TAPPI T 403 om-15 is designed to measure the maximum bursting strength of paper and paper products having a bursting strength of 50 kPa up to 1200 kPa (7 psi up to 175 psi) and in the form of flat sheets of up to 0.6 mm (0.025 in.) thick.

Materials that can be tested using this method include newsprint, bag paper, fine paper, packaging paper, and printing papers. It is not intended for use in testing corrugated, fiberboard, linerboard, or hardboards that tend to cut the thin rubber diaphragm of the bursting tester. For testing paperboard and linerboard, see TAPPI T 807 "Bursting Strength of Paperboard and Linerboard"; for testing corrugated and solid fiberboard, see TAPPI T 810 "Bursting Strength of Corrugated and Solid Fiberboard." For tissue testing, see TAPPI T 570 "Resistance to mechanical penetration of sanitary tissue papers (ball burst procedure)" (withdrawn status at the time of this publication).