Papers for artist's books

Like many artists, I am becoming acutely aware of the environmental impact of materials I use in my studio. With this in mind, I aim to use papers with a minimum of 50% post consumer recycled content for my books.

There are many excellent recycled papers available in Ireland. Here are a few of my top favourites:

  • Favini Shiro Echo: This velvety uncoated paper comes in shades of bright white or natural. Prints beautifully and has high environmental standards. Specs: 100% recycled, FSC certified, ECF, AF*

  • Nautalis: This is a more affordable 100% recycled paper comes in shades of bright white or natural. Specs: 100% recycled, FSC certified, ECF, AF*

  • Favini Crush: A range of textured papers which uses by-products from agri-industury such as citrus fruits, corn, olives and coffee. Specs: 40% recycled, 60% from sustainably managed forests, FSC certified, ECF, AF*

  • Cairn Straw: This distinctive flecked paper comes in shades of white, grey or cream. Specs: 100% recycled, FSC certified, ECF*

The papers in the photograph from bottom to top are as follows: Nautalis Super White, Shiro Bright White, Shiro Natural, Cairn Straw White, Crush Corn, Crush Grape, Cairn Straw Cream, Cairn Grey.

Choosing a paper

It can get confusing when trying to choose the most environmentally-friendly paper. Here is a great step-by-step guide to choosing the most sustainable paper option created by the Environmental Paper Network.

I recently came across this extensive database of paper brands that use high recycled content to create beautiful papers. It is a huge list but you can search by country, bleach method, recycled content and more.

Klee paper supplies many of the recycled paper I use. This Dublin-based company has been supplying high quality, ecologically-sound paper for over 35 years. I’m a big fan!

Recycled paper cycle

Paper recycling is the process of collecting, sorting and de-inking wastepaper. Paper can be recycled an average of 6 times. Since paper cannot be infinitely recycled, virgin wood fibres remain essential to maintain the cycle of paper production.

In other words, a certain amount of paper needs to be made from new wood coming from a Forest Stewardship Council certified forest area. This paper can then feed into the recycled paper process.

So whilst I will always be aiming for as near to 100% recycled paper as possible, I understand that there is a need for some virgin wood fibres to be used.

And your ink…

I like to work with Irish printers who use plant-based inks for their digital and lithographic printing. These inks are derived from oils such as linseed, cottonseed, tung, flaxseed or soybean - as opposed to petrochemical inks. Plant-based inks also have the advantage of being incredibly easy to remove during the de-inking/recycling process.

*Abbreviations:

FSC forest management certification confirms that the forest is being managed in a way that preserves biological diversity and benefits the lives of local people and workers, while ensuring it sustains economic viability.

ECF elemental chlorine free is a technique that uses chlorine dioxide for the bleaching of wood pulp. It does not use elemental chlorine gas during the bleaching process and prevents the formation of dioxins and dioxin-like compounds, carcinogens.

There are higher standards for bleaching paper such as PCF processed chlorine free and TCF totally chlorine free but unfortunately it is harder to find papers like this in Ireland. But I’m on the lookout!

AF acid free is paper that has a neutral pH or pH of 7. Acid-free paper ensures preservation of documents and artworks for long periods.

Éilís Murphy