Asteroids are used as far-IR calibrators for the imaging photopolarimeter ISOPHOT on board the Infrared Space Observatory ISO. For the 10 selected objects we compiled a large uniform database of 678 individual observations, ranging from 7-2000{mu}m. Applying a new thermophysical model to the observations we derived thermal properties of the selected asteroids, based on spin-vector solutions, direct size measurements and the HG-magnitude system. Our investigations indicate very rough surfaces, reflected in the beaming effect, and very low levels of heat conduction, expressed in thermal inertias between 5 and 25J/m^2^/s^0.5^/K. Due to scattering processes in the porous regolith, the emissivity varies significantly with wavelength. In case of Vesta we find emissivities as low as 0.6 in the far-IR/submillimetre region. By entering the combined results into the thermophysical model we defined new photometric standards for the far-IR. The absolute accuracy for thermal flux or lightcurve predictions is 5-10% for the first category objects and 10-20% for the secondaries. The methods and procedures discussed here are included in the first update of the ISOPHOT calibration in 1998.