Expert: Tom Riddolls M.A.C. - 12/31/2009

Question
Mr. Riddolls,

I am a budding self-taught artist--if I may dub myself the honorable title of "artist"--who has been slowly learning of the technology used to share my artwork with the rest of the world on the Internet, with scanning, digital painting programs like Photoshop, terms like resolution, etc.

I made a pencil piece and am trying to clean and edit it to submit to my online art gallery, but somehow the quality isn't as good as the pencil pieces I see from other artists. The lines and shading on their pieces are clear and smooth, but mine looks grainy and spotted. It could be several reasons: the scanner that I'm using, the paper that I'm using, etc. I'm not asking you what the problem could be; this situation led me to think of the types of paper the other artists use for their pencil pieces.

One artist said that she uses "acid-free white printer paper". Is that different from the ordinary computer printer paper used in offices and schools? I don't know if the paper used in offices and schools has different kinds, but the computer printer paper I use for pencil pieces turns yellow from my finger oil and becomes bumpy from my sweat; the texture also seems to be different when I draw on it in pencil, grainy instead of smooth like the other artists' pencil pieces. I wondered if getting the right type of paper has a big effect on the pencil piece or not. For acid-free paper, does "acid-free" mean that it doesn't do those things, turn yellow and bend and whatnot? I tried looking up acid-free paper on the Internet, but I guess it's not a very specific subject because I had no luck.

If there is a difference between the computer printer paper that I use and the "acid-free white printer paper" that that artist uses, please tell me.

Thank you very much for your time!

Jess

Answer
Hi Jess,

The process of making paper requires the use of acid to break down the wood pulp and the archival quality is dependent on how much acid is left in after the paper is completed.  Acid free paper theoretically has no acid left, Buffered acid free paper has neutralizing agents such as CaCO3 in it to counter act the acid.  Residual acid will slowly eat at the paper and cause it to yellow and become brittle.  It will not affect the texture or how your drawing looks, it only affects how long it will survive.

There are so many formulations of paper but most printer paper for office use will be bright white and smooth so that it is easy to read printed text but it is not intended to last.  Some may be just fine if well ventilated and in the dark but assume that is luck on your part.

As an artist you should be shopping for paper at an art supplies store where concerns of longevity, surface texture, and general overall feel are well understood.  Bring in some of your favourite textured papers and you can pick a quality paper that is close to what you like.

Scanning quality: It sounds like you are simply not scanning your image with enough resolution, if you scan at 600dpi and view it with photoshop it even fractions (100%, 50%, 25% and not 33% 16%) you will know you have enough data in your file to ensure clean lines and that you are seeing what you are getting.  This will create a monster file, it could be 100MB but it will ensure quality.  i hope you are familiar with the processes of digitizing because that can really make or break a piece of line art.