Awagami japanese papers for inkjet and traditional printmaking

[bridog]

Have been away from the Printmaking forum for a while, needed a little downtime to catch up on a few other things.
I just learned about a line of both machine and hand made papers from Awagami mills in Japan
http://www.awagami.com/aijp/
although I am not a digital printmaker this caught my eye as it says it can also be used for both relief and etching in addition to digital.
I have been using Awagami bamboo paper recently for my relief block prints. Have not tried it for silkscreen but apparently it works well for any surface type printmaking. It is a nice weighty rag with a nice absorbant and smooth surface. The content is 70% bamboo and 30% recycled cotton linters added that will hold the bamboo fibers together. It is acid free. I love how it stays put on my printing board pin system and will not shift at all so getting very nice exact registration. In the main Awagami website they have a list of all the retailers worldwide who sell their products.
Here is a photo of an earlier linocut I decided to print on the bamboo paper using Graphic Chemical water based printing ink (new glycol base). I like this ink as it behaves like an oil but just washes away easily off brayer and block with water or wipe with a damp sponge and some dish soap. No odor either and although it has a really nice open time on the inking slab dries within hours on paper.

[35mm]

Nice print and interesting info. Sounds like it's a do-it-all paper that is sized? Where did you buy it?

[bridog]

35 mm

I don't believe this paper has much sizing and wouldn't fare well for soaking or intaglio
it is recommended really only for relief surface printmaking such as woodcut, lino, letterpress and silkscreen
you can find a list of worldwide retailers by clicking on the link to the Awagami website in my original posting in this thread

[35mm]

I went to the website and the item was recommended for photography as well. Quote " Sheets (and rolls) have been specially coated for digital printing on both sides."
What's the coating then?

[bridog]

this is the webpage I was referred to for the fine art printmaking and watercolor papers made of bamboo.
http://www.awagami.com/products/fine...ing_paper.html

if you scroll down to near the bottom of the page you will see them listed as swatches according the thickness of paper. You can click on the swatch photo and more details will open in a new window.
I didn't see anything mentioned about photography or coated paper in the details for these particular products. However I know this company did unveil and new line of digital papers recently so perhaps bamboo is one of these specialty papers and would be found in a different section of the website (most likely the page you were looking at?). You might want to direct your inquiry to Awagami..they do have a contact address in their website (found under customer support) and have a person (Aya Fujimori) who is quite versed in both Japanese and English.

[35mm]

Just cause:
http://www.awagami.com/aijp/products/index.html#bamboo
bottom, click on bamboo
use application on top line for bamboo, right side

[bridog]

thanks for the link
one thing I observed though is both my link and yours differ slightly in the URL
the one you provided is from another section in their website known as Awagami Ink Jet Paper
also the sizing of the coated bamboo sheets are listed by European metric sizing ie: A2, A3, etc...

the paper I purchased was a 56 x 76cm (22 x 30 inch) sheet size. It appears that Awagami are manufacturing two different avenues of bamboo paper product...one in large sheet or roll found under white paper for traditional printmaking and another line specifically for inkjet applications that are packaged in sheets of 10 and different weights.

[bridog]

It appears I have encountered problems sourcing Awagami bamboo 22 x 30 in sheets. I looked at a lot of retail sites (listed in the Awagami website) for N. America and pretty much all of these retailers carry some product but just not this specific paper. The only exception was a wholesale art supplier in Toronto who do stock it but generally only resell to retailers. I have asked a few of the suppliers I purchase my papers from to consider stocking this paper as I am sure there are more printmakers besides myself who would consider using it. It is a good product and also is derived from a grass mainly so is very eco conscious. One company I am going to be bugging are Blick Art Materials.

[35mm]

Daniel Smith has Awagami bamboo paper in stock.
http://www.danielsmith.com/ItemSearc...agami--srcin-1