Newspaper or cardboard briquettes
Updated: 22.10.2026
You have a pile of newspaper and a pile of cardboard, and the paper log maker will take whichever you soak. Newspaper or cardboard briquettes are not the same fuel, even when the press makes them look alike. HETAS draws a line the seller bullets often ignore. The [paper briquette press comparison](/hub/fireplaces-and-stoves/paper-briquette-press) is the tool table from the 19 October 2026 amazon.co.uk capture. This page is the feedstock: plain newspaper, colour print, glossy mail, and card. Links use the tag pcuk26-21, and a qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You have a pile of newspaper and a pile of cardboard, and the paper log maker will take whichever you soak. Newspaper or cardboard briquettes are not the same fuel, even when the press makes them look alike.
You have a pile of newspaper and a pile of cardboard, and the paper log maker will take whichever you soak. Newspaper or cardboard briquettes are not the same fuel, even when the press makes them look alike. HETAS draws a line the seller bullets often ignore. The paper briquette press comparison is the tool table from the 19 October 2026 amazon.co.uk capture. This page is the feedstock: plain newspaper, colour print, glossy mail, and card. Links use the tag pcuk26-21, and a qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Named feedstock | Wood-burner note | Stated soak | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  eBuzz eBuzz paper log maker | Newspaper, magazines | Colour print: do not burn | A couple of hours | 7.4 | about £19.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Relaxdays Relaxdays paper press, black | Waste paper | Cardboard not confirmed | Not stated | 7.0 | about £32.90 | View offer |
| Alternative |  VIOLK VIOLK paper press | Newspaper and cardboard | Card in the bullets | About 30 minutes | 2.0 | about £133 | View offer |
On this page
What the captured listings invite
eBuzz names newspaper and magazines. A UK review says the buyer made cardboard logs, which shows the basket can take card, not that the card was suitable stove fuel. AB Tools part MVL095 names newspaper and waste paper, with UK notes of boxes beside a frame distorted after about 20–40 bricks. Harewood names old newspaper. Relaxdays says waste paper. lyrlody and LUCKDANO add sawdust, leaves, and straw. VIOLK names newspaper, magazine, and cardboard, at £133, with no customer-review line. The bullet is a sales list. Shopper articles that call paper-and-card bricks ordinary stove fuel are not HETAS, and they are not the Defra guide of 12 October 2023.
Newspaper, colour print, and card
HETAS allows a small amount of black-and-white newspaper as a firelighter, not as the main load of a wood burner. Colour-printed paper, including magazines, is on the do-not-burn list because of the inks. Cardboard is on that list because of glues and resins. A second HETAS article groups wastepaper and cardboard with wet wood, and it says a wood burner is built for wood. Northumberland Council puts cardboard and coloured paper with resins. Use that beside HETAS, not instead of GOV.UK. eBuzz and VIOLK name magazines. HETAS does not treat a colour magazine as fuel. A Clarke sheet says newspaper holds better than glossy junk mail. The glue in a box does not wash out in a bucket.
Soak and strength
Newspaper mats. Cardboard resists, then cracks. VIOLK’s 30 minutes may wet newsprint and is optimistic for corrugated card. eBuzz’s couple of hours, and the overnight soak on lyrlody and LUCKDANO, are closer to thick paper. One UK review on eBuzz describes about five days. Forcing a dry core is how you bend a 3 kg frame. eBuzz UK notes include a bent plate, strut, or basket. LUCKDANO’s only UK review says the handles bent after about 20 bricks. AB Tools notes that mention boxes sit next to a distortion at about 20–40 bricks. If the plate moves, stop. Weeks on a rack remove water. They do not remove glue.
Pressing is not permission to burn
A dense brick is still the paper you put in. If it was cardboard or colour print, HETAS still says it does not belong in a wood burner. VIOLK can name cardboard and remain a hand press with no reviews. An eBuzz buyer who made cardboard logs does not authorise a stove. Defra says not to burn household rubbish. An outdoor fire you are allowed to run is a different case, and a council can still treat the smoke as a nuisance. A homemade brick has no Ready to Burn number. The smoke-control page is that rule. For a firelighter, press black-and-white newspaper. For the boxes, use the recycling.
Common questions
Should you press newspaper or cardboard?
Press black-and-white newspaper if you want a brick that mats and that HETAS will accept as a firelighter. Leave cardboard out of a wood burner because of glues and resins. VIOLK names cardboard, and an eBuzz UK review says the buyer made cardboard logs. Those lines show the press can compact card. They do not show you should burn it in a stove.
Can you burn cardboard briquettes in a wood burner?
HETAS says no. Cardboard is listed with glues and resins among the things not to burn, and a separate HETAS article groups wastepaper and cardboard with other unsuitable fuels. A wood burner is built for wood. Corrugated boxes, food cartons, and posted card stay out even after you have soaked and pressed them. Defra’s open-fire guide also says not to burn household rubbish. A tight brick does not change the material.
Are magazines safe because the seller bullet names them?
No. eBuzz names newspapers and magazines, and VIOLK names magazines, but HETAS tells you not to burn colour-printed paper, including magazines and leaflets. Glossy pages also hold together less well than newspaper, so the brick is weaker as well as the wrong fuel. Use plain newsprint for a firelighter. Put the colour supplement in the recycling. A bullet is not a combustion test.
Is black-and-white newspaper allowed as a firelighter?
HETAS allows a small amount of black-and-white newspaper as a firelighter, not as the main load. That matches these presses if you have an open fire or a stove that may burn a starter and then dry wood. It is not permission to run the evening on paper bricks. In a smoke control area you still need an authorised fuel or an exempt appliance used as the maker allows.
Does cardboard take longer to soak than newspaper?
It usually needs longer, and it still may not mat. VIOLK’s 30 minutes and eBuzz’s couple of hours are written for paper. lyrlody and LUCKDANO say overnight for newspapers. One eBuzz UK review describes about five days. Thick card and corrugated board stay dry in the flutes long after newsprint has sunk. If you are soaking card at all, tear it small and give it more time. For a stove, skip the experiment.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for this comparison. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts were taken from the listings on 19 October 2026.
- Smoke control areas: the rules, GOV.UK (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Selling manufactured solid fuels in England, GOV.UK (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Selling wood for domestic use in England, GOV.UK (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- 16 things you should never burn, HETAS (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Correct fuel for optimal burning, HETAS (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Open fires and wood-burning stoves, Defra (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Carbon monoxide alarms for landlords, GOV.UK (retrieved 19 October 2026)