Basic Knowledge About Papers - Fine Art - Canon South & Southeast Asia

Baryta refers to barium sulfate, a material used to coat a paper to make it whiter. Baryta paper has been the mainstream photographic paper and the one most commonly used for photographs exhibited as works of art.

While Baryta-base paper has a beautiful texture, it is difficult to handle when washing and drying during the developing and fixing processes of silver halide photography. To make these processes easier, RC paper was developed. Papers made with methods that do not use barium sulfate but reproduce the texture of Baryta papers are separately categorized as “Baryta-style papers.”

RC stands for "resin coated", where the surface of the base paper is coated with resin. RC paper was originally created by adding resin layers on both sides of Baryta paper to make it easier to develop and fix silver halide photographs. 

Since glossiness can be controlled by changing the resin layer processing, there is a wide variety of RC-base papers, from high gloss to subdued semi-gloss. RC-base papers have a flatter surface and allow improvements in color reproduction, making them ideal for maximizing the potential of inkjet printers.

Media made from flax or cotton cloth for oil painting or acrylic painting is called a “canvas.” Luxurious photo canvases are made of woven cotton coated with polyester using the same method as that for printing papers using photographic paper as base paper. Flexible cloth-like papers can be stretched over wooden frames like a painting canvas.

Media made from flax or cotton cloth for oil painting or acrylic painting is called a “canvas.” Luxurious photo canvases are made of woven cotton coated with polyester using the same method as that for printing papers using photographic paper as base paper. Flexible cloth-like papers can be stretched over wooden frames like a painting canvas.

“Washi” (Japanese paper) refers to papers made of materials with methods that originated in Japan. Their unique characteristics set Washi papers apart from other “western” types of papers. Washi is made from the barks of kouzo, a certain member of the mulberry family, mitsumata (also known as the Oriental paperbush), and other Japanese trees. It contains longer fibers than western paper.