Arches Watercolor Paper Cold Press Vs Hot Press

Here are some readily available hot and cold press papers.

Arches watercolor paper cold press vs hot press.

However that being said there is some cold press paper where the tooth of the paper is very fine compared to others. 300 lb arches cold press. This is why the watercolor paper is such a personal preference. To keep this straight i like to think of the paper being hot ironed flat.

Paint tends to sit a little more on its surface and may take a little longer to dry. Hot pressed papers are plate smooth and are ideal for traditional watercolor techniques as well as printmaking pen and ink drawing and airbrushing. The really great thing about arches cold press versus a student grade paper is the sizing is heavy enough to let you really work with the paper. Bumpy texture watercolor paper however that has a bumpy feel to the touch is known as cold press watercolor paper.

The choice of texture will depend on the medium used by the artist. Maybe you ll find a favorite. Hot press paper has a soft surface. Arches aquarelle has an even natural grain.

Arches 100 rag watercolor paper natural white gelatin sized acid free arches aquarelle watercolor paper is one of the finest art papers in the world. Wet on wet wet on dry dry brush and splatter techniques. A less sized watercolor paper only allows for one or two washes before it starts looking worn. Watercolor paper that feels smooth to the touch similar to mixed media or drawing paper just way way way thicker is called hot press paper.

The rich cold pressed surface is a particular. The term cold press originates from the process used to manufacture the paper. Hot and cold press pagers and my recommended materials. Because personally i like the smoother.

The overwhelming favorite amongst artists is arches but i ll include a variety for you to choose from. These are the two main watercolor paper types. For reference i used winsor newton professional artist watercolors on both cards. For comparison i used arches hot pressed watercolor paper and arches cold pressed watercolor paper.

A sheet of paper is basically a thin mat of tangled cellulose fibers to make cold pressed paper sheets of cellulose pulp are pressed through felt covered metal rollers at cold temperature hence the designation cold. It tends to absorb paint faster. It tends to be a little thirstier in my experience. Cold press watercolor paper is labelled cp or in england not meaning not hot pressed.

Cold pressed hot pressed and rough. When it comes how much water each kind of paper can hold without breaking down i found them very similar. I ve actually been on the search for a months now for a cold press paper that has the texture similar to hot press. If you re reasonably careful you can paint 50 washes on arches paper.

Cold press paper has tooth aka texture.