Crane’s Lettra or Somerset?

Crane’s Lettra 110 & 220# are my favorites. I use them almost exclusively.

Both Crane’s Lettra and Sommerset are both nice papers to be sure, but they are not the only fine papers suitable for letterpress. There is a plethora of nice stocks that are good for “getting the show on the road”.

I use a lot of Canson’s Edition which has a similar feel to Lettra at a lower price…. at least from my local vendor. (I don’t know what it sells for on the Internet) Another good paper is generic “smooth student’s watercolor paper” available at most art supply houses at very reasonable prices. It has a similar body to Lettra, so it takes a deep impression rather nicely. I use it for much of my casual work.

My point is that there is a lot to choose from….. often at much lower prices. Go look at your local art supply house to see what they have. Even if you don’t buy the paper from them (they are often rather pricey) you can see what has a good feel to it, and what doesn’t. Then you can search it out from paper merchants online or in your town.