It doesn't take much time for players of Raft to come across their first blueprint. However, it may take them longer to figure out what they're supposed to do with this document. Raft isn't clear about how this blueprint works or how to use it.
This is partly thanks to development updates that have changed the way blueprints worked from the original version. The developers made this change to keep players from entering an unwinnable scenario, or at least one that prevented players from discovering all the story islands the game has to offer. As a result, blueprints are much easier to use but also a little confusing.
Blueprints
The way to use a blueprint is to simply pick it up. That's it. Once a blueprint has entered the player's inventory, the item it specifies will join the other craftable equipment in the research table, and once there, players can research the item as normal. Originally, players had to bring the blueprint to the research table and use it the same way players can use crafting materials, but now that process is done for them, and the blueprint itself is nothing more than a collectible.
The main reason the developers made this change is that the first blueprint any player will find is for the receiver. Players need the receiver and three antennas to locate story islands, and without this equipment, these islands will never appear.
Since blueprints are unique items that players might lose track of (or which might disappear forever since respawning destroys held items), it was possible for players to lose this important blueprint before they could reach or build a research table. That's why the developers of Raft decided to avoid this situation by letting blueprints unlock new research station items the moment players pick them up.
Recipes
The other important papers players can find lying around are recipes. Recipes are much more random in when and where they appear, and they explain to players what ingredients they can add to the cooking pot and juicer to create unique foods. Players can make these foods even without the recipes if they know how, and so recipes are much less valuable. On the other hand, players can attach recipes to walls so that they don't take up valuable storage space, so there's no problem with keeping them around.
While the first blueprint appears randomly, the remaining blueprints are unlocked by visiting story islands and thoroughly exploring them. Players should prioritize finding them all since they provide very useful items and equipment, but thanks to the revised mechanics, they won't have to worry about losing out.
Raft is available now for PC.