4)	£425 — standard price	Higher — ask for a quote
Best for	Door-drop takeaway menus	In-store / restaurant table menus
Industry standard?	✅ Yes — used by most UK takeaways	Less common for takeaway menus

Why 130gsm is the takeaway menu standard

After 20 years of printing menus for UK takeaways, we recommend 130gsm for almost all door-drop and in-store takeaway menus. Here's why:

• It posts cleanly. A 130gsm A4 sheet flexes just enough to slide through a standard UK letterbox without bending permanently. A 170gsm sheet can be more resistant, especially in narrow letterboxes, and may fold awkwardly.
• It looks and feels premium. 130gsm doesn't feel cheap. Customers pick it up and it feels substantial — it reflects well on your business. The difference between 130gsm and 170gsm is noticeable to print professionals, but most customers won't tell them apart.
• Print quality is identical. Full-colour print looks the same on both weights. The colour vibrancy, sharpness, and image quality you get from offset printing is determined by the printing process, not whether you're using 130gsm or 170gsm.
• It's significantly cheaper. You can print more menus, or save money, without any visible difference in the end product.

When does 170gsm make sense?

170gsm is the better choice when:

• You're producing in-store table menus for a restaurant, where stiffness and durability matter more than postability
• You want a noticeably premium feel for a high-end restaurant menu that gets handled repeatedly
• You're not posting menus through letterboxes at all

For standard takeaway menus that will be door-dropped or handed to customers, 170gsm adds cost without adding meaningful value.

What about 115gsm or 90gsm?

Some printers offer lighter paper to cut costs. We don't recommend going below 115gsm for takeaway menus — it starts to feel flimsy and can come across as cheap. 130gsm is the minimum we'd print takeaway menus on, and it's what all our standard orders use.

Related guides: How much do 10,000 menus cost? · A4 vs A5 menus