ForMatter/Materials/paper/Newsprint
mat_newsprint

Newsprint

paper — low-grammage groundwood · news pad, newsprint pad, groundwood paper
mediumlast updated 2026-04-27
metallic 0.00
hue shift +0°

The cheap pad in every figure-drawing studio. Tan-gray, flimsy, yellows in a year, but you go through it without thinking — the whole point. Take big risks on it because it costs nothing. Charcoal and conté love it; ink and water bleed.

Mechanical-pulp (groundwood) paper, ~45–52 gsm, lignin-rich, acid (low pH), uncoated. Lignin photo-oxidizes to yellow under UV — newsprint left in sunlight tans within weeks. Optimized for runnability on high-speed offset presses; handles oil-based news ink and dry media well, water-based media poorly.

physical

  • grammage_gsm49
  • thickness_mm0.07
source: Wikipedia — Newsprint

Sustainability

  • recyclabilityhigh — historically the most-recycled paper grade; recovery streams well-established
  • biodegradableTrue
  • certificationsFSC mixed (some grades)
visual
warm gray-tan, slightly fibrous surface visible; ages noticeably in months
tactile
soft, almost cloth-like, tears with no resistance
weight perception
very light
acoustic
the rustle of a turned page in a quiet room

PBR starter values

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere fibrous finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material.

# finish:      fibrous
albedo        #dcd0b8
metallic      0.00
roughness     0.70
ior           1.45
transmission  0.00
clearcoat     0.00
sheen         0.70
anisotropic   0.50
copy as JSON 
{
  "albedo": "#dcd0b8",
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.7,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "transmission": 0.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.7,
  "anisotropic": 0.5
}
Blender 4.x Python 
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Newsprint · finish: fibrous
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_newsprint")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.7157, 0.6308, 0.4793, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.700
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.450
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.700
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.500
KeyShot Python (lux) 
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Newsprint · finish: fibrous
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_newsprint", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (220, 208, 184))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     0.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.700)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
Substance pbrMetalRough 
{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "Newsprint \u00b7 finish: fibrous",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.7157,
    "g": 0.6308,
    "b": 0.4793
  },
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.7,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "opacity": 1.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.5,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}
glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness 
{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_newsprint",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.7157,
          0.6308,
          0.4793,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 0.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.7
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_ior": {
          "ior": 1.45
        },
        "KHR_materials_sheen": {
          "sheenColorFactor": [
            1.0,
            1.0,
            1.0
          ],
          "sheenRoughnessFactor": 0.7
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
USD Preview Surface 
# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Newsprint · finish: fibrous
def Material "mat_newsprint" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_newsprint/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.7157, 0.6308, 0.4793)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 0.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.700
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.450
        float   inputs:opacity      = 1.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}
↓ download glTF material
Substitutes
Bristol Board

Citations