Source for pulp paper?

Hi all.

I’m new here. I have an 8x12 C&P and I’m playing with making some wood engravings. Does anybody know where I could get some paper similar to the old brown pulp paper that you’d see in a novel from 50 years ago?

It doesn’t actually have to be old, I just like the look and don’t know how to go about finding some.

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Do you mean Kraft paper?

Michael

Perhaps? I think my problem is I’m looking for a product that I’m sure has a name but I just don’t know it, and it’s hard to search for something when you don’t know what it’s called.

Take an old book off your shelf. The pages are a bit brown tinted, a bit brittle over the years, inexpensively made but has lasted for a century or more. Is that Kraft paper?

Newsprint would probably be the closest thing you can buy new. You can also look for deadstock on ebay - you’re just looking for cheap wood pulp text weight paper.

Newsprint would probably be the closest thing you can buy new. You can also look for deadstock on ebay - you’re just looking for cheap wood pulp text weight paper.

I suggest go to a paper store and look at swatch books. There are a number of papermakers offering “cafe aux lait” sorts of colors that might suit you. Finding a batch of unprinted 50-year-old newsprint will be hard, and if it looks like what you’re seeking it might crumble handling it. Or stain your own. The discoloration was typically not uniform, as it involved oxidation which is faster around the edges of a book or newspaper than in the middle.

Bob

The yellowing you’re thinking of is acidic damage. Old wood-derived papers were manufactured from pulps that were both chemically treated to help them break down, and which still had a large amount of the wood’s natural lignin. These two properties made the paper very acidic and it would become yellowed and brittle with time. They also meant that the papermaking process was quite nasty. Modern printing papers are almost all manufactured from pulp that has had most or all of it’s lignin removed. The process used is also much less corrosive and polluting than it once was. This means the paper is low- to no-acid.

That said, there are some options for papers that give that kind of effect. You might look at French Papers’ Kraft-Tone, Dur-O-Tone, or ParchTone lines of papers. ( www.frenchpaper.com ). Another place to look would be Neenah’s Environment, Astroparche, or Classic Crest lines ( www.neenahpaper.com ). Finally, you can check Mohawk’s Carnival+Via, Loop, Skytone, or their new Renewal lines ( www.mohawkconnects.com ). All three will happily sell you samples and swatchbooks as well as the paper.

All of the above are available direct from the mill, or you can go through sites like www.thepapermillstore.com or www.glodan.com. The swatchbooks are often only available from the mills, though.

Michael Hurley
Titivilus Press
Memphis, TN

Thanks so much for your help! I think that put me on the right track.

Markus