This International Standard specifies a method of determining the water absorptiveness of sized paper and board, including corrugated fibreboard, under standard conditions. It may not be suitable for paper of grammage less than 50 g/m² or embossed paper. It is not suitable for porous papers such as newsprint or unsized papers such as blotting paper or other papers having a relatively high water absorptiveness for which ISO 8787 is more suitable.

This method is not intended to be used for precise evaluation of the writing properties of paper although it does give a general indication of suitability for use with aqueous inks.