Is there any place I can find a high resolution card stock (110 lb or heavier)? I've searched on the internet and searched this forum, but found no mention of it.

I have some Epson high-res paper but it's very lightweight (24lb). It has a matte white finish on one side and a slightly yellowish tint on the non-printable side. It produces exceptional prints. I would like to be able to get the same level of detail on cardstock for my WWG paper models. When I print on standard cardstock, the colors and detail are muddy due mostly to the "rough" nature of the cardstock. I'm using a printer and 110 lb cardstock I bought at Office Depot for about $10/250 sheets. The cardstock seems to be pretty high quality, but has no where near as "fine" of a printing surface as high-resolution inkjet paper.

Just wondering if there's something better out there...

What you are asking for, is a smooth finish (basically) on the card stock. Never seen such a beast. However, you can always print on the high-res paper, then glue it to card stock. Not what you want, I am sure, but it will give you the best of both worlds. You will need to have the glue spread evenly, over the entire surface between the paper, and the card stock. Pockets of un-adhered paper, will cause problems. Try using either a spray adhesive, or using a brush to spread white glue evenly over the surface of one piece, then press the two together, using a wooden roller, to smooth things out.

Other, easier suggestions, folks? Cheers!

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm wanting: a heavyweight cardstock with a smooth, photo-quality matte finish on one side. The heaviest I've found on Kodak's or Epson's site is a with a satin or "soft gloss" finish. I think a satin finish would have too much sheen for cardstock modeling. What do you think? I found some , but 45 lbs (or 52 lb) is probably too flimsy for modeling.

Regarding gluing the papers together...good idea, but sounds like a lot of work! I may have to try it out with something small, like table/chest props, and see how it goes. I have a feeling that when I score the paper it will separate at the edges unless it's perfectly bonded together. In order to score the bonded papers, I would have to cut through the high-res layer to score the cardstock. Not sure if that would work and stay together very well.

Man, why oh why don't they make a matte high-res cardstock? That would be PERFECT for this stuff! I would easily pay $40 or more for a hundred sheets of that stuff if it existed.

Actually our coming pre-printed sets are printed on cover stock which is essentially what you're looking for. Super crisp high resolution prints that don't get muddy on a heavy stock. Cover stock is expensive and tough to get a hold of but if you have a friend in the printing industry (or perhaps your local print shop) then maybe you can get your hands on some.

For home development I get terrific results with GeorgiaPacific 110lb cardstock.

Yes, I use the Georgia Pacifc 110 lb cardstock too. It seems to print out some very good, high quality graphics. Separate print outs using the same printer settings and the different cardstocks would be needed for side by side comparison to see if the added expense of the specialty high res cardstock is warranted. (This from someone who can't see the difference between S-video output and regular ol' simple output )

Thanks for the help so far.

I tried sgtslag’s suggestion of printing on high-res paper and then gluing to cardstock. I printed a set of props from the Maiden onto 720 dpi high-res Epson paper and then glued it to a sheet of 110 lb cardstock with . Then I set a large book on top of it and let it dry overnight. In the morning, it was very stiff. I haven’t cut out the props or scored them yet. I’ll do that tonight, probably.

I compared the high-res paper output with a sheet of props printed directly onto the cardstock and the difference in image quality is just amazing. Black levels are richer, and details like wood grain and objects on top of the desks are crystal clear. I’m interested to see how well it cuts/scores. I’m thinking about using a circular pizza cutter to score the paper with, instead of a hobby knife. I’m worried that scoring it with a knife will cause the sheets to come apart at the joints.

Even if this works, it’ll be nice for occasional high-detail items, but not practical for general-purpose building. For one, it takes too much time to glue and dry properly. Also, the spray adhesive is rather messy and overall this process is expensive. I think a high-res cardstock would probably be cheaper and would definitely be easier.

I found a sold by Okidata. It’s 110 lbs and fairly expensive, but I hesitate to order it because it doesn’t specifically say it’s “high-res” or “coated”. What I really want is that special high-res coating for ink jets that lets them print at 600 dpi or higher. If it’s just a smoother card stock, it’s probably not going to make much of a difference. I may give them a call and find out the scoop on it.

Regarding the pre-printed sets, that’s cool and all, but my interests in the WWG models are rather specific. I have yet to actually use the model sets as they were intended. I tend to buy the sets for the props/extras. I’ll print about a dozen of one mundane thing and use that item in my games profusely. For example, and I can’t remember what set it was from, but there are these cool little medieval square tents with flags that I printed up for my party to indicate where our tents were when we were attacked while camping. These became so integral to our game that I scaled the tent image up 200% to make giant-sized tents (we have an ogre in our party) and down 50% to make halfling-sized ones! So, I’m not as interested in the pre-printed option because I tend to only use a few pieces from each kit, but I use those few a lot!

By the way, I just called Okidata about their premium cardstock (mentioned above), and they said it was not coated for inkjets, nor even rated for inkjets. Okidata now only sells laser printers, so they don't carry products for inkjets at all.

Bummer.

After trying numerous types of paper for card modeling, I finally settled on Conqueror "Diamond White Cover Sub 80#" for all of my paper models. Works well (single-sheet fed) in both my Canon inkjet printer and my Tektronix/Xerox Phaser. It's a bit expensive at $14 for 200 sheets.

I tried the method mentioned above of printing onto high-res coated paper and then spray-gluing onto cardstock. I was skeptical going into it, but I have to admit, it worked like a charm. The paper stayed together surprisingly well even with scoring, and the models' details were just awesome. The only thing I've made so far are a few chests and desks. I mixed the high-res models with the ones printed directly onto cardstock and showed them to my wife. She was able to pick out the better looking ones about 85% of the time. The desks were easy to spot, because they have little "knick-knacks" and maps on top of them that are very detailed in the high-res versions.

I was going to take a few pictures and post them last night so you could see for yourself, but I decided to watch instead. You gotta have priorities...

Preprinted Chunky Dungeons is supposed to be out this month.

Chunky Dungeons has been picked up by retailers all over the States. You should see it in gaming stores any time this month. If you don't, then tell your local shop owner to order it from the Diamond/Alliance catalog

By the way my wife and I use Georgia Pacific card stock from Sams Club. Beautiful stuff, bright, stiff, takes the ink well, stands up to abuse.