The highest grade of wood pulp paper (which may contain as much as 93% cellulose) is labeled high alpha cellulose. There is incidentally no reason at all to discard a sheet if you've botched a painting on the wire side, because both sides are usable: just flip the paper over, whistle a happy tune, and get cracking. There are two types of paper texture, created by the weave of the wire screen in the mold. Dollars per inch, rolls are usually the most economical form of paper packaging, which makes them good for classroom use (a single roll can be cut or torn into smaller sheets). Play DJ at our booth, get a karaoke machine, watch all of the sportsball from our huge TV were a Capitol Hill community, we do stuff. As machine manufacture became dominant in the 19th century, the deckle acquired a crafts cachet. The watermark orientation varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, sometimes even within the same manufacturer. (Fabriano Uno papers also come in a soft pressed surface, with a finish midway between hot and cold pressed.). Cotton cellulose fibers are the long seed hairs removed from cotton seeds through ginning, a process of mechanical shredding and combing. There are many alternative fiber papers available to those willing to step out of the box. They are also the obvious choice for paintings in unusual sizes, or for creating very large works several feet long. Some manufacturers emboss the sheet with a logo or trademark, instead of or in addition to using a watermark. Types of Cellulose. This chopmark is usually small and placed unobtrusively along the margin of the sheet, as watercolor paints will not cover it. But we hope you decide to come check us out. You can buy a papermaking kit with all the supplies and equipment included, or by reading books such as Arnold Grummer's Complete Guide to Easy Papermaking. Textures often differ between the two sides; the quality and amount of difference depends on the type of papermaking machine, the quality of the pulp, and the drying process. (Waterleaf papers are unsized.). Just think of us as this new building thats been here forever. This causes the sheet to cockle or distort as it dries, which can be minimized by slowing the drying process or restraining the sheet as it dries. It is not usually possible to assess the furnish of a paper from its color alone. The term rag paper only means that some rag content is included in the paper, often mixed with linters or wood cellulose. It's worth your time to find a really good art store with a large selection: go there and browse until you find something that genuinely appeals to you. In America, this was due largely to the influence of artist, papermaker and historian Dard Hunter (1883-1966), and to the preservationist efforts of small, exclusively handmaking mills such as Dieu Donn (New York), Larroque-Duchne (France), Twinrocker (Illinois), and St. Armand (Montral). This dictates continuous innovation in manufacturing processes, recycling and productivity, which will only increase the diversity and complexity of modern paper stocks. 40" x 60" paper is exactly the same basis weight as a sheet of 300 lb. After two or more weeks of drying, the papers are stacked under weighted boards and allowed to stretch out flat. These fibers are called cotton rag, as are any remaindered (used) threads, fabrics or clothing made from them. Sizing. kozo? Thoroughly rinsing away all the chemicals used to pulp and bleach wood cellulose requires a significant amount of water, so pulp mills reduce water demand by chemically neutralizing the pulp during the final steps of manufacture. Based on tests conducted by the ASTM, these papers have an estimated life expectancy of 500 years or more. Neutralizing an acidic pulp is separate from the practice at paper mills of adding the neutralizing chemical to create an alkali reserve that counteracts any acidic pollutants the papers may be exposed to in the future from the painting process, cheap mat boards, or the atmosphere. In addition, burning a small piece of your watercolor paper can be revealing. Wood from domestic hardwoods (including eucalyptus) provides short fibers with good bulk; wood from coniferous softwoods (pine or cedar) provides longer fibers for paper strength. After the pulp has been thoroughly macerated, it is diluted with roughly nine times its bulk in water. The more primitive laid texture results when the screen is formed of closely spaced parallel wires that are held in place by more widely spaced transverse wires (or crosswires) woven between them (image right); this gives the sheet a characteristic ribbed or corduroy appearance. Used for generations as the primary source for Japanese papers, its extra-strong fibers are used to produce some of the most elegant stationery and artist papers in the world. As a result the wire side became the "right" side to use. In fact, the amount of cotton cellulose in rag paper may be anywhere from 100% to as little as 20%! A pack of 5 full sheets of the same paper from the same manufacturer (which will tear into 20 11" x 15" quarter sheets) would cost around US$15. The wire side of the sheet settled onto the wire screen of the mold, and received texture both from the mold and any felts used in rollers or drying. The pH scale, used in chemistry to measure acidity or alkalinity, is neutral at around 7.5; pure water has a pH value of 7, and a substance is considered acidic at a pH value of 5 or lower and alkalinic at values of 8 or more. Acidity of Paper. Alpha cellulose is the most stable and permanent part of extracted plant material. (For this reason, the texture becomes rougher in thicker, heavier weight sheets.) A typical 20 sheet block of 10" x 14" 300 GSM paper costs about US$20. The water between the fibers can be mechanically pressed or blotted out, or evaporates early in the paper drying. It's worth noting that handmade papers were traditionally bleached without chemicals by exposing the sheets to sunlight, just as linens are bleached by hanging them to dry on a clothesline; buffering was introduced by pulping and rinsing with "hard" spring water from limestone aquafers and by coating the papers with milk. (When pricing papers, keep in mind that handmade sheets often come in unusual sizes and weights.). Machinemade or moldmade papers can be purchased as individual sheets or in packs, rolls, or watercolor blocks. 212.683.6990 info@legionpaper.com. When carefully controlled, these processes break down the lignin content of the wood without significantly affecting the cellulose fibers. This hand spreading of the pulp imparts many tiny variations to the paper surface and a slightly irregular thickness to the sheet, especially along the edges where excess pulp is cast away. Come inside to our Social Lounge where the Seattle Freeze is just a myth and youll actually want to hang. Most retailers provide quantity discounts, and shipping charges are tacked onto every delivery, so it's most economical to order the largest numbers of sheets you can afford. These add qualities of external sizing to a sheet but gelatin sized sheets are preferred by many artists and gelatin usually mentioned by name whenever it is used. These are a little pricey ($45 for a 48 page 8"x12") but well worth it: bound in durable, natural (beige) linen covers with dark green endpapers, the Arches CP 300 GSM text laid paper is a receptive, resilient ivory surface for pencil, pen or watercolor sketching. I bought one as a novelty item and never used it. In general, the sheets with a higher ratio of length to width (the antiquarian at 1.71, the double elephant at 1.52 and the half sheet at 1.47) are especially pleasing in landscape format for landscape paintings and reclining nudes or figure portraits, or in portrait format for standing nudes or figure portraits. The shorter fibers and lint left attached to the seeds after ginning are culled by crushing and boiling the pulp in an alkali solution; the separated fibers are then washed and formed into soft, blotterlike sheets called cotton linters. Usually the processes of pounding and mixing the pulp are also done by hand. Note that the imperial sheet is itself roughly a quarter sheet of the huge emperor sheet (called "double elephant" in some watercolor books I have seen). In handmade papers the watermark is usually created by a small copper wire image fixed to the wire screen of the mold (image at right); this creates a slight thinness in the pulp directly over the pattern, which appears as a more transparent area in the finished sheet. Individual Sheets are commonly available from all retailers in the widest range of sizes and weights and in any quantity. Several different designations are used to describe the quality of cellulose in paper, and these can be somewhat misleading. the tangle of cellulose fibers in a sheet of paper. Smaller sheets are often created by tearing the full sheet across its width to produce the half sheet (15" x 22"), and if needed torn again to produce the quarter sheet (11" x 15"). A 43" wide 10 yard roll of 300 GSM paper costs anywhere from US$30 to US$100, depending on the manufacturer. Cellulose is extracted for European and American papers from cotton, flax (linen) or (from around 1860) from wood pulp, and for traditional Asian papers from jute, kozo, salago or mitsumata. A perennial favorite is the "Basic" brand with the word "sketchbook" printed in rows of blue letters across the softcover binding; it contains 144 sheets of white heavy wove paper. The label "100% cotton" by itself is no assurance either way, as recycled fabrics may be harshly bleached before use in paper pulp. Punjab makes a romantic if somewhat impractical watercolor sketchbook of handmade watercolor papers and a sewn binding under brown handmade hardcovers. The last trick is to use the sketchbook. Under this rule, fine art or archival quality papers should have a neutral to alkaline pH (7.5 or greater), be made entirely of high alpha cellulose (containing less than 1% lignin) or preferably 100% "rag" fibers, contain a reserve of calcium carbonate or equivalent buffer of 2.0% or more of total pulp mass, and contain no optical brighteners. Plastic Packs are normally provided for the larger sizes of watercolor papers full sheet and above in counts of 5, 10 or 25 sheets (depending on manufacturer). This concern is no longer relevant, as paper sheets are no longer trimmed in that way. Cellulose fibers expand in width when wet, which causes machinemade papers to return to the curl of the mold cylinder that made them, or to produce cockles that lie in parallel ribs; in most moldmade and all handmade papers, the pattern of cockling is random. By far the most common source of cellulose in machinemade papers is wood pulp. Moldmade papers are manufactured with a cylinder mold machine. However, acidic chemicals had to be added to the pulp to bind the rosin to the cellulose, and all rosins yellow with age. As far as I can discover, chemically neutralized papers are believed to be less stable than papers that were never exposed to harsh chemicals in the first place. To counteract this, many paper brands add a "bluing" agent to the paper, which nowadays are ultraviolet dyes that absorb UV light and fluoresce in the visible (violet and blue) wavelengths. In the 19th century, a pine rosin sizing was added to the paper pulp to reduce the capillary action of the fibers and prevent inks or paints from blotting when applied; this also kept watercolors on the surface of the paper, making them appear as bright as possible. This cold pressing gives the sheet a subdued texture that is relatively easy to use, can tolerate a certain amount of corrections or lifting, and is congenial to almost any style of painting. a laid screen (with part of the watermark visible near the edge), The paper finish varies widely from one manufacturer to the next; papers labeled "rough" in one brand line may be equivalent to a "cold pressed" in another line. Cold pressed paper (in the UK called "NOT" paper, meaning "not hot pressed") is made by hanging the sheets to loft dry in spurs (clusters) or by pressing the posts under a mechanical press (for handmade papers), or by calendering the sheet with light pressure through felt covered metal rollers (moldmade papers). Linen cellulose fibers (from flax) are longer and stronger than cotton, which makes linen papers harder and more translucent. (Block papers are not stretched, but fairly well resist cockling or warping when wet, at least in the 300 GSM weight.) The best way to learn about paper is to make some yourself! The web is torn or cut into sheets which are mechanically dried. Sylvie Turner comments that one reason for the enduring popularity of the Imperial sizes is that they seem ideally suited for handmade production methods in papermaking, painting and printing rather than machine production. but are readily available and affordable. External sizing is applied to the surface of the finished sheet of paper after it has dried, sometimes by dipping the entire sheet into a tub of sizing solution (known as tub sizing). Then use the side you prefer. However, the shift to cotton has also followed painters' preferences: linen creates a harder and less absorbent paper than cotton, which makes smooth washes trickier to execute; and because of the much longer fiber length, 100% linen papers tend to cockle or warp excessively when wet. So a sheet of 1114 lb. Because they have not been compressed, rough sheets often expand and cockle more than other types of finishes when wet. Acids are the most pervasive and destructive hazard to paper permenancy. Holbein makes an elegant if somewhat fussy small (16cm x 23cm) "Clester" sketchbook of CP 300 GSM watercolor paper, perfect bound (that is, with glue) under stiff green covers with a ribbon clasp. In general heavier weight papers have a more assertive finish than lighter papers, and handmade papers have a more assertive, irregular finish than moldmade papers. They are listed in index to the fine papers catalog under "Arches text laid sketchbooks," or ask the staff for the product by name. There are various chemical methods of cellulose extraction, but most involve cooking the wood chips in an acid (sulfite) or alkaline (sulfate) bath, which dissolves the lignin so that it can be washed away. Optical Brightening Agents or OBAs. You pay approximately a 30% premium for this convenient and durable packaging. Handmade papers are dried without pressing; the pebbly rough texture results from the shrinking of the paper around the natural irregularities in the pulp. Cotton rag fibers are flexible and strong, and because they are naturally long, they produce papers that resist tearing. For example, I have before me two sheets of Arches CP 640GSM watercolor paper: in the full sheet (22" x30") the watermark "reads right" from the felt side (opposite the watermark embossing), while in the double elephant sheet (30" x 40") the watermark "reads right" from the wire side! The imperial or full sheet (22" x 30") was taken as the standard size to define the weight of smaller sheets, as smaller sheets were typically torn from it. Enzymes are also used to increase the effectiveness of the bleaching agents (preferably chlorine dioxide or hydrogen peroxide) used to whiten the lignen residues, and to dissolve the ink residues that contaminate recycled paper stocks. Last revised 08.I.2015 2015 Bruce MacEvoy, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 Permanent Paper Standard, Robert C. Williams American Museum of Papermaking. In general the largest blocks are the most economically priced, pound for pound. Blocks transport well and are really ideal for field painting. As the remaining water inside the cellulose fibers evaporates, the fibers shrink along their length and form hydrogen bonds where they contact other fibers. The ancient methods were to let the sheet dry in the mold, or to spread the sheet against a wall or on a board that was left to dry in the sun (the traditional method in Japan). The more common and economical industrial method is restraint drying the sheet: removing water from the cellulose fibers while the sheet is held flat. Want more? The water is drained from the mesh, then the wet sheet is wicked between two felts and finally dried against heated cylinders. These sheets show a high degree of brush detail and tend to show pigment color more brightly: the surface sizing and fiber density resist paint absorption so more of the paint stays on the surface; the drawback is that the lack of absorption tends to produce uneven and blotchy washes (especially in unstretched sheets that can cockle or buckle), and to amplify even minor variations in pigment granularity or flocculation. A Fourdrinier machine can produce upwards of 23,000 sheets of paper in an hour. In the manufacture of artist papers, particularly handmade papers, the traditional Imperial system remains common, especially for the half sheet, full sheet and USA double elephant. In fact, an alkali reserve added to acid free paper is a good thing and is mandated by many archival standards. As with cotton, either the unspun flax fibers or discarded linen threads or fabrics can be used in paper manufacture. From Spain, paper mills were established in Fabriano, Italy around 1270, in Germany by 1320, and in England in 1495. All newsprint and most magazine papers are made from wood that has been mechanically pulverized to the desired consistency, a process called mechanical pulping. The Watermark. The problem is finding a way to describe these differences. They are also almost 100% alpha cellulose, naturally white and already separated, which means little or no bleaching or chemical treatments are necessary. Chemically, cellulose is a polymeric carbohydrate (C6H10O5), differing from starch or glucose only in the way the atoms of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are linked together. The sheet drains in place, and when it is firm enough the deckle is removed and the couchman inverts the frame on a thin sheet of moist felt, dislodging or couching (pronounced "cooching") the paper onto the felt. The Arabs innovated the wire mold and standard paper sizes before papermaking entered Moorish Spain around 1036. hemp?) The wove texture, invented in England around 1755, results from wires woven evenly in both directions (like a window screen, image below). Hot pressed papers are often the most congenial to lifting dried paint by moistening and blotting, though the smooth surface reveals any abrasions more clearly. The most reliable method is to examine the watermark from both sides of the sheet, then evaluate the finish on both sides for surface texture and visible impurities. A second felt is placed on top of the sheet and this sandwich is passed through a series of rollers that extrude the water and dry the sheet with forced air. These (and the mealy or pulpy variations in the sheet thickness and texture) create a unique material artifact, a presence that is very attractive in paintings that emphasize the object's surface rather than a representational illusion. And so on. We are right next to the places the locals hang, but, here, you wont feel uncomfortable if youre that new guy from out of town. This is done by adding a sufficient amount of a base (such as calcium carbonate) to the paper furnish, creating papers that are usually designated pH neutral. The felt side of the sheet faced away from the mold and only received texture from the felts used in rollers or drying. Internal sizing is added to the paper pulp before the sheet is formed and chemically bonds to the paper fibers. Since then artists have referred to paper sheets by the Imperial standard names: To assist your visualization of the various sizes and proportions, the dimensions of these sheets are shown below. Unfortunately, even reliable authors give different dimensions for the different Imperial sizes (the "elephant" series is especially muddled), perhaps because variations in manufacturing methods or an increasing variety of paper sizes have outstripped the standards. Traditionally this was done by pounding the pulp in a stone trough with a large wooden pile or hammer; modern shops use a Hollander beater. These papers are especially suited to painting styles that want to accent the watery irregularities of the paint, or styles (such as botanical illustration) where precise pen and ink outlines or drawings, or fine brush textures, are essential to the desired effect. Confusingly, this is often abbreviated to alpha cellulose in trade publications, where it still denotes cellulose derived from wood even though (as described above) alpha cellulose actually refers to "pure" cellulose of any origin. Some manufacturing methods will align the paper fibers in the same direction, and these biases form the grain of the paper. More confusion arises in measures of the basis weight or thickness of the paper. These are usually wrapped for shipping in brown paper inside a carton. However, on one side of the sheet the watermark will appear as a shallow embossing or indentation in the paper surface: that is usually the wire side. Watercolor papers are supplied in three types of finish or surface texture: rough, cold pressed, and hot pressed. The first true sheets of paper are said to have been the experimental papers made with a variety of materials bark, hemp, rag and fishnet pulp by the Chinese court eunuch Ts'ai Lun in 105CE. To make matters worse, the rubber roller used to emboss the watermark on moldmade sheets may be placed on the felt side (above the web), not on the wire side, so you cannot use the watermark indentation as a reliable guide. You dont know #Jack yet. A sheet of paper is basically a thin mat of tangled cellulose fibers. Handmade watercolor papers are sold by the individual sheet. The wire side usually faces toward the spool, which means the edges should curl downwards if you want to paint on the felt side. The color of a sheet is influenced by the quality and amount of internal sizing, the purity of water used in manufacture, and the temperature and amount of time that the pulp was cooked. All the art suppliers I know of list watercolor sheets by actual dimensions rather than by the Imperial standard names. The pulp is poured over wire mesh cylinders operating at very low speed. The mold is an open rectangular frame slightly larger than the dimensions of the finished sheet, with a woven or laid wire screen stretched across the top. But some manufacturers especially in England place the watermark or chop to read correctly from the wire side, which makes the manufacturer lettering less obtrusive to the eye. Lignin repels water, causes clumping in the paper pulp during manufacture, and becomes acidic and turns a yellow or brown color with age, so it is necessary to remove it completely in quality paper production. This means the traditional "by the ream" measures will become even more confusing to use they will be useful to distinguish between sheets from a single manufacturer, not to compare sheets between different manufactuerers. These sheets tend to regain their original cockles when rewetted. The super royal and USA "double elephant" sheets are close to 1 to 1.41; when a sheet in this ratio is torn in half across its width, the proportion of the half sheets is again 1 to 1.41. Manufacturing Methods. The mechanical processes involve successive cutting, grinding, soaking and screening of wood chips or sawdust, which is then bleached in a sulfite or peroxide solution. Sketchbooks come in a variety of sizes and formats. This pounding bruises, cuts, folds and tangles the fibers in ways that alter the finished paper's character. The watermark is a visible mark in the sheet, usually the name or an identifying symbol of the paper manufacturer, most easily seen by holding the sheet up to the light. Mechanical methods can leave a considerable residue of lignin, a kind of glue that binds together the cellulose fibers of a living plant and represents up to 30% of the bulk of wood pulp. Weve got the Jackd Fitness Center (we love puns), open 24 hours for whenever you need it. The pulp adheres to the rotating cylinders in a continuous thin sheet. Why are the "alternative" fibers considered eco-friendly? Animal gelatin sizing was (and still is) the preferred external sizing: it is naturally transparent, slightly water soluble, gives a hard surface that can be scraped or sponged away without damaging the paper itself, and imparts a warm tint to the sheet. They can assume the importance and personal value of a diary or an experimental journal. At the very top of the quality scale, the term 100% cotton affirms that the paper is made entirely of cotton (usually from both linters and rag) and includes no linen or wood cellulose. In contrast, the designation acid free usually means the paper furnish was made using only cotton linter, cotton rag or linen rag; the pulp was not chemically bleached during manufacture; and the paper contains no rosin or aluminum sulfate (alum) as sizing. Painters are usually taught that the watermark (and chopmark, if present) in handmade sheets is historically oriented to "read right" (is legible rather than mirror reversed) from the felt side of the sheet, considered the better side to paint on because the finish is often more consistent and inclusions (pulp impurities) show less readily (they usually sink to the wire side). The presence of OBAs can usually be confirmed by examining the sheet under an ultraviolet ("black") light: it will appear much brighter than an ordinary sheet of typing paper. Some artists prefer to paint on these smaller torn formats, as the tear makes an interesting contrast to the deckle. Acidic papers such as newsprint can embrittle and discolor in a very short time, can degrade acid sensitive pigments such as ultramarine blue, and can release acidic vapors that will degrade papers or mats placed next to them. (Cotton is probably the most familiar of the tree-free fibers, so much so that we gave cotton its own section.). Methods of drying vary, and the different methods affect both the paper finish or surface texture, and its dimensional stability (resistance to cockling) when wet. The pulp is thoroughly pounded to macerate and separate the individual cellulose fibers. Most commercial art papers are manufactured by machine, though the term machinemade applies specifically to papers made with a Fourdrinier machine, which injects the pulp onto a running wire mesh, or between two meshes (depending on the machine type). Ash that is stiff, black or brittle indicates the presence of residual lignin, noncellulose (synthetic) fibers picked up from recycled consumer clothing, and/or large amounts of chemicals added as sizing or buffering. The beautifully proportioned imperial sheet or full sheet (22" x 30", a ratio of 1.36) strikes a balance between those two extremes, and it has been the standard large format watercolor for almost two centuries. The artist can get about twelve 29" x 40" sheets, or six 40" x 60" sheets from one 43" wide roll. The best mills are always located near copious fresh water supplies, and frequently refresh the water in use. Cotton cellulose is up to 10 times stronger than wood cellulose and naturally lignin free and acid free. ), or the B0 sheet (100 x 141cm, or 40" x 56", also a ratio of 1 to 1.41) and successive half sheets (designated B1, B2, etc.). The most prudent course for watercolor painters is to prefer the explicit designation of acid free, buffered, 100% cotton papers to any other kind, and to prefer pH neutral cotton or linen papers to any "pH neutral, high alpha cellulose" or wood pulp papers. Slit one side of the wrapping to pull out individual sheets, but leave the rest in the wrapping to protect the papers against moisture and dirt. Some residual lignin and chemicals remain in chemically extracted wood cellulose, which cause embrittlement and acidification over time. Because variations in paper manufacture can produce variations in the dimensions of finished sheets, the British Imperial system of paper dimensions and weights standardized existing paper formats in 1836. Moldmade papers are pressed between rough felts on the paper machine as the first step in drying, which embosses the roughness of the felt fabric into the wet sheet. And texturing can also be produced with a brush charged with dry or thick paint lightly or quickly stroked over the surface: paint will only color the "peaks" of the paper, leaving sparkling white pinholes in the "valleys.". For that purpose, learn to think in terms of the metric weights, and insist on conversion to that standard when the antiquated Imperial system is offered in its place. 22" x 30" paper! Deckle edges are sometimes simulated in moldmade papers by cutting or trimming a larger sheet with a dull blade or jet of pressurized water, which produces a frayed, irregular edge. This is usually less economical than ordering a larger number of individual sheets. Weve got kegerator space; weve got a retractable awning because (its the best kept secret) Seattle actually gets a lot of sun; weve got a mini-fridge to chill that ros; weve got BBQ grills, fire pits, and even Belgian heaters.
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