Paper and Boards

• Types of Paper


  • Paper for writing and sketching
  • Square grid paper
  • Cartridge paper
  • Layout paper
  • Tracing paper
  • Grid paper
  • Bleed-proof paper
• Paper


  Used for writing and sketching
• Square grid paper


  • Useful for orthographic and scale drawings
  • Isometric paper is good for isometric drawings
• Cartridge paper


  • High quality with textured surface, great for sketching with different drawing materials
• Layout paper


  • Thin and translucent, used for general design work particularly sketching ideas
• Tracing paper


  • Semi-transparent, used to copy images
• Grid paper


  • May have a square or isometric pattern printed on it
• Bleed-proof paper


  • Used by designers when drawing with felt-tips and marker pens, ink doesn't spread out (bleed)
• Types of Board


  • Solid white board
  • Ink jet card
  • Corrugated card
  • Duplex board
  • Foam core board
  • Foil-lined board
• Board


  Material above 200 gsm, also known as card or cardboard
• Solid white board


  • High quality bleached surface, ideal for printing, used for primary packaging
• Ink jet card


  • Designed so that ink doesn't bleed, allows for sharply defined high quality printed images
• Corrugated card


  • Made up of a fluted inner core sandwiched between two outer layers, adds strength and rigidity, useful for secondary packaging
• Duplex board


  • Different colour and texture on each side, often used for food packaging where only one surface is seen
• Foam core board

  • Made by sandwiching expanded polystyrene foam between 2 thin layers of card, stiff, lightweight and can be scored
• Foil-lined board


  • Board with an aluminium foil lining, keeps flavours in and air and moisture out, often used for food packaging
• Ink bleeds on some paper because the paper fibres suck the ink
• Paper weight


  Measured in gsm (grams per square metre), above 200 gsm it's considered board
• Board is often used in packaging because of its low cost compared to other packaging materials, and its high strength-to-weight ratio
• Wood types


  • Softwoods
  • Hardwoods
• Softwoods


  • Grow in colder climates, fairly cheap and readily accessible, have leaves like needles and are usually evergreen with cones
• Softwoods


  • Pine
  • Larch
  • Spruce
• Hardwoods


  • Grow in warm climates, slow growing and generally more expensive than softwoods, have broad flat leaves and are usually deciduous
• Hardwoods


  • Oak
  • Mahogany
  • Beech
  • Balsa
  • Ash
• Spruce has a good strength-to-weight ratio but is also knotty and not very durable, used for structural purposes both outside and in
• Balsa is a very soft hardwood with a very low density, but has a high strength-to-weight ratio, making it great for modelling
• E board


  Strong, thick board that is good for printing on
• E board is the only type of board recommended for direct contact with food
• Making e board


  1. Bleached

  2. Coated with wax (or laminated with polyethylene)
• Pulp used to make paper towels

  Treated with different resins during manufacture to increase its wet strength
• This makes sure that the paper towels don't break when they become wet
• Types of paper and board available


  • Various types (see p.16)
  • Bought by the sheet and in rolls (known as stock forms, see p.60)
  • Sold in standard sizes from AQ (1 m²) to A1, halving in size each time
  • Many other sizes available, e.g. A4 is half the size of A3, A5 is half the size of A4, etc.
  • Most common sizes used in schools are A4 and A3
  • Available in different weights, thicknesses and colours
  • Available in different plies (layers)
• The width of A3 paper is the length of A4, and the length of A3 paper is double the width of A4
• Recycled paper or board may not be suitable for use in food packaging
• Useful properties for food packaging


  • Two properties
• Additives added to paper and board

  To change the properties
• Paper and board are commonly sold in stock forms (sheets and rolls)
• Scissors


  Can cut paper and thin card, but not good for fine detail or removing bits from within a sheet
• Guillotines and paper trimmers


  • Used to cut large sheets of paper and card, often many sheets at a time
  • Guillotines have a large blade that you push down to produce a straight cut
  • Paper trimmers use a smaller rotary blade to make straight cuts
• Laser cutters


  • Machines that cut out designs drawn using CAD
  • Can make accurate and fine cuts through paper and card
  • Use a laser beam to burn away material