What is the best type of paper for the most complex origami?

General discussion area for learning about paper, and the different types available.
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origami_8
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Re: What is the best type of paper for the most complex orig

Post by origami_8 »

I second what Splunge said. I also have a 45mm Olfa rotary cutter and use it for over a decade now with the same blade and without problems, whereas common knife blades get blunt easily, especially when cutting foil, with the risk of ripping your paper. The rotary cutter needs a little getting used to and you have to be more careful as it can easily slide over your ruler, but over all it is the better knife for cutting self prepared papers. It has no problem with moist paper, thick fibres and foil, it just rolls over and cuts.
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Airos Veyn
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Re: What is the best type of paper for the most complex orig

Post by Airos Veyn »

[quote="Splunge"]I would never cut the paper first and then treat it with MC. As Baltorigamist wrote, the paper may warp in different directions. It is highly unlikely that you will still have a perfect square afterwards.


In fact, I hadn't even thought about the fact that it could have been deformed.

Satin wrap seems to me a good site and I have also compared the prices of other packages on amazon and it seems the best. The only thing is that I am forced to take 480 sheets (apart from the other types of paper) all of the same color, but I would have preferred to have them mixed.
That is, I could even take more packs of different colors, but I don't think I need so many sheets of the same color.
This is what I found on amazon: https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B0074G ... XOY8&psc=1
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Re: What is the best type of paper for the most complex orig

Post by Splunge »

Inded, the minimum batch size I found for SatinWrap was 10 sheets per color, sold on Amazon.de and Etsy. Both from the same seller, but I don't know if he/she will ship to Italy.

On Ebay.it someone sells SatinWrap in batches of 5 or 10 sheets (not sure, as the title and the description differ). Seems to be a good offer in any case.

I can't say anything about the tissue paper you found on Amazon.it. You should a t least make sure, that the colors don't bleed when getting damp.
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Airos Veyn
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Re: What is the best type of paper for the most complex orig

Post by Airos Veyn »

Damn, I hadn't considered Ebay. Now I'm taking a look. When you say it shouldn't bleed you mean when it's written "acid free"?
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origami_8
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Re: What is the best type of paper for the most complex orig

Post by origami_8 »

No, acid free and non-bleeding are two different things.
Bleeding refers to how colour fast the paper is when it comes in contact with water. If the colour comes off easily it is bleeding. You can test this with licking your finger and rubbing the moist finger against your paper. if your finger gets coloured, the paper is bleeding.
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Re: What is the best type of paper for the most complex orig

Post by Splunge »

What origami_8 wrote plus:
if there is acid in the paper, it will result in degrdation over time. Paper may change color, will become crispy, tear easily or even dissolve.

So if you want to keep your models for a long time, make sure the paper is acid free.
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Airos Veyn
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Re: What is the best type of paper for the most complex orig

Post by Airos Veyn »

How can I see if the paper bleeds, it is not written for most products. And the sheets don't have to get fold, right? Sorry, I'm really confused.
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origami_8
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Re: What is the best type of paper for the most complex orig

Post by origami_8 »

Often times it is possible to order a small sample.
For Tissue Foil it would be better if the sheets are super smooth without folds. For double tissue it really doesn't matter as the water in the Methylcellulose glue evens out any folds.
Personally, I'm a fan of bleeding tissue as it has some other properties than the non-bleeding varieties. As it turns out, it is all a matter of taste. It also depends on what you want to fold and whether you plan to treat your models during or after folding in a special way, what works best for you.
As for the properties of bleeding tissue paper: when making double tissue you can just lay down two sheets over each other, brush some MC on top and it will sink through making one perfect sheet. With non bleeding papers that usually doesn't work. Here you have to brush the MC onto one sheet and then carefully place the second sheet on top, possibly adding another layer of MC.

Tissue Foil is good if you want the inner strength of the foil with its shaping abilities. It is a paper that doesn't need any post processing. You shape something, it stays in place.

Double tissue is very thin and may need some more refined shaping. It can hold in place by its own, but sometimes if you wish for thinner appendages, you may wish to wet shape and hold the model in place until it is completely dry again (a hair fan helps speeding up this process).

In recent years my use of both papers has increasingly become less. My new favourite paper is Japanese Calligraphy paper that I paint myself with an airbrush. It is super thin, but unfortunately only comes in a rather small size. I like folding miniatures, but for some models the size might not be sufficient.

What I never thought would happen, is that I've also come to like elephant hide. It is a rather thick paper with very unique properties.
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Re: What is the best type of paper for the most complex orig

Post by Kabuntan »

origami_8 wrote:In recent years my use of both papers has increasingly become less. My new favourite paper is Japanese Calligraphy paper that I paint myself with an airbrush. It is super thin, but unfortunately only comes in a rather small size. I like folding miniatures, but for some models the size might not be sufficient.
I'm not sure it bears the same quality related to folding as your calligraphy paper, but shoji paper (障子紙, the one used as a screen on the traditional Japanese sliding doors, windows or walls) weights around 40 g/m² and can be found in sizes around 90 cm x 180 cm, which can make quite large squares.
But of course, I don't know if you can find those in Austria...
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Re: What is the best type of paper for the most complex orig

Post by origami_8 »

At the two big artist shops in Vienna, they do have a variety of Japanese papers in huge rolls (Wenzhou), but so far I haven't found one that is comparable in thickness to the Calligraphy paper I like to use for folding (4902630523392). Strangely enough I couldn't find a link to the paper at the shop where I usually buy it, but here is a link to a different shop. Note that even though they claim it would be A4 sized, it is not, it is a little bigger.
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