Formation is a term used by the practical papermaker to describe the uniformity of fiber distribution in a roper sheet. A novel technique f or the measurement of formation is image analysis. Generally measurement of formation employs transmitted light. Hand-made sheet, machine-made paper and synthetic paper were analyzed by a Normura FMT-1000. The coefficient of variation as formation index for these paper were 3.77%, 7.41% and 20.37%, respecively. The lower the number, the belier the formation.