{{short description|Paper, thicker and more durable than normal writing or printing paper}} {{redirect|Pasteboard|the software tool|Clipboard (computing)|the bowling ball surface (coverstock)|Bowling ball#Coverstock technology}} [[Image:Coloured, textured craft card.jpg|thumb|250px|Card stock for craft use comes in a wide variety of textures and colors.]] [[File:Art of Bookbinding p239 Oscar Friedheim.png|thumb|An Oscar Friedheim card cutting and scoring machine from 1889]]

'''Card stock''', also called '''cover stock''' and '''pasteboard''', is paper that is thicker and more durable than normal writing and printing paper, but thinner and more flexible than other forms of paperboard.

== Use == Card stock is often used for business cards, postcards, folders, playing cards, scrapbooking, and other applications requiring more durability than regular paper gives.<ref name="Collins">{{cite web |title=Cardstock definition and meaning |website=Collins English Dictionary |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/cardstock |access-date=23 January 2026 |quote=Paper stock stiff enough for the printing of business cards and similar uses.}}</ref><ref name="WashingtonPostal">{{cite web |title=State Document and Mailing Standards |url=https://des.wa.gov/services/print-mail/mail-services/how-save-money-mail/state-document-and-mailing-standards |website=Washington State Department of Enterprise Services |publisher=Washington State Department of Enterprise Services |access-date=2026-01-23 |quote=Recommended paper weights: Postcards: 75 lb cardstock, non-glossy.}}</ref><ref name="US_Library_Congress">{{cite report |author=Library of Congress Preservation Directorate |date=30 September 2016 |title=Specifications for File Folders with Reinforced Tab for the Storage of Artifacts (Specification Number 200-211 – 16) |publisher=Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/specifications/specs/200-211_16.pdf |access-date=23 January 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250226124638/https://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/specifications/specs/200-211_16.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2025 |url-status=live |format=PDF |at=§3.4 "Thickness" |quote=folders should be constructed of 10 pt card stock.}}</ref> The surface usually is smooth; it may be textured, metallic, or glossy. Common surface finishes include wove (smooth), laid (parallel ribbing produced by a dandy roll), felt (a textured surface), and embossed patterns such as cordwain and linen.<ref>{{cite web |title=Papermaking: Formation of paper sheet by machines |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/papermaking/Formation-of-paper-sheet-by-machines |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Glossary of Papermaking Terms |website=British Association of Paper Historians |url=https://baph.org.uk/resources/reference-material/glossary-of-papermaking-terms/ |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Surface Texture |website=Hand Papermaking |url=https://www.handpapermaking.org/post/surface-texture |date=2021-03-20 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wheelwright |first=William Bond |title=From Paper-mill to Pressroom |publisher=George Banta Publishing Company |year=1920 |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/47959/pg47959.txt |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> When card stock is labeled cover stock, it often has a glossy coating on one or both sides (''C1S'' or ''C2S'', for "coated: one side" or "coated: two sides"); this is used especially in business cards and book covers.<ref name="Paper Weight, Paper Size, Coated Paper, Matte Paper">{{cite news|title=Paper Weight, Paper Size, Coated Paper, Matte Paper|url=http://www.printindustry.com/Newsletters/Newsletter-40.aspx|newspaper=Printing Industry Exchange, LLC|date=Nov 2004|access-date=2013-04-04|archive-date=2023-06-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601043656/https://www.printindustry.com/Newsletters/Newsletter-40.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Measurements== {{See also|Paper weight}}

The weight of cardstock ranges from 50# to 110# (about 135 to 300&nbsp;g/m<sup>2</sup>).{{Efn|Most nations describe paper in terms of grammage—the weight in grams of one sheet of the paper measuring one square meter.<br />

Other people, especially in the United States, describe paper in terms of pound weight—the weight in pounds per ream (500 sheets) of the paper with a given area (based on historical production sizes before trimming). For card stock, this is {{convert|20|by|26|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}; as compared to newsprint (thinner paper) of {{convert|24|by|36|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}. In describing paper, the pound is often symbolized by the pound symbol, ''#''. Because of the difference in the way pound weight is determined, a sheet of 65# card stock is thicker and heavier than a sheet of 80# newsprint.}}<ref name="Paper Weight Demystified">{{cite web |title=Paper and Card Stock Comparison Chart |url=https://blog.thepapermillstore.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/paperweightsdemystified_11.pdf |work=The Paper Mill Store |date=1 March 2018 |access-date=1 March 2018 |archive-date=18 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418055508/http://blog.thepapermillstore.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/paperweightsdemystified_11.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The length and width of card stock often are stated in terms of the ISO system of paper sizes, in which specific dimensions are implied by numbers prefixed with the letter ''A''. Card stock labeled ''A3'', for example, measures 420 × 297&nbsp;mm (16.5 × 11.7&nbsp;in).{{Efn|1=Rather than as a function of weight per sheet of a given area, paper thickness can be measured and stated directly, in units of linear measure. In the United States, this usually is expressed in thousandths of an inch, often abbreviated ''thou points'' (''pt.'' and ''pts.'') and ''mils''. For example, a 10 pt. card is {{convert|0.010|in|mm|3|abbr=on}} thick (corresponding to a weight of about 250&nbsp;g/m<sup>2</sup>), and 12 pt. is {{convert|0.012|in|mm|4|abbr=on}}. The thou point (1/1,000 inch) differs from the typographical point (1/12 traditional pica = exactly 0.01383 inch = 0.35136&nbsp;mm).}}<ref name="Paper Sizes">{{cite web|title=Paper Sizes|url=http://www.papersizes.org/a-paper-sizes.htm|access-date=2013-04-04|archive-date=2016-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029141208/http://www.papersizes.org/a-paper-sizes.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Card Stock Weights Explained">{{cite web|title=Understanding Card Stock Weights|url=http://www.paperpapers.com/paper-weights.html|access-date=2020-11-11|archive-date=2020-11-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111231457/https://www.paperpapers.com/paper-weights.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also == * Construction paper * Paper density

==Notes== {{notelist}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{Paper}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Card Stock}} Category:Paper Category:Printing terminology