We’ve all had *that* moment in the office supply or art store: you’ve gone in to purchase some paper, and suddenly you’re confronted with twenty different choices and no idea what to take home. This blog post is designed to help you sift through your confusion and make informed decisions about which paper to use…
Yesterday, I was scouring my imagination {and my Pinterest} for blog post ideas, when suddenly a topic fell into my lap. A gracious reader, Martha, sent an email requesting a blog post comparing different types of paper. I found this to be a brilliant suggestion because the world of paper can be scary to navigate, especially if you’re a beginning artist, designer, or calligrapher! It can be difficult to know which type of paper to use for what, and even to understand the difference between certain papers.
This post is based on the knowledge I have gleaned from experimenting with different papers {lots of trial and error} and doing online research. If you have anything to add, please contribute in the comments! There’s not a lot of quality information on the web about papers, and I’m hoping to change that — with your help — in this blog post.
If you’re purchasing paper for art/calligraphy purposes, it’s important to get a high-quality paper weight. Sadly, paper weight can be confusing, especially if you live in the US. Nearly everywhere else in the world, paper weight is expressed in grams per square meter {GSM}. In the US, paper weight is expressed in pounds. The illustration below shows how pounds are determined, and an explanation follows.
There are different categories of paper, and each of those categories have a different standard ream size that determines weight. For example, card stock {classified as “cover” paper} is weighed as a ream that is 20″x26″; but the paper you use in your printer {classified as “bond” or “writing” paper} is weighed as a ream that is 17″x22″. Effectively, comparing different types of paper based on their weight is like comparing apples to oranges! For example, 90 lb. watercolor paper will feel completely different than 90 lb. card stock.
{In the photo above, you can see that the watercolor paper comes from a ream weighing 140 lbs., while the inkjet paper underneath it comes from a ream weighing 32 lbs.}
If you’re wondering why I’m explaining this to you, it’s because I want you to be an informed consumer. If you visit an art store and you’re presented with a few different choices of paper, you’ll know to look at each paper’s weight. This is especially important if the paper is wrapped in plastic and you’re unable to examine a single sheet.
If you’re practicing calligraphy, I recommend working on a paper with dense fibers. If you’re using a Learn Calligraphy for a Latté worksheet, it’s a good idea to either print it off on a high-quality printer paper, or print the dip pen practice parts off on 70 lb. sketchbook paper that has been cut to fit your printer. The Janet style premium worksheet page below was printed on sketchbook paper, which is why the ink is behaving so well.
Using nice paper to print on in combination with a good, basic ink like sumi will ensure that your calligraphy practice letters don’t bleed. Bleeding isn’t such a big deal when you’re practicing, but it is annoying, and it stops you from gauging whether you’re creating something you really like or not {since the letters are so fuzzy}. You can see that my Kaitlin style script below isn’t crystal-clear.
Usually, you won’t find out which papers inks bleed on until you actually try the paper. For whatever reason, I have found that simple Georgia Pacific 20 lb. printer paper {which I purchase at the supermarket, in the office section} doesn’t bleed. Figuring out what works for your practice is kind of a trial-and-error thing, and I believe bleed mostly depends on the fiber structure of the paper. If you find something that is cheap and doesn’t facilitate ink bleeding, I’d just keep buying it! Again, notice that even though the image below is 20 lb. bond {printer} paper, it is better for creating calligraphy on than 60 lb. drawing paper. Paper categories matter!
The three main papers I recommend for calligraphy practice are as follows:
If you’re writing out wedding vows, a quote, or another calligraphy-centric piece for someone to frame, you’ll want to write on a nice, sturdy paper. Not only will the paper have a high-quality feel to it, but the ink will dry very crisp because of the high fiber density. You should have zero problems with ink bleeding, regardless of which ink you choose to use.
The main papers I recommend for professional calligraphy work are:
The 80 lb. drawing paper is the thinnest of the bunch, but it tolerates all inks well. I prefer to create professional work on watercolor paper. If you’ve ever tried writing on watercolor paper, particularly the Strathmore 140 lb., you may have experienced issues with your nib catching on the paper. That’s because the paper has some texture to it, and doesn’t offer a friendly terrain to write on … which can be problematic for learners. To that end, I would recommend using the Canson watercolor paper mentioned in the list above; it’s the same quality as the Strathmore, but smoother. If you need a large piece of watercolor paper, ask someone at your local art store if they have large, loose sheets. I used a 16″x20″ 140 lb. piece of watercolor paper to create the Quaker marriage certificate below.
Your drawing paper choice will depend completely on which mediums you plan on using, and whether they are wet mediums {like watercolors or inks} or dry mediums {like crayons or pencils}. If you’re not sure, it’s best to err on the side of good-quality paper: I’d recommend a sketchbook that contains at least 70 lb. paper, like this one from Pentalic. The better the paper, the less chance you’ll have ink spiderweb out or bleed through the paper.
{I use 70 lb. spiral-bound paper for my sketchbook.}
When I create commissioned drawings, they are nearly always illustrations that will be scanned and manipulated digitally. Because the physical drawing itself isn’t what I’m selling, I don’t worry too much about the paper. I generally use either 70 lb. drawing paper or 80 lb. drawing paper. For example, this sunflower illustration was created on 80 lb. drawing paper. Since the background of the piece has been removed in Photoshop, the paper it was created on doesn’t make one whit of difference. As long as a medium will go on the paper smoothly, you’re golden.
If, however, you are looking to gift or sell your professional, original drawing, I would recommend buying a paper that is specifically suited to your medium. For example, the Strathmore 500 Series Bristol Pad would be a good pick for pencils, colored pencils, and pastels. The 500 Series Charcoal Pad would be a good pick for … well, charcoal. If you have a medium you love and wish to pursue creating professionally, do some Googling. See what paper or papers other artists specializing in your medium like and use, then try it out for yourself!
You technically can watercolor on any paper you choose, but different papers react in different ways to the moisture. I’m sure you’ve noticed that when you watercolor on printer paper, the paper tends to bubble up and gets saturated very quickly. If you think about it, you’re basically applying water to paper, so it’s no surprise that some paper can’t stand up to the challenge.
When I am using only watercolors {vs. watercolors + ink}, I use watercolor paper. There are two types of watercolor papers: hot press and cold press. My preferred watercolor paper is cold press because of its good absorbency and slight texture; hot press paper is a bit smoother. For more information on cold press vs. hot press, I recommend reading this short blog post.
As far as specific brands of watercolor papers, I personally don’t have a preference. No watercolor paper has given me any grief, really. I like Strathmore, Canson, Arches … every brand I have tried has been good to me. That said, I don’t create many watercolor paintings that are intended for sale.
{These herbal watercolor pieces were painted on 140 lb. Strathmore watercolor paper.}
If I’m doing a watercolor and ink drawing, I’ll generally use 70 or 80 lb. drawing paper because it scans better. The paper holds up well to the watercolor, and the watercolor stays vibrant. There is usually a little tiny bit of paper “bubbling” up, but since nearly all of my illustrations are scanned into the computer, then professionally printed, that’s not an issue. To create the piece below, I drew the illustrations and the Kaitlin style calligraphy with India ink; then I wanted 24 hours for it to dry. Once the ink was totally dry, I painted over it with watercolor.
If you intend to watercolor on a recreational basis, you could purchase a neat little watercolor sketchbook like this one. I’d also recommend reading this blog post on watercolors, which explains the process behind making them and provides more insight on which paper to paint on.
Whether you are printing a piece you have designed at home or outsourcing the work to a professional printer, you’ll need to make a decision about paper. It is good to keep in mind that the average home printer will only tolerate a certain level of paper thickness. For me, that’s 70 lb. If I try to print on 80 lb. paper, the printer decides not to cooperate.
When printing professional pieces at home, you’ll also want to remember that most inkjet printers aren’t capable of achieving the quality that professional printers can. For that reason, I always outsource to a professional printing company. Professional digital printing is not as expensive as you may think, and it renders good results.
The printing company that I’m really loving right now is printingforless.com. They’re a company that’s based out of Montana, and they’re super quick and super high-quality. If you’re thinking of printing through them, you can save yourself a lot of headache and confusion by having them send you a complimentary paper sample pack. That way, you can examine all the paper stocks they have to offer and make a decision based on the physical samples you have there. My personal favorite paper they offer is the 120# dull/matte cover {“#” is interchangeable with “lb.”}. One thing I really like about printingforless.com is that they are happy to overnight you a complimentary proof … I’m not sure if it’s just because I live in Colorado/close-ish to Montana, but generally I order from them in the afternoon, and the next morning around 10:00 AM, there’s a proof at my door.
Professional printing opens up a whole new realmn of information as far as paper is concerned, but the golden rule is to always ask for samples. Whether you are working with a local company or an online company, your contact person should be glad to provide an example or two of different types of paper you can print on. If possible, too, ask to see a proof of your printed design before they print the entire order. When I created my cousin’s graduation invitations a couple months ago, my aunt and I didn’t catch that the date was wrong until we saw an actual printed version of the invitation.
I have a soft spot for mail art, so I’m willing to try out all different sorts of envelopes. I like nice, high-quality envelopes that are able to stand up to calligraphy and/or watercolor. What I’ve found is this: generally, envelopes available in craft stores like Michael’s/Hobby Lobby are made from thin, low-quality papers {and paper weight is not specified on the package}. Not only does ink often bleed when you try to write on them, but you can see through the envelope.
For this reason, I always order envelopes online. My very favorite “tolerant to everything” white envelopes are made by Royal Sundance; they are created from a hardy 80 lb. text stock. You can get them at Neenah Paper; follow this link, click on the “Envelopes” tab, and they are item #0372500. They’re great for watercoloring, calligraphy, whatever. I used Neenah envelopes to make the art deco design below.
A “special treat” envelope is the Crane’s Lettra, which is 100% cotton. It’s a little pricey, but has a delicious feel to it! I used the How to Draw Roses tutorial as well as Janet style calligraphy and Sans Serif hand-lettering to make this piece of mail art on a Crane’s Lettra envelope:
For colored envelopes, you can’t go wrong with anything at Paper Source. They do not offer poundage information, but the envelopes are high-quality {I’m guessing they’re 70-80 lb.}. I also order often from envelopes.com. Envelopes.com does list paper poundage, so be sure you order 80 lb. envelopes. Not only will ordering this weight of envelope ensure that you can calligraph on the envelopes, but it will also make it such that your contents will not show through the envelope. Remember, if you’re using a dark envelope, you’ll want to write on it with white ink or an opaque, light metallic ink. All the pieces of the hand-written invitation below were purchased from Paper Source.
If you have created an illustration or calligraphy art piece that you want to stay vibrant forever, make sure that you use acid-free paper. {Most drawing/watercolor pads will specify whether the paper is acid-free or not. If in doubt, get in touch with a customer service rep from the paper company.} Then, spray an archival fixative on it. Basically, you’ll just mist the fixative on the piece, wait for it to dry, and your artwork will be safe from color degradation {and, depending on the medium, smudging} for years to come. You can also rub on Microglaze; see the Hand-Painted Tiles Illustration Tutorial post for instructions.
Also, there are many papers that fall outside the scope of this blog post. For example, in addition to Crane’s Lettra envelopes, I am a fan of their papers in general — I love Lettra for letterpress pieces and for sewn fabric invitations. You can order samples for free on Neenah Paper {you are responsible for shipping cost and that’s it!}, which you can then cut to a manageable size and use for projects.
The last thing I’d like to mention is my default paper to use for most projects like cards, tags, and bookmarks is 140 lb. watercolor paper. It just has a sturdy feel to it and is thicker than most card stocks.
I know you’ve read a lot of information today, so here’s a quick recap:
If you have any questions about paper or would like me to clarify something in this blog post, please feel free to ask! This blog post exists to help you, so I want to make sure you get the most knowledge that you can out of it. Don’t be shy; I can guarantee that someone else has the same question!
Thanks again, so much, for reading TPK!
Warmly,
*This post contains affiliate links to Amazon
inspiration in your inbox
TPK’s innovative newsletters and tutorials are a regular artistic treat. Join the 125K+ subscribers who have already discovered The Postman’s Knock, and receive 10% off your first Digital Catalog order.
