what should be the ideal wieght of the paper?

[Keds_Girl_Lala]

I use different paper on size or shape of part. On Aurora ship I print some pages twice on different paper becuase things like cannon I roll from thin paper like typing paper and things like funnel I roll from 110 card. Or I glue 110 card to two pieces Bristol Board for very thick part that does not need to bend. I have Micro Model houses and they are on very thin card becuase parts are very tiny.

[Whitejd]

Thanks for the information. You folks are, as always, very helpful.

So much to learn, so little space left in the old brain.

[NimitzFan]

I'm quite a novice compared to most people here, but I find that most models work just fine in 35lb exact index. If there are small parts, I save my fingers by using paper as light as 20lb. On the other hand, for bracing and structural parts I usually use 67# or 110# paper. I often print in multiple weights and experiment. Fortunately, my wife is very organized and bought a couple of plastic file drawers we put into the closet in order to allow me to easily find and use the paper I need.

[Jerry V]

I don´t know about lbs, but I am (in Europe) using cardstock which is 100 or 120 grams for my printed models

The standard weight of A4 size paper is 80 grams. (This means that a sheet of paper of 1 square meter weighs 80 grams (= A0 size). One actual sheet of standard A4 weighs 5 grams.)

So I am using paper wich would weigh 100 to 120 grams if I had a A0 size sheet (which would be 1 square meter in size)

I hope this is not confusing..

With regards,

Jerry

[potter791]

well thanks a bunch

[rjt]

I've only just started (thinking) paper modelling, so its good news to read about paper weights in g rather than lbs. Just been shopping and bought loads of different weights to try.
So many thanks to Jerry, no its not confusing at all well not to me, it makes perfect sense

I can't understand the so - called conversion charts which give all the various sheet size names and the weights in lbs: confused: They seem to make it up as they go along, am I ever glad the UK adopted the SI system - OK it was a b**ger to get used to back in the 70's but it was worth the trouble

Anyway all the best from me for now,

Rob (near Oxford UK)

[Jim Nunn]

Don Hit the nail on the head what is important to a paper modeler is the thickness. The weight is often not a true indicator of the thickness. On top of that Photo papers are often heaver then normal uncoated papers.

On photo papers they often list the paper as being X number of mils this translates in to the thickness 7mil = .005 inch. The matt photo papers I have are listed at (Kodak 831-8164) is 39 Lb 7 mil, (Epson S041341) 51 Lb 10.3 mil, (Epson S041257) 44 Lb 9 mil.

Jim Nunn


(You may be a paper modeler if you have three different kinds of photo paper and they are all matt finish)

[Jerry V]

Your welcome Rob,

@ Jim, it also depend on what kind of photo paper is being used. I have had some photopaper which was made up out of several layers of paper.
After scoring and folding it, the layers came apart and I was left with a very thin paper part. Also glue will not stick to every kind of photopaper as is my experience.

Jerry

[Rapidtox]

I used cardboard 235gr/m2 opaline, 120gr/m2 matte paper, cardboard Bristol which is if I am correct in 160gr/m2 and more use is a drawing paper matte A4 180gr/m2 which works for me well, the opaline when the pieces are small is difficult to fold.

[Jim Nunn]

Originally Posted by Jim Nunn

On photo papers they often list the paper as being X number of mils this translates in to the thickness 7mil = .005 inch.

Opps that should read 7 mil = .007 inch. With all of the talented people here I am surprised that no one corrected me.

Jerry,

I have experienced the same issues with some of the photo papers. With very few exceptions I only build commercially printed kits. I only use the photo papers when I need to replace a detailed part but most of the time I use Wausau 110 Lb (199 g/m^2) Exact Index which measures .009 inch (.22mm).

Jim Nunn