Ample fabrication techniques have been developed to create hydrophobic patterns, including but not limited to photolithography, wax printing, inkjet printing, laser printing, flexographic printing, stamping, 3D printing, hydrophobic ink plotting, spraying, and various cutting techniques such as laser cutting and manual craft cutting. However, their effects on capillarity-driven fluid flow on porous paper substrates remain unexplored. Our study examines how fabrication methods influence the paper's porous structure and fluid imbibition behavior. These diverse methods can be broadly classified into three categories based on their interaction with the paper substrate: (a) cutting with scissors (no hydrophobic barriers, surface-intact techniques), (b) laser cutting (no hydrophobic barriers, edge-cutting techniques), and (c) toner printing to create hydrophobic barriers (full surface exposure technique). Our analysis reveals a ~ 0.8–1 µm increase in surface roughness compared to untreated paper, with no significant changes in hydrophilic properties regardless of the technique used. The results show that fluid imbibition is primarily influenced by substrate modifications caused by fabrication, which is more pronounced. In sharp contrast to existing research findings, we pinpoint the influence of different fabrication processes on imbibition flow mechanism which is much more pronounced rather than envisioning the effects of geometric factors on such imbibition. For lower channel widths (2–4 mm) the influence of fabrication processes becomes even crucial. The travel duration for the laser cutter, single-side printed, double-side printed, and blank roll methods are 1.66, 2.33, 2.33, and 2.66 times longer, respectively, than the scissor-cut surface for Whatman grade 4 filter paper. These insights highlight critical design considerations for developing paper-based devices in biosensing applications.