{"id":2127,"date":"2021-02-18T10:06:11","date_gmt":"2021-02-18T10:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hersh.ml\/?p=2127"},"modified":"2025-10-06T07:14:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T07:14:44","slug":"card-board-costs-for-board-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/herotime1.com\/academy\/costs\/card-board-costs-for-board-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardboard Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
Cardboard is vital for board games; it is used in components such as the board game box, playing board, score trackers, tokens, characters, and many others.<\/span><\/p>\n However, most creators don\u2019t really understand the additional costs these cardboard components add to their game. Even more so, they don\u2019t really understand why the cardboard prices vary so much between factories.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t In this article, I will try to set the record straight and clearly explain the price of cardboard with their different quality, thickness, and size.<\/span><\/p> *This article is a continuation of the previous two articles:\u00a0<\/em>Printing Cost<\/u><\/em>,<\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>Overall Cost Structure<\/u><\/em><\/a>. And although I add a short recap, I strongly recommend rereading the previous two articles if you find this article overwhelming<\/em>. You can learn more about Hero Time\u00a0Board game manufacturer here.<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t If you are making a box, a player board, or tokens, in addition to the printing costs in the previous article, there are also the pieces\u2019 cardboard costs. Generally,<\/p> 1. Standard (B) quality.<\/p> 2. (A) quality dense\/high dense.<\/p> 3. (Double-A) Extra high density.<\/p> *\u00a0Unless you manufacture at Panda Games or Print Ninja, don\u2019t take for granted the grade factories tell you as many factories and their salespeople can\u2019t really tell the difference themselves; they buy off the shelf whatever wholesalers\u00a0give\u00a0them.<\/p> To learn more about the capabilities of these different grade cardboards, you can view the following two videos<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Standard B Quality = 700USD per ton<\/p><\/li> A quality Dense\/High Dense = 1070USD per ton<\/p><\/li> Hero Time\u2019s Extra Dense cardboard = 1230USD per ton.<\/p><\/li><\/ol> These costs however are not static and they change every quarter. It follows the\u00a0Producer Price Index of Wood Pulp.<\/a><\/p> To assess what these costs mean for your games in specific, we first need to decide the thickness of the cardboard you want to use and the sheet\u2019s size suitable for your game.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t In the last article<\/a>, we covered the price of printing on different sheets of paper and showed the standard paper sizes used in your game. To review, we buy from the paper mill a standard size sheet of 88.2*118.2cm.<\/p> 29.4*29.5cm (total print area 26*26) – (10*10inch)<\/p><\/li> 29.4*39.4cm (Total Print area 26*36.cm) – (10*14inch)<\/p><\/li> 39.4*44cm (Total Print area 36*41) – (14*16inch)<\/p><\/li> 44*59cm paper (Total print area 41*56) – (16*22inch)<\/p><\/li> 54*78cm (Total print area 51*75cm) – (20*29inch).<\/p><\/li> The large size paper is 59*88.2cm (Total print area 56*85cm) – (22*33inch)<\/p><\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t In the\u00a0last article,<\/a> we covered the price of printing on different sheets of paper and showed the standard paper sizes used in your game. To review, we buy from the paper mill a standard size sheet of 88.2*118.2cm.<\/p> 29.4*29.5cm (total print area 26*26) – (10*10inch)<\/p><\/li> 29.4*39.4cm (Total Print area 26*36.cm) – (10*14inch)<\/p><\/li> 39.4*44cm (Total Print area 36*41) – (14*16inch)<\/p><\/li> 44*59cm paper (Total print area 41*56) – (16*22inch)<\/p><\/li> 54*78cm (Total print area 51*75cm) – (20*29inch).<\/p><\/li> The large size paper is 59*88.2cm (Total print area 56*85cm) – (22*33inch)<\/p><\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Overall, there are three thicknesses that board game creators like to use for their game: <\/span><\/p> 700-1000gsm (1.25-1.5mm thick),<\/p><\/li> 1200gsm (2mm thick),<\/p><\/li> 2000gsm (3mm thick).<\/p><\/li><\/ol> As mentioned in our first article, cardboards are priced per ton, and we calculate each sheet\u2019s weight by gsm (Gram Square Meter). Each master sheet size 88.2*118.2 is a square meter, and one ton equals 1,000,000 grams. So: <\/span><\/p> If you choose the thin 1.25-1.5mm(700-1000gsm), we can fit around 1000 master sheets in one ton.<\/p><\/li> 2mm thick (1200gsm) means we can fit about 800 master sheets in one ton.<\/p><\/li> 3mm thick cardboard (2000gsm) we can fit 500 sheets in one ton.<\/p><\/li><\/ol> See what thickness of cardboard you need for your game in the following video: <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Card board costs for\u00a0board game<\/a>\u00a0also consider the thickness of card board. After deciding the thickness of your cardboard, the quality grade, and the sheet size needed for your game, you can calculate how many master sheets fit into one ton and check how many smaller cardboard pieces you can make out of those sheets.<\/span><\/p> To make it easier for you, I have compiled everything into on price table for reference. In this table, you can see the cost per piece according to its quality and GSM. You should add this cost to the printing cost mentioned in “How Much Does it Cost to Print a Board Game?”<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t1. Card Board Costs for Board Game Details:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
2. The Different Grades of Card Board:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
There are three levels of cardboard that can be used for a board game:<\/strong><\/h5>
(as far as I know, only Hero Time uses extra high density).<\/h5>
3. Cost for Different Grades of Card Board:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
4. The Sheet Size Suitable for your Components:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
we have six ways of cutting it most cost-effectively:<\/h5>
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tThe thickness of the cardboard<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
5. The Thickness of the Card Board:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
we have six ways of cutting it most cost-effectively:<\/h5>
The size and cost of the sheets used in your game<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
6. The Size & Cost of Sheets used in your Game:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
A) Standard Chart Sheet:<\/span><\/h4>