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| A guide to card and paper |
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Current page:
Useful stuff ~
A guide to card and paper
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| Introduction |
Sizes and weights of card blanks, envelopes, board and paper can be utterly confusing for the newcomer to card making. Here we attempt to simplify the confusion and also provide our opinion on card blank and envelope colours.
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| Board and paper sizes |
Card sizes are usually shown as 'A' numbers - you will probably be familiar with A4 size, the size of your printer/copier paper. Other sizes can easily be worked out using A4 as a reference point:-
A6 is half of A5 (105 x 148) - a quarter of A4
A5 is half of A4 (148 × 210mm)
A4 measures 210 × 297mm
A3 is twice A4 (297 × 420mm)
A2 is twice A3 (420 × 594mm) - 4 times A4
A1 is twice A2 (594 × 841) - 8 times A4
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| Card blank sizing |
A card blank that is referred to as an A5 card blank will usually be A4 folded to A5.
A card blank that is referred to as an A6 (or C6) card blank will usually be A5 folded to A6. You may also see an A6 (C6) card blank referred to as 'nominal 6 x 4"' as the folded size is more or less 6 inches by 4 inches.
An A6 card blank fits a C6 envelope. An A5 card blank fits a C5 envelope.
A card blank that fits a 'DL' envelope (see below) measures 99 x 210mm when it's folded.
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| White or coloured card blanks? |
If you look around the shops, you will probably notice that most card blanks used for handmade or handmade-style cards will be white or sometimes cream. It is a good idea to stick to these colours and the same style of card blank and buy in bulk. That way you can always have a good supply and won't need to rush to buy another coloured card blank when you get a new idea. Add colour by using a background of card, paper or mulberry paper. I like to use textured cards for more interest.
I think a lot of men's cards look good with a cream or ivory card and often use a natural banana paper background for a nice manly woody look in a natural colour. Teamed with a kraft paper envelope, the cards look great.
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| Envelope sizing |
Envelope sizes are usually given in 'C' numbers. A C6 envelope fits a card blank that has been made by folding an A5 sheet of card to A6. If you are making your own card blanks, it is best to make them to a size that fits the most commonly found sizes of envelope as it may be hard for you to find other sizes.
Sizes presently stocked by us:-
114 x 162mm (C6)
110 x 220mm (DL)
130 x 130mm (square)
162 x 229mm (C5)
Other common sizes:-
125 x 175mm
155 x 155mm (square)
A DL envelope is the size of a business envelope - it takes a sheet of A4 paper folded into 3. As there is no 'A' size card that corresponds with a card blank folded to fit in an envelope of this size, the card blanks are often referred to as DL as well.
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| White or coloured envelopes? |
I think that it can really make a card look special if you include a co-ordinating envelope. I mostly choose a coloured envelope that picks out the colours of the card design.
Pale pink and blue envelopes look great with white cards for baby designs. Fuschia envelopes look great with bold pink designs. Kraft paper envelopes look good with many men's cards.
Sometimes you may not have the perfect envelope to match your design's colours so keep a stock of white and cream envelopes for such an occasion.
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| Card weights - gsm and mic |
If you're new to card making, you may be confused by the terms 'gsm' or 'mic' and might be unsure what weight of card is best.
'Gsm' is grams per square metre, ie. a square metre of 250gsm card, placed on the scales will weigh just that. This will probably seem pretty meaningless though so I'll give a few comparisons.
The paper that is sold by the ream (500 sheets) and used in printers or copiers is usually 80-90gsm. You can buy 160gsm card in print shops in packs - this will go through your printer fine and can be used for backgrounds on cards but is much too light for making card blanks.
Any card that is 200gsm or more is classed as 'board' but I wouldn't recommend anything less than 220gsm to be used for card blanks. This weight of card is ideal for any every day card that only has a light embellishment or is perhaps stamped and embossed. If you use heavier embellishments on light weight card, they may fall over when you stand them up and may not stand up straight.
If you are making cards to sell or wedding invitations, I would recommend a heavier card between 260 - 300gsm. This weight is more suitable for heavier embellishments and looks more professional for wedding invitations. If you have a heavier embellishment, it's a good idea to try the 'topple test' before making a large quantity, ie. make your card and stand it up to see if it falls over! If it does, experiment with different sized card blanks. If all else fails, design your card landscape way round instead of portrait.
You may also see card shown as 'mic' rather than gsm. This is short for microns - 1000 microns equals 1mm - the thickness of the card rather than the weight. This is often used when a card is textured as it may appear thicker than its weight would indicate. Because of this, there is no exact formula to convert one to the other although a conversion could be done roughly.
© Sandie Goble/Mad about Cards Ltd, October 2004
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