I have been crazy busy lately searching for the best rag
paper to use for my art prints, and I am beyond excited to announce that I have
finally found it! Moving forward, my
archival art prints will now be printed on AMAZING Hahnemuele William Turner 310
gsm rag paper!
For those of you who don’t quite know what that means, let me
try to explain what it is that I love about this paper. I want only the best for my work (and you as
customers deserve only the best, too), so here is the breakdown of what, in my
opinion, is so special about this paper.
First off, a little background might by helpful. Hahnemule is a paper manufacturing company
based in Germany. Their company dates
back to 1584 (yes, 1584!), and they are industry leaders when it comes to
producing high quality fine art papers.
Although I tested papers from other great companies, I just kept coming
back to Hahnemule rag paper (by the way, rag paper is made from cotton remnants
and is an acid free paper that is pretty top-notch in the art world). Hahnemule also has a long record of using
responsible sources when it comes to their environmental impact. As a very eco-conscious person, knowing this
is a great-added bonus to using their papers.
Hahnemule has many types of fine art paper to choose from, so
within the brand itself I also tested some of their different papers. The William Turner rag paper, though, was by
far my favorite! It is a very unique
paper, and you can tell that just by feeling it. The texture to this paper is just incredible!
It has this crisp and almost chalky feel
to it, and yet it is incredibly durable. You can actually see the texture on this
paper. And as a watercolor artist who
likes working on textured paper, I think that offering that same kind of
texture on my prints is pretty cool. So
if you buy one of my prints, it will look almost exactly like the original
painting itself- color, texture and all!
I should also mention that the weight and thickness to this
paper is similar to what I use when painting original work. The William Turner rag paper can be printed
at two weights, and I am choosing to print on the heaviest weight at 310 gsm (grams
per square meter). Gsm refers to the weight of the paper, and 310 gsm is a pretty
hefty weight (to give a quick comparison, paper found in an office printer is
typically between 70-100 gsm). So when
you buy a print from me, you are now getting some pretty serious fine art
paper!
In addition to its awesome texture and durability, the paper
creates top-notch prints in terms of color and overall quality. My jaw actually dropped the first time I
printed on it because I was so blown away by how my print looked on the paper! The
paper that you choose to print on actually makes a huge difference in the
overall look and feel of the print.
Depending on one’s style, medium, etc., different papers work for
different artists. For my work, though,
this paper compliments my watercolors amazingly. The results with this paper take my prints to
a whole new level!
I am so thrilled to now be offering this paper, especially
because my prints now look and feel just like my original work! And if you buy a print for yourself, you,
too, will see what it all is that I am raving about!
Feel free to share your questions or comments with me. And to my artist friends out there, do you
have a paper preference when it comes to printing?
Happy Saturday!
Jennifer
