What Is Cardstock Printing and What Is It Good for? Tips For Your Photos

When choosing which cardstock to use, you want to keep in mind that one material may make your invitation or project look washed or splotchy. If you’re willing to play with the process, risk a little trial and error, and trust in advice from experts, then you’ll find the perfect piece of cardstock for your needs. Here’s all the information you need to know on cardstock and what it’s suitable for.

When you’re planning a big event, like a wedding or gala or anything else, you need to send out invitations. The type of material typically used for invitations is cardstock, but your choices in cardstock will seem unlimited. There is no easy answer to “what type of cardstock should I use for so-and-so?”. What you want will vary, ultimately, depending on your situation and preferences.

How Do You Plan on Printing?

How you plan on cardstock printing can significantly affect how your project comes out. You can use an at-home printer to meet your needs. It’s quicker, reasonably straightforward, and affordable, but you have a higher risk of messing up the print job. If you do enough research and consult a local print shop, it can be done. If you choose to have a professional print what you need, then it will be costlier, but you know that they’ll turn out perfect.

Cardstock Types

Cardstock comes in a variety of materials, feels, textures, and prices. To best understand how to print on this medium, you need to understand the most prominent of these materials, here’s a rundown.

Linen Cardstock

Parchment

What Is Cardstock Used For?

Cardstock can be used for a variety of projects. The most popular use for cardstock is for wedding invitations. You can also use cardstock for origami projects, scrapbooks, holiday cards and banners, bookmarks, cartography, posters, and more. You can use cardstock to do so much.

Cardstock Photo Prints

Photos render great on cardstock. The thick paper makes pictures stand out and helps deliver effective messages. Photo printing on cardstock is easy with us, and you can send us your custom designs to help you here. Printing on card stock isn’t tricky, but you have to make sure you have the right printer for your type of cardstock since some cardstocks are too thick for some printers.

Cardstock thickness options:

• 12pt. thickness
• 24pt. thickness

FAQs

1. Can you use cardstock on a printer?

Yes, you can use cardstock on a printer. Cardstock is typically thicker than paper and will cause the printer to work harder. However, it's possible to print on cardstock with some adjustments.

2. What's the difference between cardstock and paper?

The difference between them is that cardstock is a thicker paper that can be used for a wide variety of projects. It is usually heavier and stronger than regular paper and can stand up to more wear and tear. Cardstock is often used for invitations, greeting cards, business cards, and scrapbooking.

3. How do you tell if a printer can print on cardstock?

The first thing to consider when buying a printer for printing on cardstock is what thickness of paper it can handle. Check whether it is capable of doing the required tasks! The weight of cardstock varies from 135-200g/m2 based on the manufacturer. Moreover, not all printers are equipped to print on the thickest cardstock.

4. Is cardstock the same as poster board?

Yes, it's as thick as a poster board of the same size. Posterboard and cardstock have different textures. Using a home printer, cardstock absorbs more ink/toner than posterboard, resulting in graphics that appear fuzzy or lighter than they actually are.

5. Is cardstock considered specialty paper?

No, Cardstock is not considered specialty paper. It is a type of paper that can be used for many different purposes, but it is not considered specialty paper because there are so many other types of paper that are more specialized than cardstock.