The Thickness Gauge for paper is a dead load type bench thickness gauge. It consists of a dial micrometer and a flat indenter which exerts a specified pressure on the test specimen kept on an anvil. The contact faces of the anvil and the indenter are ground flat and are perpendicular to their axis. Pressure is applied by means of a dead weight placed on the indenter.

The dial micrometer which indicates the thickness of paper is mounted above the indenter such the its tip rests on the upper end of the indenter rod. The indenter is raised and lowered by means of a lifting lever.