The heavyweight paper everything graphic-design student prints their portfolio cover on. Cardstock is a thicker grade of paper (typically 80-110 lb cover weight, equivalent to 200-300 g/m²) that holds its shape on a wall, accepts an inkjet or laser print without curling, and folds and scores cleanly into a presentation card or a small box. Available in every color and texture imaginable — solid colors, metallics, recycled grades, textured (linen, felt, eggshell). The 100 lb cover designation is the small-shop standard for business cards, postcards, and thin presentation pieces; 80 lb is lighter for booklet covers; 110-130 lb is heavier for tray-cards and structural folds. Buy from Dick Blick for art use, from PaperPapers / Neenah / Mohawk for premium graphic-design grades, from print-shops by the box.
Heavy-weight cellulose paper, typically alpha-cellulose wood pulp with optical brighteners and surface sizing for print receptivity. Cover weight designations confused — 'cover' weight (a basis weight measured on 20x26 inch sheets) and 'index' weight (measured on 25.5x30.5 inch sheets) yield different lb numbers for the same g/m². 100 lb cover ≈ 270 g/m²; 110 lb index ≈ 200 g/m²; the metric g/m² is the unambiguous specification. Caliper (thickness) ranges 0.010 to 0.014 inch (0.25-0.35 mm) for the standard cover-weight range. Surface finishes — smooth, vellum, linen, felt, eggshell, metallic — applied at the calendaring or coating stage. Scores and folds cleanly when scored at 50-70 percent of the caliper depth before folding (un-scored, heavy cardstock cracks at the fold along the surface fibers). Cuts on a guillotine cutter or precision die at small runs; laser-cuts cleanly. Inkjet and laser receptive; photo-printable grades (Mohawk Eggshell, Neenah Classic) take heavy ink coverage without curl. Standard sizes 8.5x11, 11x17, 19x25 inch parent sheets, plus business-card and postcard die-cuts.
Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere matte finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material. Or grab the whole library at once: ForMaterials library →
# finish: matte albedo #f0ead8 metallic 0.00 roughness 0.75 ior 1.45 transmission 0.00 clearcoat 0.00 sheen 0.00 anisotropic 0.00
{
"albedo": "#f0ead8",
"metallic": 0.0,
"roughness": 0.75,
"ior": 1.45,
"transmission": 0.0,
"clearcoat": 0.0,
"sheen": 0.0,
"anisotropic": 0.0
}
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Cardstock (100 lb Cover / Index) · finish: matte
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_paper_cardstock_index")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value = (0.8714, 0.8228, 0.6867, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value = 0.750
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 = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value = 0.000
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Cardstock (100 lb Cover / Index) · finish: matte
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_paper_cardstock_index", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse", (240, 234, 216)) # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness", 0.750)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
{
"_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
"_about": "Cardstock (100 lb Cover / Index) \u00b7 finish: matte",
"baseColor": {
"r": 0.8714,
"g": 0.8228,
"b": 0.6867
},
"metallic": 0.0,
"roughness": 0.75,
"ior": 1.45,
"opacity": 1.0,
"anisotropyLevel": 0.0,
"_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."
}{
"asset": {
"version": "2.0",
"generator": "ForMatter"
},
"materials": [
{
"name": "mat_paper_cardstock_index",
"pbrMetallicRoughness": {
"baseColorFactor": [
0.8714,
0.8228,
0.6867,
1.0
],
"metallicFactor": 0.0,
"roughnessFactor": 0.75
},
"extensions": {
"KHR_materials_ior": {
"ior": 1.45
}
}
}
]
}# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Cardstock (100 lb Cover / Index) · finish: matte
def Material "mat_paper_cardstock_index" {
token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_paper_cardstock_index/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>
def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.8714, 0.8228, 0.6867)
float inputs:metallic = 0.000
float inputs:roughness = 0.750
float inputs:ior = 1.450
float inputs:opacity = 1.000
float inputs:clearcoat = 0.000
token outputs:surface
}
}
American Forest & Paper Association.
House vocabulary — terms ForMatter uses with intent.
Materials and processes for people who design and make things.
A local-first library of materials, processes, applications, and finishes — equal weight, citable everywhere, so a student can move from "what is this" toward "what's actually buildable here, now, by me." Part of the renato.design ecosystem — sibling of Plenum, Specimen, Ingenue, gesture, graf, and the Renato Rhino plug-ins. Form and matter, inseparable.
Half of teaching materials is teaching how the material is made into the thing. The standard subscription library was always light on that half. The wedge here isn't better samples or a prettier interface — it's treating Process as a peer entity, not a footnote.
Conway, Lefteri, Forty, Sparke, ASM, GIA. Every voice: Voices.
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