Paper making

Hey all--

I've been having a ball with alt process this year, and so far I'm really happy with Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag, which I'm using for Kallitypes and New Cyanotypes.

That said, I'm a tinkerer by nature, and love making as much of my process DIY as possible. I got curious about making my own paper (specifically for alt process printing), and started trying to research it a bit. Unfortunately, most of the material I can find seems to be approaching the idea of making your own paper as a curiosity, or a fun science experiment for kids to do once, rather than as a way to supply myself with a high-quality product.

I realize papermaking is itself a pretty developed science (and art form, really), and not something I'd be able to master in a weekend. That said, I'm curious as to the viability of making my own.

In a perfect world, I'd be able to make paper that:

• Doesn't have alkaline buffering which interferes with a lot of alternative processes
• Has a neutral tone and a reasonably bright white
• Retains some amount of tooth/texture
• Can withstand being submerged in various trays of wet chemistry without disintegrating
• Doesn't require expensive specialized equipment to make

How realistic is this wishlist? Has anyone here successfully made any kind of alt process print on a paper they made themselves?

I made my own paper in a an art class last year and used it to print some cyanotypes. It worked very well. We used some kind of cotton pulp with another fiber mixed in, something some Asia. The fibers and the water were put in a “Hollander beater” which ran for about an hour before we strained it out in our screens, put them all in a press, and then layered them in cardboard to dry. All of this could be done at home except that the beater is a costly tool, about $10,000 or up. There are probably less costly alternatives but it did really turn out some nice paper.

BHuij said:

How realistic is this wishlist?

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Probably not if all the requirements are dialed up all the way to 10.
Very realistic if you're OK with some of them ending up at 6 and you still make a perfectly usable, but more importantly UNIQUE paper.

Do it. I'll follow your progress with great interest. I've pondered the same route, but haven't gotten round to it yet. Never went beyond some desk study, which went into the direction of fermenting nettles and separating the fiber from them. For gluing/sizing several options are available; I'd probably start with plain old gelatin. It has worked for centuries; it'll still work today.

BHuij said:

Doesn't have alkaline buffering which interferes with a lot of alternative processes

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Should be no problem at all; just don't add a buffer. Maybe your paper will deteriorate faster as a result. It probably will. Who cares!?

BHuij said:

Has a neutral tone and a reasonably bright white

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That's going to be a tricky with natural/self-harvested fibers one since most fibers will be somewhat tan to downright dark/brown. Perhaps give it a try with something 'silly' like plain cotton from the store? That's pretty white as it comes.

BHuij said:

Retains some amount of tooth/texture

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I think achieving the opposite would be far more challenging; i.e. making a hot-pressed paper will be very challenging. But a coarse paper should be feasible.

BHuij said:

Can withstand being submerged in various trays of wet chemistry without disintegrating

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My guesstimate is that if you (1) use decently long fibers and (2) your sizing is sufficiently hardened, you should be OK for stuff like cyanotype. Processes like carbon transfer that require hot processing will be more challenging to make decent papers for. The long fibers should be easy to cover with stuff like cotton. Sizing shouldn't also be too difficult; gelatin hardened with something like glyoxal, formalin or even alum should do just fine. You can also see if you can get some AKD which is one of the go-to agents in the papermaking industry.

BHuij said:

Doesn't require expensive specialized equipment to make

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I'd look into manuals that explain how to make screens for screen printing. I have a feeling that should get you plenty close enough to making a papermaking screen.


Just some thoughts from an armchair theorist. I hope someone with actual experience chimes in.

Again: do it!

Checked out a few books from the library and started perusing them today. I do kind of think a cotton-based paper might be the best starting point. It's easy to source plain old cotton balls, and very white. Recycling old junk mail and whatnot is appealing, but seems to create a huge headache if your end goal is a white paper base.

AKD does seem to be the obvious choice for internal sizing, and it seems inexpensive and easy to to source. I'm hoping to avoid gelatin because it tends to make the paper curl really badly.

I don't think I'll have too much trouble getting a screen put together; that's well within the kinds of woodworking/DIY stuff I have lots of experience with already.

I'm inclined to start by trying an old blender before I worry about how to replace the action of a proper Hollander beater.

All in all I think I can at least give this a shot without a particularly high initial investment. Just need to keep careful notes so if I get a good result, the process is repeatable.

Seen this site?

https://www.paperslurry.com/

NYC’s last source for a wide choice of artist’s papers, New York Central, died several years ago. The folks that ran that department were quite knowledgeable and patient. I doubt if there will ever be such a store again.