I saw a lot of reviews about this being flimsy, tearing easily, difficult to remove the punched out letters, etc.#1, it is card stock. It isn't a super heavy cardstock, but it isn't plain paper. I have quite a few sets with this same strength from different companies, so I am not sure why everyone was complaining. If one starts to fail I'll just take it out and shoot it with some clear coat paint to help stabilize it, or slap some tape on there and use and razor to remove the extra. I would not call these flimsy. Flimsy to me is a piece of computer printer paper. These don't flop over or anything.#2, I only had two out of the whole set tear when I was taking the punches out. Nothing a little tape, glue, etc didn't fix.#3, I use mine with a pencil. I don't use markers, I don't use a pen, I use a fine pencil to get great results. I can always trace over the lines with something else.#4, I am using these on wood, paper, art paper, etc. They work great on all of those.#5, they are paper. They are not water proof! No big deal, use a pencil to trace it out, then go back with a marker, paint, whatever.#6, it took less than an hour of patience and listening to my youngest play Minecraft to get all the letters, numbers, and designs punched out. It wasn't difficult, just gently push, twist, and pop them out. I also did not have a problem with very many chads left where they were punched out. Take a file over it gently once or twice and the problem is gone.#7, Unless you go at these things like the Hulk you will get plenty of use out of them. Again, I use a fine pencil and trace them out with that. If you are rough on them, yeah they are going to get torn up. So before you start, take a deep breathe, chill, and then begin.#8, I literally use these daily in my studio. They are going strong. I haven't even had to use the extra letters that were included. (Extras of letters that are most commonly used). I use them to write out names, phrases, quotes etc.#9, getting them aligned. Ok, this isn't that hard. First I lay them out, then I start tweaking. When I have them how I like I either start tracing them in, or I set them aside, pencil in some lines to keep them straight. It isn't that hard to keep them going in a straight line if you add a pencil line. Do it lightly and it won't be hard to erase, paint over, stain over, etc.#10, I have hit mine with a coat of clear coat paint. That makes them stronger. I hit one side, let it dry, flip them over, let it dry, repeat about three or four times. NO that doesn't make them waterproof. It does make them a bit stronger and they hold up longer. Just don't shoot your paint so thick they stick to the surface they are laying on. Go in gentle layers!