Papers for Calligraphy

Let’s assume for a moment that you’ve been studying calligraphy for a while, and doing a lot of practice and writing on your Westwind Pad.  Maybe you’ve tried some of the projects in your Calligraphy in a Box kit, using the papers provided in the kit, and now you need to find more papers for future projects.

The card stock you used for the greeting card projects is white Astroparche, and it can be found at practically any copy center or office supply store.  Astroparche also comes in a nice range of soft colors, and it is acid-free and archival.  It’s very inexpensive, but it’s size is usually limited to the standard office size of 8 1/2″ x 11″.  You may notice that the surface of each side of the paper is slightly different.  I usually prefer to write on the smoother side.

The 9 x 12 piece of heavy white paper is called Bristol board.  The board I included in the kit is smooth Bristol.  You can also get Bristol in a vellum surface which is a tiny bit more toothy than smooth, and is supposed to simulate writing on actual vellum.  A third surface for Bristol is called plate, which is a very slick surface that is good for fine detail work.  Bristol is available in several sizes at art supply stores.

Some other papers to try:

Watercolor paper, which can be tinted with watercolors, gouache or acrylic paints.  Watercolor paper comes in several weights and surfaces. The most useful papers for the beginner might be 140# cold press (slightly toothy) and 140# hot press (very smooth).  The Arches brand is the industry standard.

Canson Mi-Teintes is a charcoal paper with a slight texture.  It comes in a myriad of colors, and is a bit softer than watercolor paper.  Gouache works expecially well on this paper.

Any good drawing paper also works well for calligraphy.  Strathmore is a good brand to buy, but my personal favorite is Meridian Drawing paper, which is made by Pentalic.  It’s a creamy white 100% rag paper, neutral pH, rather heavy stock.  It’s a dream to write on and holds gouache high above the surface of the paper.

I also enjoy using heavy art paper which comes in many colors.  It’s an artist quality construction paper, and good for many projects which don’t have to last for 50 years!

In truth, it’s possible to write on practically any paper, so use these ideas as a guideline, and feel free to experiment on any paper that catches your fancy.  It’s all about fun, and who knows, you may find an exceptional paper in the process.