Papers and boards - EduqasPapers and boards

Selecting materials

Materials can be selected based on their working properties. It is important to know and understand which materials can be used for a specific purpose:

• How do they look?
• What are they commonly used for?
• How can they be manufactured?
• How do they perform in use?
• What makes them unique - are they the most durable, the lightest etc?

Paper and boards should be selected based on the purpose for which they will be used. This could include:

• packaging
• drawing and sketching
• model making
• point of sale displays
• promotional material

Different factors affect material selection such as:

• how easy it is to recycle
• how expensive it is
• what it will be used for
• if it has any special properties, eg better for printing, rigidity, transparency, folding, gluing, easily strengthened etc
• how easily it can be joined or fixed together

Papers and boards have been developed for a lot of different purposes. Paper and board can be:

• textured
• embossed
• printed on
• laminated with other materials to make them waterproof, eg drinks cartons

Printing process procedures

When manufacturing products in bulk, such as books, magazines, leaflets, packaging and other printed products, there are three processes to follow:

1. pre-press
2. on-press - also called ‘press’
3. finishing - also called ‘post-press’

Pre-press

This process includes preparing digital files for a printing press - from the creation of a print layout and checking the artwork on the computer, to making the separate colour plates ready for the final printing.

On-press

This is the stage in the printing process where the preparing, positioning and loading of paper or board happens and the actual printing of the artwork occurs.

Finishing

This is the final part after the product has been printed. It is given a finish such as die cutting, embossing, foil stamping, laminating and binding. The post-press process gives the product its final look.

As the paper-making process involves cutting down trees to create wood pulp, as well as using harmful chemicals such as bleach, it is important that we can recycle paper and cardboard so that new wood pulp, needed to create paper, is kept to a minimum. Paper is made from cellulose fibres found in wood and grasses, which makes it renewable.

Cost is also a consideration when designing, and designers should be able to calculate costs involved. It may be that different providers charge different amounts, and the designer will weigh up the comparison of cost and service before deciding who to use.

Example

A sheet of paper could be priced at 3p per A4 sheet. A manufacturer needing to purchase 1,000 sheets would use the following formula:

Total cost = 1,000 × 0.03 = £30.00

Note unit changed required: The price of each sheet of paper is given in pence, which needs to be converted to pounds.