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Your Position: Home - Chemicals - Best Paper for Art Prints and Artists

Best Paper for Art Prints and Artists

Author: Liang

Mar. 08, 2024

Find out Which are the Best Paper for Art Prints and Artists

Find the best inkjet paper to print your artwork, designs, and more

High quality, fine arts, archival images output by inkjet printers - using premium inks and papers - are sometimes called Giclée (zhe-clay) prints by galleries and museums that display them. Today, the term Giclée has become synonymous with inkjet printing done by and for artists demanding the ultimate quality for reproduction of their works.

Regardless of what you call your art prints, Red River Paper has the finest selection of photo papers for the job. You'll find virtually any size you need, the right surface texture for your style, and prices that make art prints more affordable and profitable.

BONUS CONTENT BELOW - Best Inkjet Printers for Art Prints

Here's Our List of the Best Paper for Printing Art

  • 60lb Polar Matte
  • 47lb Premium Matte
  • 60lb River Linen
  • Aurora Art White 250
  • Aurora Art Natural 250
  • Palo Duro Etching 315
  • 68lb Ultrapro Satin 4.0

3 Categories of Paper for Art Prints

As a rule, art print papers are matte, cotton rag, or canvas. Red River Paper offers you the best quality products available today. We source from the top paper mills on Earth - the same mills that make Epson, Canon, and other top big name brands. The secret is that we always pick the best the mills have to offer. Next we sell direct. This means lower prices, better selection, and absolutely superior service.

Start below with our list of our most popular art print options. Questions? Contact Red River Paper. We will help you with paper choice, printer selection, technical support, and just about anything else where we can point you the right direction.

Sheets and Rolls

With Red River Paper, you can choose from a wide assortment of sheet and roll sizes for your art prints. Most papers come in sheets from 4x6 up to 17x25. Rolls are available in 17", 24", and 44" widths and are compatible with any Epson, Canon, or HP wide format printer.

Looking for an inkjet printer? See our top recommended printer reviews.

60lb. Polar Matte®

Red River's Polar Matte raises the bar for imaging excellence. This paper brings you professional quality in every sense of the meaning.

  • Paper Tone: Bold Bright White
  • Paper Weight: 60lb (229gsm)
  • Thickness: 10 mil
  • Optical Brighteners: Yes
  • Reverse Side: Plain paper suitable for writing or printing text and light graphics

details/order

47lb. Premium Matte

The "perfect" poster weight paper, 47lb. Red River Premium Matte has a smooth, bright white finish that produces brilliant color and sharp detail on any printer.

  • Paper Tone: Bright White
  • Paper Weight: 47lb (176gsm)
  • Thickness: 8.5 mil
  • Optical Brighteners: Yes
  • Reverse Side: Plain paper suitable for writing or printing text and light graphics

details/order

60lb. River Linen

A coated matte paper with an elegant linen finish, River Linen's surface adds just the right level of texture to your images without interfering with details.

  • Paper Tone: Bright White
  • Paper Weight: 60lb (230gsm)
  • Thickness: 10 mil
  • Optical Brighteners: Yes
  • Reverse Side: Plain paper suitable for writing or printing text and light graphics

details/order

Aurora Art White 250 / Aurora Art White 300

Semi-smooth, 100% cotton rag when you want to add that special touch to your art prints. Aurora is available in two weights. The 250 version is considered a medium weight while the 300 version is a true heavyweight. The lighter version is easier to feed in most inkjet printers.

  • Surface: Semi-Smooth (Hot Press)
  • Paper Tone: White
  • Paper Weight: 64lb. (250gsm) or 80lb. (300gsm)
  • Thickness: 13.5 mil or 18 mil
  • Optical Brighteners: Minimal

Aurora White 250

Aurora White 300

Aurora Art Natural 250 / Aurora Art Natural 300

Semi-smooth, 100% cotton rag, warm tone paper when you want to add that special touch to your art prints. Aurora is available in two weights. The 250 version is considered a medium weight while the 300 version is a true heavyweight. The lighter version is easier to feed in most inkjet printers.

  • Surface: Semi-Smooth (Hot Press)
  • Paper Tone: Warm natural white
  • Paper Weight: 64lb. (250gsm) or 80lb. (300gsm)
  • Thickness: 13.5 mil or 18 mil
  • Optical Brighteners: None

Aurora Natural 250

Aurora Natural 300

Palo Duro Etching 315®

Palo Duro Etching 315 gives you the classic look of a fine watercolor paper. The surface adds just the right amount of texture to your print and will not distract from the details you worked so hard to capture. This OBA-free archival paper is ideal for museum quality and conservation grade prints. The Palo Duro line of papers represent the absolute best quality inkjet media.

  • Surface: Non-reflective Etching surface has a texture. This surface also called Cold Press or Velvet
  • Paper Tone: Natural white
  • Paper Weight: 315gsm
  • Thickness: 21 mil
  • Optical Brighteners: None

Palo Duro Etching

68lb. UltraPro Satin® 4.0 - The Top Selling Red River Paper

UltraPro will capture the true depth and range of colors in your photography, and lets your inkjet printer perform to its maximum potential.

  • Satin Texture: Medium
  • Paper Tone: Bright white
  • Paper Weight: 68lb (270gsm)
  • Thickness: 10.4mil

details/order

Best Inkjet Printers for Art Prints

Pigment Inkjet Printers

If your goal is long term print display or maximum possible print life, pigment inks are necessary. Pigment colorants are typically more stable than dye colorant over time. This stability comes at some price; Pigment inks tend to reproduce a smaller color gamut verses dye ink. In addition, pigment ink prints are more prone to handling damage, especially with matte and fine art media.

Canon Pro-1000

  • 11 Colors + Chroma Optimizer
  • Uses sheets 4" x 6" up to 17" x 25.5" sheets
  • Ink Cost - About $59.99 per tank 
  • Street price $1299

In Brief: The PRO-1000 is a professional and pro consumer level photo / fine art inkjet printer. It has a reliable paper feed system for a wide variety of paper surfaces.

Canon Pro-1000 Insiders Guide

Epson SureColor P700

  • Ten color pigment inks (including violet ink)
  • Uses sheets 3.5" x 5" up to 13" x 550"
  • 13" roll capability
  • Street price $799

In Brief: The P700 is a "strong buy" for photo & fine art printing needs, especially for those who enjoy black & white printing.

Epson P700 Insiders Guide

Canon PRO-300

  • Ten color pigment photo printer
  • Uses sheets 4" x 6" up to 13" x 44"
  • Street price $899

In Brief: The PRO-300 is Canon's prosumer pigment ink photo and fine art printer. It has a reliable paper feed system for a wide variety of paper surfaces.

Canon PRO-300 Insiders Guide

Dye Inkjet Printers

Dye based printers are designed for best possible color saturation and paper compatibility. While modern dye inks are remarkably fade resistant, you would not count on this technology if long-term print display is your goal. Dye printers are a great choice when print speed, broad paper compatibility, and bold color critical. They are quite popular for note card printing as well as graphic arts and business needs.

Canon PRO-200

  • 8 color printer dye based photo and fine art printer
  • Uses sheets 4" x 6" up to 13" x 26.61"
  • Street price $599

In Brief: Robust, fast, and reliable, the PRO-200 is the Ferrari of dye based inkjet printers.

Canon Pro-200 Insiders Guide

Epson XP-15000

  • 6 color printer dye based photo printer
  • Uses sheets 4" x 6" up to 13" x 44"
  • Street price $299

In Brief: Perhaps the best color gamut and accuracy of any inkjet printer available.

Epson XP-15000

Read our Blog article, Sell Your Images at Art Fairs for helpful tips and insight from an experienced art fair artist.

Questions? Contact Red River Paper. We will help you with paper choice, printer selection, technical support, and just about anything else where we can point you the right direction.

Last updated: May 30, 2023

I'm SO excited to show you guys the difference that paper can make when printing art at home. Forget dropshipping, forget Staples, quality paper can really make all the difference in the world when printing art at home! Not to mention, if you print from home, the amount of cost you can cut down is actually mind-blowing. 

This process takes a lot of trial and error, so let me help you! I did a ton of research on printers, even though I'm not going over them, I've linked you with my favorite affordable printer because I know how much of a headache it can be to find one. I bought my printer 5 years ago and it STILL works like it did on day one. Love love love this electronic thing of mine! 

Some of these images will be hard to see the major differences between the papers so if that's a concern for you, I recommend scrolling to the bottom to view the video!

 

Supplies

 

Epson Premium Presentation Paper MATTE (

spoiler alert: NO

)

 

 

I wanted the BEST possible prints for artwork so I purchased this paper. It was recommended on an insane amount of forums so imagine my surprise when my art print came out looking so dull. So disappointed with this outcome! 

This led me to a lot of trial and error before I came across THE JACKPOT OF PAPER JACKPOTS... 

Red River Paper

  

Left: Epson paper vs. Right: Red River Paper

I stumbled upon this heavenly paper supplier and now it's ALL I USE. If you've known me for 5 minutes, you know I'm a Red River Paper fanatic. This paper is everything and more! I'm going over three different red river paper types just to show you guys how my print looks on each one separately.

Spoiler alert: The quality seriously holds up.

I always think the sample kit is worth the purchase just so you can see which paper you love the most, but I'll go over how these babes printed so you can get a general idea.

 

60 lb River Linen 2.0

This paper has a really beautiful natural texture to it, it's almost like a canvas material. I love that even though this paper has that texture to it, it doesn't interrupt the crispness of the print!

Sorry for this meh photo that I totally took a screenshot of from the video... watch the video for the full effect! 

Even though this a watercolor print, the small grits on the paper don't affect the piece itself. I'm a huge fan of this type of paper when you're looking for a paper that will hold up in a fine art way. 

 

64 lb Aurora White 

 

 Again, sorry for this meh photo that I totally took a screenshot of from the video... watch the video for the full effect! 

Aurora white comes in different weights and shades. There's also an Aurora natural which is more of an ivory than a white. It just depends on the look that you're going for with your prints. This paper printed nice and crisp, when compared with the linen there isn't a ton of difference.

Even with the Aurora natural, the print still came out super vibrant, regardless of the white tone on the paper. Pretty great all around!

 

60 lb Canvas White 

 

 Again, sorry for this meh photo that I totally took a screenshot of from the video... watch the video for the full effect!  

The Canvas paper is similar to the River Linen but the texture of the paper is a little larger than the River Linen. The Canvas is also a little more expensive than the River Linen, but honestly, the River Linen is sufficient enough for me.

 

 Again, sorry for this meh photo that I totally took a screenshot of from the video... watch the video for the full effect!  

 

60 lb Premium Matte Plus

 Again, sorry for this meh photo that I totally took a screenshot of from the video... watch the video for the full effect!  

This is similar to the Aurora but brighter white and is 60lb instead of 64. The print is still really nice and vibrant with a matte finish so can't really go wrong with this option either!

 

66 lb Palo Duro Satin

 

 Again, sorry for this meh photo that I totally took a screenshot of from the video... watch the video for the full effect!  

Palo Duro Satin has almost a metallic sheen to it. In my opinion, this paper is more for photos, which, it's probably fantastic for photos, just not for printing.  

 

75 lb Arctic Polar Luster

 



 Again, sorry for this meh photo that I totally took a screenshot of from the video... watch the video for the full effect!  

The same thing with this paper, it has that sheen that I personally just don't love on prints. This paper is thicker than the Palo Duro Satin. The luster is just a little too much for my liking. The paper itself is a lot more matte than the Palo Duro Satin but the sheen still comes through.

But it's really just personal preference so if you like a little sheen to your prints, I highly recommend this paper! It does print beautifully! 

  

88 lb Polar Matte Magna (50 sheets - 8x10)

 

 Again, sorry for this meh photo that I totally took a screenshot of from the video... watch the video for the full effect!   

This paper has a TON of different weights, the one I use is the 88 lb, which by the way, IS SO THICK. I prefer to use this paper because it feels so high quality and I love sending high-quality prints to all my lovely customers! High quality for a great price because I'm printing from home, winning.

 

Arctic Polar Satin

This satin paper prints elegantly, but if you're like me and don't love the sheen - I don't recommend using this paper for your prints. BUT, if you love that shiny goodness, I highly recommend using this paper because it's gorgeous!  

 

 Again, sorry for this meh photo that I totally took a screenshot of from the video... watch the video for the full effect!   

When compared to the Arctic Polar Luster, it's shinier but not as thick! 

 Again, sorry for this meh photo that I totally took a screenshot of from the video... watch the video for the full effect!   

All in all, the Arctic Polar Satin and the Arctic Polar Luster feel the most photo finish and the Palo Duro Satin is more of an eggshell color.

I'm super biased because I've used the River Linen for so long and just love it to pieces! I recently switched over to the 88lb because it feels so luxurious in its thickness and I'm all about that life. 

 

 

All I'm saying is forget any other paper except Red River paper because you're going to love it. It's unbeatable, unstoppable, and cannot be beaten! TRUST ME, TRUST ME, AND TRUST ME! RUN!!! Don't walk to get Red River Paper!

 

 

 

 

 

 

HEY YOU! Wanna save this for later? Don't think, JUST PIN!

 

Best Paper for Art Prints and Artists

Best Paper for Printing Art at Home

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