ABSTRACT
Selecting a paper is an essential step in creating our artistic expression. The paper chosen, with its texture and color, forms the surface on which the image will be presented to the viewer. The base color of the paper becomes the “white” of the image. Paper quality control has been a significant issue in the past four decades. Small changes in sizing, or fiber content, have made substantial changes in papers. Alt-process printers often used paper that suddenly, without warning, changed entirely to the point that it became unusable for the chosen process. Testing results were measured using a reflection densitometer. Most of the papers that failed testing had staining, which appeared where the sensitizer was applied, but UV exposure was blocked by ruby-lith strips, which in theory should hold back all exposure and produce paper white in that area.
