Ponoko has a cool new material: MDF coated with a black or white “paper-based laminate” on one side.
Obviously you could do the same with Draftboard. It would be a cool addition to your Proofgrade lineup! And of course you could do more colors, not just black and white.
As someone who uses lots of proofgrade I like this suggestion. Would be great for those times when you need a finish but don’t need to pay for a wood vener…
Aha. Those LaserBits Duro laminate sheets do look exactly like what Ponoko is advertising. (In fact, I’d be willing to bet that this is what Ponoko is using.)
I only knew about it because I placed a fairly large order with JP on Sunday, and almost purchased some of the black and white material, but decided that I was already spending too much–and I don’t have any projects planned to take advantage of it.
As much as people were giving the Proofgrade concept a hard time when it was first announced; because of the MDF core, it seems that JP and a few other providers sell very similar “plywood” with a couple of different core options.
I’d hope so. Ponoko provides cutting/engraving services (the price of which is partially factored into the material and partially factored out as a separate time-based cost). JP is just the raw material.