art paper
1. A good quality paper used by artists and
conservators. It has a highly finished, smooth
surface produced by supercalendering or by
coating. Its principal characteristic is its close
formation. In Great Britain, "art paper" is
considered to be a body paper or board coated with
a mineral substance, such as barium sulfate or
china clay, which gives it a smoothness that is
suitable for the printing of fine halftones, and
the like. In the United States, art paper is
generally made from chemical wood pulp, while in
Great Britain the best art paper is made from 90
to 95% esparto and 5 to 10% chemical wood pulp.
Esparto is good because it is less likely to
stretch and has a natural affinity for coating
materials, which gives it a superior surface for
halftone reproductions. Heavily coated art papers
are prone to cracking, flaking, and pulling away
of the coating. The binding of books produced on
such papers can be difficult because of the
tendency of the paper to crack when folded. Cf: IMITATION ART PAPER .
2. A fancy figured paper used for endpapers in
edition binding. (17
, 58 , 182 , 287 )
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