Real Wood Paper Explained

How To Print on Wood

How To Print On Real Wood Veneer Paper Sheets

We are often asked which printers we recommend for printing on Real Wood Paper sheets. We offer some basic printing information for both our Professional and DIY Printing customers on our FAQ’s Page.

While we don’t specialize in printing, and it’s impossible for us to test every inkjet and laser printer on the market, we understand the importance of recommending printers compatible with Real Wood Paper for our customers’ convenience.

DIY Printing

For our DIY customers, using a straight-through feed laser printer is the best option. However, sourcing such printers with this feature is becoming increasingly challenging in the USA. Consequently, we’ve taken the initiative to test several reasonably priced home and office printers. You will find that information at the link below.

Your Printer’s Capabilities

Achieving impeccable prints on Real Wood Paper hinges largely on your printer’s capabilities. Although factors like wood sheet thickness and grain direction are pertinent, the printer’s ability to handle thick cardstock-type sheets is equally crucial. We recommend referring to your printer manual to review its unique specifications.

About Our Wood Sheets

In the samples provided below, you’ll notice all prints are produced on our Short Grain 8.5″ x 11″ Real Wood Paper sheets. Are you wondering why Short Grain over Long Grain? Real Wood Paper has more flexibility when bending with the grain, facilitating smoother passage through the printer’s rollers—an essential consideration in the printing process.

*Note that the pictures below are scanned with a HP ENVY Photo 7855 printer/scanner and there has been no editing, enhancing or touching of the photos. They are exactly as scanned by the aforementioned scanner.

Credit For Images Printed:
– A.A. Milne Quote – Design by Real Wood Paper
– Lou Lou Fabulous Flamingo – Design by Streamside Studio on ETSY and Website

We’ve tested one inkjet and one laser printer; both popular options for home and office use. Click the button below to see detailed results and high-quality photos.

View the Printers We Tested and the Results

3 Wood Paper Thicknesses – Fleece, Paper and Wood

This quick video showcases the backing materials of our three thinnest (non-adhesive) Real Wood Paper sheets and demonstrates the flexibility when folded along the grain.

Fleece Backed (.010″ thick) is a very thin, sheer, flexible backing appropriate for dollhouse enthusiasts, candle wraps, lamp shades, envelope liners…anything where flexibility, luminosity and light-in-weight is a must. The backing material looks and feels similar to very thin vellum. It is also excellent for adhering to another material such as cardstock, wood, etc. (.010″ Thick = 10 PT/165 GSM)

Paper Backed (.016″ thick) is slightly thicker than the Fleece backing. The paper backing has a texture and is excellent for adhering to other backing materials such as cardstock, wood, etc. This thickness is frequently used as wedding invitations that are glued to a larger sheet of cardstock backing. It has great flexibility for printing, textured backing to ‘grab’ adhesive and creates a beautiful, sturdy invitation, announcement, etc. (.016″ Thick = 16 PT/265 GSM)

Wood Backed (.025″ thick) is very strong and sturdy yet still has the flexibility to run through laser printers using the straight feed feature. There is wood on both sides which is perfect for announcements, menus, invitations, programs and more. You get to see the beauty of the wood on both sides. (.025″ Thick = 25 PT/414 GSM)

Great Use Ideas:

*Print on using a laser printer or sublimation printer
*Cut with scissors, craft knives, cutting boards, paper cutters, guillotine cutters, Cricut Maker, paper punches, laser cutters, etc.
*Paint, stain, draw with ink pen
*Laser cutting
*Wood burning
*Score and Fold
*Model making

To learn even more about Real Wood Paper Products, please visit Specie Color and Grain Variations page and Short and Long Grain Directions Explained page.

Wood Paper Grain Direction – Long Grain and Short Grain Explained

We are often asked What is the difference between Short Grain and Long Grain? In this quick video we will show you the difference in Real Wood Paper Grain Directions.

When you bend with the grain, our wood paper sheets are more flexible. When you bend against the grain, our wood paper sheets are more rigid. So depending on your particular project and use, grain direction can be a very important consideration.

Materials Featured: On the left is our Cherry .025″ thick wood back Short Grain and on the right is our Maple .025″ thick wood back Long Grain. Both are standard stocked in 5″ x 7″, 8.5″ x 11″ and 11″ x 17″ size sheets.

To learn even more about Real Wood Paper Products, please visit our Specie Color and Grain Variations page.

How To Cut Wood Bookmarks With A Cricut

Making Wooden Bookmarks with a Cricut Maker couldn’t be easier than with Real Wood Paper! Whether you are looking to make one for yourself or to give as gifts, they are quick, unique and beautiful!

We used a variety of woods and thickness’ in this project. For the back pieces we used our Walnut .025″ Thick Short Grain Wood Back sheet. For the top intricate designs, we used our Birch .010″ Thick Short Grain Fleece Back sheet and Cherry .010″ Thick Short Grain Fleece Back sheet. We also used the Cherry .010″ Thick Short Grain Fleece Back sheet for the middle piece on one of the bookmarks.

For us, it doesn’t matter which mat we use, we always use painters tape to tape down our Real Wood Paper sheets. We don’t want them to move. The wood is too beautiful to waste!

Below are a couple of short videos of the Cricut Maker in action.

Walnut Wood Back .025″ thick with Deep Point Blade

Birch Fleece Back .010″ Thick with Fine Point Blade

Below are the settings we use for all 3 of our Real Wood Paper thicknesses. For even more information on cutting our Wood Sheets with a Cricut, visit Cutting Real Wood Paper With A Cricut.

Real Wood Paper Thickness: Fleece .010″ Thick
Cricut Blade: Premium Fine Point
Cardstock Setting: Medium Cardstock – 80#
Pressure Setting: Default

Real Wood Paper Thickness: Paper .016″ Thick
Cricut Blade: Premium Fine Point
Cardstock Setting: Poster Board
Pressure Setting: More Pressure

Real Wood Paper Thickness: Wood .025″ Thick
Cricut Blade: Deep Point
Cardstock Setting: Natural Wood Veneer
Pressure Setting: Default

PRO TIP: Make sure your blades are new/sharp. Wood is hard on blades. For best results use new blades.

For the SVG’s we used a couple of Freebies that we found on the Internet. They are a Damask Bookmark and Braided Bookmark from Get Silvered (Thank you!).

If you would like to order Pre-Cut Wood Bookmarks, you can find those HERE.

Cutting Real Wood Paper with a Cricut Machine

We are often asked, “Which Cricut Cutting Blade works the best with each thickness of Real Wood Paper?” Well, thank you so much for asking! We would love to answer your question! Keep scrolling for all the details.

Cutting Real Wood Paper Veneer Sheets with a Cricut Machine

Real Wood Paper Thickness Explained

All of our sheets begin as raw wood on one side, a layer of eco-friendly, biodegradable adhesive in the middle and then a backing of fleece, paper or another sheet of wood.

Fleece Backed (.010″ thick) Shop Here

is a very thin, sheer, flexible backing appropriate for dollhouse enthusiasts, candle wraps, lamp shades, envelope liners…anything where flexibility, luminosity and light-in-weight is a must. The backing material looks and feels similar to very thin vellum. It is also excellent for adhering to another material such as cardstock, wood, etc. (.010″ Thick = 10 PT/165 GSM)

Paper Backed (.016″ thick) Shop Here

is slightly thicker than the Fleece backing. The paper backing has a texture and is excellent for adhering to other backing materials such as cardstock, wood, etc. This thickness is frequently used as wedding invitations that are glued to a larger sheet of cardstock backing. It has great flexibility for printing, textured backing to ‘grab’ adhesive and creates a beautiful, sturdy invitation, announcement, etc. (.016″ Thick = 16 PT/265 GSM)

Wood Backed (.025″ thick) Shop Here

is very strong and sturdy yet still has the flexibility to run through laser printers using the straight feed feature. There is wood on both sides which is perfect for announcements, menus, invitations, programs and more. You get to see the beauty of the wood on both sides. (.025″ Thick = 25 PT/414 GSM)

Which Cricut Blade Do I Use?

For our Fleece Back and Paper Back sheets, we used the Premium Fine Point Blade. We just had to adjust the paper and pressure settings. For our Wood Back sheets, we used the Deep Point Blade.

Which Cricut Mat Do I Use?

Due to use, the mats get less sticky over time therefore we used painters tape on the edges of the Real Wood Paper to hold the sheets in place on the mat. Real Wood Paper is too beautiful to waste with mistakes! We want to be confident that our Real Wood Paper won’t slide during the cutting process. So in reality, we were less concerned with which specific mat to use (LightGrip, StandardGrip or StrongGrip) (StrongGrip is recommended) and just made sure the Real Wood Paper sheet wouldn’t move by using painters tape around the edges.

Project Details

We used the Cricut Maker and the starting project that’s included in the box because we know you’ve all completed that project and are familiar creating it with regular cardstock that Cricut provided. It’s also an excellent project to show that you can not only cut but also write on our Real Wood Paper.

To make this start project and any future projects, use the settings below for cutting Real Wood Paper sheets on your Cricut Maker machine.

Cricut Settings to Cut Real Wood Paper: