performance characteristics of materials

• Paper and Boards


  • Layout Paper
  • Cartridge
  • Tracing Paper
  • Bleed-proof Paper
  • Treated Paper
  • Watercolour Paper
  • Corrugated card
  • Bleached card
  • Mount board
  • Duplex card
  • Foil backed laminated card
  • Metal effect card
  • Moulded paper pulp
• Layout Paper


  Sketching, quick ink, technical drawing, tracing
• Cartridge sketching, can be used for printing, rendering
• Tracing Paper


  Copying images when sketching
• Bleed-proof Paper


  Markers sketching
• Treated Paper


  Photographic printing available in matt or gloss
• Watercolour Paper


  Watercolour painting
• Corrugated card


  Protective packaging, model making, take-away boxes (food packaging)
• Bleached card


  Greeting cards, high quality packaging
• Mount board


  Presenting artwork, picture mounting, modelling
• Duplex card


  Food packaging such as juice cartons, disposable cups, plates
• Foil backed laminated card

  Drinks packaging, take-away box lids
• Metallic effect card


  Gift boxes, high quality metal effect business cards
• Moulded paper pulp


  Moulded packaging products, eco-friendly packaging, egg boxes, fruit packaging
• Polymer-based sheet and film

  • Foam Board
  • Fluted PP sheet
  • Translucent PP sheet
  • Styrofoam
  • LDPE sheet
• Foam Board


  Mood board backing, presentation boards, modelling (range of thicknesses)
• Fluted PP sheet


  Signs (sale boards for estate agents), portfolio cases, modelling light weight & easily bent
• Translucent PP sheet


  Packaging products, folders, boxes (rough, impossible to tear, water resistant)
• Styrofoam


  Product modelling, formers for moulding (dense; can be cut, shaped & sanded)
• LDPE sheet


  Food wrapping, bubble wrap, carrier bags (tough, transparent, good chemical resistance, flexible)
• Polymer-based sheet and film

  • Plastazote foam
  • Cellulose acetate
  • Polylactide
• Plastazote foam


  Swimming floats, gym exercise mats, sound and pipe insulation (tough, flexible, good impact resistance)
• Cellulose acetate


  Packaging film, photographic film (transparent, tough, biodegradable)
• Polylactide


  Biodegradable packaging film (transparent, tough, biodegradable)
• Hardwoods


  • Oak
  • Ash
  • Mahogany
  • Teak, Birch, Beech
• Oak


  Furniture, flooring, cladding, boat building (Hard, tough, attractive grain, good weather resistance)
• Ash


  Tool handles, ladders, sports goods, laminating (Tough, attractive grain pattern which makes it flexible)
• Mahogany


  Indoor furniture, shop cabinets, veneers (rich dark red colour, contain interlocking grain making it difficult to work)
• Teak


  Outdoor furniture, boat decks, hard, tough, natural oils resist moisture, straight grain
• Softwoods

  • Pine
  • Spruce
  • Douglas Fir
  • Larch
  • Cedar
• Birch


  Furniture, indoor panelling, veneers used for plywood construction (hard, straight close grain, resists warping)
• Beech


  Chairs, chopping boards, tools (mallets) (tough, close grained, hard, does not impact a taste to food)
• Pine


  Construction work, roof beams, timber frame construction (Straight grain, knotty, contains resinous knots)
• Spruce


  Indoor furniture (straight grain, resistance to splitting)
• Douglas Fir


  Veneers, plywood construction (straight grain, few knots, stable, good resistance to corrosion)
• Larch


  Garden furniture, cladding, decking, fencing (hard, tough, good resistance to moisture, attractive grain patterns)
• Cedar


  Exterior cladding, sheds, greenhouses (straight grain, corrode ferrous metals, low density, good resistance to moisture)
• Manufactured Boards


  • Plywood
  • Marine plywood, Flexible Plywood, Aeroply
  • Chipboard
  • MDF
  • Veneers
  • MF laminates
• Plywood


  Desk tops, indoor furniture, floor boards (good strength, no grain weakness)
• Marine plywood


  Boat dashboards, boat lockers (resistance to moisture, resistant to fungal attack)