Paper

[Former_Member]

How much do the materials in your journals matter? Do you just want something to write/draw in, or does the weight, texture, and color of the paper change how you feel about the book?
I've always made art, and as a bibliophile as well, I love good paper in my journals, as well as in my "reading books". I collect different paper to make into my sketchbooks and draw on, although I'm getting low.

[Former_Member]

Hi Aisling! You sure have some beautiful journals.

I would say yes, the qualities of the paper definitely does make a difference in how feel about a book. I love subtle details, so texture and color nuances are important to me when choosing a journal.

I'm interested to know where people source their paper from. I am fairly new to bookbinding and am looking for more paper options for my journals. Can anyone recommend some papers that have a nice feel and are priced fairly low?

[Former_Member]

I get my paper form dickblick.com, usually after having seen and felt the paper in real life. Their pages are pretty good, including shipping. There's not much in the way of art supply stores in my city, so I'm forced to go out of town.

P.S. I LOVE your re-purposed journals! They're so pretty, and I SO want to mark up those pages!

[Former_Member]

Hi !

I get my paper from a wonderful place called The exotic paper company. they actually make paper from things like Denim, discontinued bank notes, banana skins, as well as rhino/elephant/giraffe dung. I originally come from south Africa and using animal dung for recycled paper was quite common, especially as most of the money went back into animal conversation,

But one thing I noticed when I made my journals was that there was a lot of waste paper, so I actually starting recycling the paper my self, though it can be a lengthy process. I usually make big sheets and then cut to size.

I am currently negotiating with a potential custom order, she likes my journals but because she is an artist she wants quality smooth paper. So I looking for sketch paper in bulk as this book could well be over 400 pages. My mom has shown me a few good craft places that do normal recycled paper too.

[Former_Member]

I'll check them out-- what a great idea! I'm an artist as well, and I try to use products that I like to use for my own artistic pursuits-- drawing, painting, etc. I'd have to test them out, but if I can find an environmentally friendly product that I like, I would be so excited! Even better if it were local, but I have yet to look into it seriously.

I also try to use as much as my waste product as possible. I use scraps to make my business cards, and I started making smaller and smaller books to account for the paper that's cluttering my table.