Can You Use Printer Paper For Calligraphy
This is part of one of my series, which is all about the perfect paper that you should be using for your lettering.
Soon I will be leaving the rest of the articles links to the series, so let us get started.
When starting out calligraphy, specifically brush lettering, paper is everything. So I am here to help you out.
The question I shall be answering today is can you use printer paper for calligraphy?
If you are in a hurry here is the quick and short answer to your question:
Printer Paper is not good for any type of calligraphy. The two main reasons why is that printer paper is too thin and not bleed proof. Another reason is that the paper is not smooth enough.
So there is your answer.
Don’t you, use Printer Paper.
Now let us talk about what else you are going to be learning in today’s article:
- Why Printer Paper Is Not Good
- Things You Should Look For In Paper
- Some Paper Recommendations
- Final Thoughts
Why
So I am just going to go more in-depth into why printer paper is not good enough for your calligraphy.
Here I am specifically going to be talking about brush pens but some parts do relate to dip pen calligraphy.
So let me first talk about the first reason.
First, the paper is not smooth enough.
You might be like feel it is the smoothest thing.
NO, no, no.
It may feel smooth but once you put your brush pens on it, not so much.
There is actually smoother paper than your regular printer paper.
If your paper is not smooth enough this could for your brush pens to fray.
I have done a whole entire article on just why and how you can prevent your brush pen from fraying witch you can check out here.
Fraying can really lead to many problems in your lettering and your brush pens, that you may not know about.
Second Reason…
Paper is of course not bleed proof or thick enough. This is especially important when we are talking about brush pens and dip pens.
First dip pens you need to use ink and that is not so great when using printer paper.
While with brush pens they are water-based and almost all water-based markers easily start ripping up the paper or bleeding through.
So that is why printer paper ain’t good enough for your calligraphy.
Now let us move on too…
What You Should Look For In Paper
I am going to go over the two main things that you need to look into for your paper.
SMOOTHNESS
Ok so I have talked about your paper being smooth before, but like I said your paper may feel smooth but it might not really.
Instead of feeling the paper to see if it is smooth let us look at the actual type of paper.
First things first watercolor paper is a big no-no.
As you can tell watercolor paper you can see roughness on the actual paper. If you can see bumps on the paper completely avoid it if you are using brush pens for your calligraphy.
Another thing you should avoid is bristol board, specifically for brush pens. If you are using a dip pen go ahead and use bristol board for your final projects.
If you are using brush pens please don’t.
Anyway, types of paper that are probably the smoothest for your pens are marker paper (paper specifically for markers) and tracing paper.
So I recommend just using tracing paper for practice and marker paper for all your final projects.
You can use these papers in any way you want.
THICKNESS AND BLEED PROOF
Another big thing is the thickness and if it is bleed proof.
This is something that you can sort of tell when using your paper.
So you might be thinking bristol board and watercolor paper are thick and bleed proof.
Yes, but they are not smooth.
If you are doing watercolor brush lettering regular watercolor paper is totally fine.
So it is actually quite hard to find a thick, smooth paper.
But this is why I am here.
In the next section of this article, I am going to be giving you some recommendations on paper…
Recommendations
Like I said before starting this article I said that this is part of a series.
So if you want some more recommendations for your brush lettering check out these two other articles, that I worked really hard on.
So let me give you three other types of paper that you can use, that I did not include in those other two articles.
Again all of these papers are going to be smooth and thick.
First I want to give out my two that I am not going to dive into but I have talked about in the articles above that I think that you must all know about.
First I have Rhodia paper, my favorite.
Second, we have hp premium 32lb paper. So yes it is printer paper but this is one of the smoothest printer papers out there. I included this since I know a lot of people like printing out practice sheets.
If you want more of an explanation about these things check out the articles above.
I feel that almost any tracing pad is very smooth but the common brand Strathmore, caught my eye.
Tracing paper is extremely smooth but of course, not that thick or bleed proof, which means to be very careful to not layer brush pens to much.
But the good thing about this paper is that is great for just using it for practice.
I would of course not recommend it for big final projects, or commissions.
Another great thing about this is that it is very affordable.
I remember when I was starting out I couldn’t find anything cheap and good that I can use for my lettering, but here it is.
Next…
CANSON XL SERIES MARKER PAPER PAD
First things first this is specifically for markers so it is meant to be, you could say, smooth.
So yeah smoothness is awesome.
Second, this is extremely, extremely bleed proof.
So if you are going to be blending your brush pens to get your ombre lettering this is awesome just for that.
This is a bit expensive comparing it to the tracing paper but is totally worth it since it is very much bleed proof.
Again there is a lot of factors that you have to consider.
For example, it is a “fold-over” pad, which I find that some people don’t like.
But of course, this all comes down with personal preference.
It is not as thick but it is bleed proof witch is way more important.
STRATHMORE 400 SERIES MARKER PAD
This is the most expensive of the bunch, 24 sheets for 12 dollars.
So yeah quite expensive.
But…
Very, very high-quality paper.
Again this is another marker pad because like I said it is great for your brush pens.
First again very smooth and very thick paper, and not bleed proof.
Again very high-end paper, because it is Strathmore.
If you are able to afford it this, it is great
Final Thoughts
Yes, this is the third article of this series making sure that you don’t buy the wrong paper for your calligraphy.
Anyway, you found out exactly why printer paper is not good for your calligraphy and some of the best recommendations of paper that I have found.
If you want some more recommendations check out the links to the articles above.