Paper - Preferred folding material

JeossMayhem · Post by **JeossMayhem** » November 23rd, 2008, 1:14 am

So I visited my local art supply downtown to find some new papers. The guy there suggested that I visit this one site with a very impressive selection of Black Ink brand papers as well as stats for each one. So far I've only browsed the unryu papers but I'm almost positive I'm going to be ordering from here in the future:

Look up your papers here:

http://www.gpcpapers.com/

And click on "Black Ink Products" and then "Black Ink Single Sheets by Country". Look around!

But for some reason you can't order directly from that link. Click on the magenta "online store" button in the upper left and click on the "Black Ink Single Sheets by Country" link in the menu bar and findy you paper from there. The store link just doesn't have as much info as the link above. It seems most of the papers are at least 60cm to a side! And for a fair price, I think.

unknownfolder · Post by **unknownfolder** » November 26th, 2008, 4:55 am

I said I preferred normal copy paper, but now I am really going to try to go to the next level. I think I am going tol need bigger and better paper.

origami-artist-galen · December 5th, 2008, 5:42 pm

I Used to stick to kami and letter paper, but now I'm mainly using foil, tracing paper, regular wrapping paper and Unryu. So far the tracing paper gives the cleanest results, but takes longer to finish a model than foil because of the semi-wetfolding process.

stinlin · Post by **stinlin** » December 26th, 2008, 7:35 pm

[img]http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/43757 ... 600Q85.jpg[/img]

My grandma sent me this paper for Christmas! It's straight from Japan/China. It's beautiful!!! Yay handmade paper!

insaneorigami · Post by **insaneorigami** » January 2nd, 2009, 8:53 pm

Tissue foil! easy to make, moldable, can be made in large sheets,and is the perfect paper! (well, not perfect, but pretty gosh darn good

)

oh, and btw, Stinlin, that's some pretty nice paper...

ftangdude55 · Post by **ftangdude55** » January 2nd, 2009, 8:58 pm

insaneorigami wrote: Tissue foil!

I second that! I recently discovered the wonders of tissue foil, andam subsequently become hooked!

So far I have folded these models from tissue foil:

1. Snail on a Leaf (Nicholas Terry)

2. Bear (Nicholas Terry, again.)

3. Wasp (Anibal Voyer)

Lux Aeterna · Post by **Lux Aeterna** » January 13th, 2009, 5:39 pm

Anyone have any experience with either pastel paper (80 lb, 118 gsm, slightly textured, pretty thick) or something called opaque bond paper (16 lb, feels smoother and crisper than copy paper)? I found a small art shop nearby this morning and those two things looked interesting.

sixfootbrit · Post by **sixfootbrit** » January 19th, 2009, 4:30 am

Wrapping paper, plain brown preferably. It's strong, holds a crease well, and my old eyes can see those creases!

Max · Post by **Max** » January 19th, 2009, 8:33 am

Hey stinlin!
The first layers on your photo look like mullberry paper (unryu in Japanese). Good choice for folding complex models. You can bend it a lot without breaking due to the long mullberry fibers in it.

Enjoy your christmas presents

!

addie_goodvibes · Post by **addie_goodvibes** » January 19th, 2009, 11:58 pm

I like the looks of foil modulars th eonly problem with foil is that inperfections show a lot more, ( creases ect..)

of course this all depends on what you are folding. I am a modular enthusiast, I usually create modular origami with sometimes 300 + units so it is critical that each unit is made the same , as they all assemble together to former a bigger model. foil holds the creases better , it tends to be stronger.

I get all of my paper from Japanese 100yen stores or japanese Supermarkets
the best place to score Origami paper is Marukai 98c store

lots of paper varieites and different sizes a 350 sheet ( 16 colors) is 1.50

Joe the white · Post by **Joe the white** » January 29th, 2009, 8:37 pm

(from another topic)

stevieboy1 wrote:hi i just got a copy of Robert langs insects 2 and wanted to know what is the best paper to use to make these models?

I just tryed making the trantula out of brown raping paper but it still seemed to thick and just started tearing halfway though.

I realy would like to make these chalanging insects and wont give up so any advice on what paper to use?

Also what size paper squared would be a good size to make a resonable model? I dont want to make them to small but dont want them to big if you know what i mean lol

kind regards
Steve

The easy answer to your question would be to use a thin sheet of paper about 24cm or 10-12 inches to a side (or larger).

The most common paper you could use would be "Japanese" foil. It isn't the best however, just the easiest to obtain. If you visit Lang's website ( http://www.langorigami.com ), he mentions the type of paper he uses for models (kozo, hanji, lotka, unryu, origamido*, etc.), though they're not so easy to find or obtain.

You can also create a suitable sheet by "back-coating" thin paper together using a mixture of water and methylcellulose (aka MC), such as two sheets of tissue paper. MC can also be used to spot treat models to hold excessive layers together that like to splay open or thin out appendages. (There are other, more indepth, topics on MC at this forum)

*Note: Origamido is more of a brand of paper than a specific type, everything is handmade and selected for each "batch" of paper, from the fiber type and pigments, to the thickness and length it is left mixing (Insect paper usually uses long, strong fibers and is mixed for larger amounts of time and made into very thin sheets). Its the culmination of years of work by Michael LaFosse and Richard Alexander at the Origamido studio. ( http://www.origamido.com )

stevieboy1 · Post by **stevieboy1** » January 30th, 2009, 2:22 am

Sorry about my other post I didnt relise there was already a topic about paper.

So for these more complex models i need to use thin paper. Were can i buy this thin paper? wouldnt thiner paper tear more easyer or is it designed stronger for paper folding? Sorry i dont mean to sound dumb but ive only realy used the origami paper and gift rap paper in the past so wouldnt know were to start.

In in the uk and havent seen any thin paper around in any of my hobby craft shops. Would ebay sell this kind of stuff?

As for making tissue paper backed with foil how can i do that? obviusly id need coloured tissue paper tin foil and some sort of glue?

if im asking to much please feel free to tell me to be quiet.

Kind regards
Steve

stevieboy1 · Post by **stevieboy1** » January 30th, 2009, 3:05 am

Cool i just found the video clips showing how to make tissure foil cool.

So will that be good for making the insects then?

kind regards
Steve

Joe the white · Post by **Joe the white** » January 30th, 2009, 3:42 am

Its ok, an easy mistake to make. The search feature and stickies are important, though searches are hard unless you use something specific. (in example, I made a search on "tissue foil" for this post and it returned about 13 pages)

Japanese foil is a type of paper for origami, though its not exactly designed for origami, much like kami. Its an economical paper that is mediocre to fold, kami itself is colored on one side just to save money, using both sides for color changes was a new development. That said, japanese foil is available at "The Source" ( http://www.origami-usa.org/thesource/agora.cgi ) under "japanese brilliant foil", it comes in various sizes, make sure to get the 10 inch squares. There is probably a British supplier other than the BOS, but I'm not familiar with any and the BOS isn't accepting orders for the time being.(Foil backed wrapping paper can work too, but its usually thicker than japanese foil)

The problem with thicker paper is that it tends to have shorter fibers and tears easier. Copy paper is a good example of a really bad origami paper, if you look at a crease line you can see the paper folding unevenly and getting "fuzzy". Thin paper, especially handmade or specialty ones have long fibers that interlock and support to make the paper much more sturdy and allow it to be thinner, and again, usually longer fiber papers cost more. My favorite thin paper to use is Mulberry, its sometimes available at scrapbooking or hobby stores. Usually its a bit too light and fabric-like to use for regular origami, so I treat it with MC or back-coat it to make it crisp and easier to fold, while also being a good deal stronger.

There is a thread on this forum for making tissue foil, but I can't seem to find it. I'll like the article on Robet Lang's site instead : http://www.langorigami.com/info/paper/m ... apers.php4

There is no problem with questions, I (and others) do not mind answering them, knowledge is one of the reason the forum exists.

Edit: I can't really suggest using tissue foil, it is neat to work with even if for the experience, but it may be more trouble than its worth compared to newer inventions.

Post by **origami_8** » January 30th, 2009, 7:23 am

Joe the white wrote:There is a thread on this forum for making tissue foil, but I can't seem to find it.

Yeah, the problem with this is that tissue foil is a word that is used so often that it doesn't work good for a search. When searching it I always use the unusual word "stencil" with author "origami_8", that works perfectly well:
viewtopic.php?t=764

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Paper - Preferred folding material

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