Paper for Gel Printing

 Which Paper for Gel Printing? How to chose the Right Paper for Printing?

A4 copy paper is fine for starting off with or as cheap paper for tryouts and taking ghost prints. But if you want to pull several layers of paint in one go then, you’ll need a tough paper which won’t tear. You can sometimes get mixed pads of paper but go for 160 grams to 190 grams or more if you want to make cards. I have bought synthetic paper also called Yupo paper. It’s  made for alcohol inks watercolour, acrylic, oil, felt tips, etc. it’s  also UV lightfast and can be recycled. It’s tough and very resistant to tearing. 

Paper is all around you. You can print on old books, old maps, sheet music. Newspaper too, but it has limited keeping qualities. And is prone to tearing when you pull the print. Magazine paper is stronger. If you want to invest in high quality paper, you can get beautiful hand made paper made with 100% rags or cotton or linen. Silk can also be used to make paper, although I’ve never seen it. There are papers with petals flowers and leaves incorporated. Paper made with bamboo, flax, sugar cane. Paper with beautiful decal edges. Japanese paper. Egyptian paper. The list is endless. You could make your own. But that’s another subject and the subject of another Blog. 


Try tea paper or Wet Strength Tissue paper. It’s  thin but strong, just be a bit careful pulling the prints. It’s big advantage is using it for collage afterwards as it is quite fine so you can often see whatever is underneath. 


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