- A good quality paper used by artists and conservators. It has a highly finished, smooth surface produced by supercalendering or by coating. Its principal characteristic is its close formation.
In Great Britain, “art paper” is considered to be a body paper or board coated with a mineral substance, such as barium sulfate or china clay, which gives it a smoothness that is suitable for the printing of fine halftones, and the like.
In the United States, art paper is generally made from chemical wood pulp, while in Great Britain the best art paper is made from 90 to 95% esparto and 5 to 10% chemical wood pulp. Esparto is good because it is less likely to stretch and has a natural affinity for coating materials, which gives it a superior surface for halftone reproductions. Heavily coated art papers are prone to cracking, flaking, and pulling away of the coating
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A fancy figured paper used for endpapers in edition binding
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A smooth coated paper obtained by adding a coating of china clay compound on one or both sides of the paper.