Hello,

I am coloring paper by soaking it in flower and vegetable juices and am seeking a paper on which the color dries to be as dark and even as possible.

Do you have any suggestions of papers that would dry with the deepest color possible after being soaked in juice?

These are the qualities I'm looking for in the paper, in order of importance.

1. smooth surface - I need a smooth surface for my image-making process that I use this colored paper for.
2. paper dries dark after being soaked in juice. some of the qualities that seem to help facilitate the dark color / high absorption are:
- unsized (waterfleaf) - allows the color to fully absorb into the paper, and therefore dry darker.
- unbuffered - ensures that the color will not change color due to pH adjustment.
3. 100 to 300 gsm - Thick enough to soak in the juice for 20 minutes and hang to dry without falling apart. Thin enough to not waste juice.
4. Ideally available in large rolls

So far, I've had moderate success with Arches 88, but it is heavily buffered, and therefore changes the color of the pH sensitive juices.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
C. Elfman

Is it possible to purchase samples of the papers mentioned above? I'm looking for unsized paper for marbling.

Thanks,

Allison