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Very short fibres still attached to cotton seed after ginning, used to make cotton paper. The linters are supplied to the papermaker in very thick sheets that are added directly into the pulper. The cotton gives the paper softness, strength and natural whiteness.

Old monochrome negative photographic process that produces a photographic print in Prussian blue or cyan. This technique was developed in 1842 by English scientist and astronomer John Frederick William Herschel.

Cylinder mould manufacturing is the best process to make paper that is stable (not liable to be deformed when wet), watermarked, with a natural grain and deckle edges. Today ARCHES® is the only French paper mill still producing fine art and printing papers on a

Natural untrimmed edge of a sheet of paper made on a cylinder mould. The irregular edge gives the paper a softer, authentic feel.

Printing technique that produces designs in relief. Used on ARCHES® Aquarelle paper in particular, to guarantee its origin, in addition to the watermark.

A reproduction technique enabling documents to be printed directly from computer data. Flexible and fast, it is particularly suited to the expectations of today’s users. Processes used include inkjet, which uses liquid ink and gives a virtually photographic quality rendering of colours.

Technique consisting of visually representing, in two dimensions, people, landscapes, objects or non-figurative motifs. Until the 17th century, the word “dessin” (drawing) in French was used more in the way that we use the word “design” today, implying a notion of intention or a project,

Method of directly incising the metal plate. The printmaker scratches the metal to varying depths with a sharp metal point. The metal is not removed, just pushed in, creating characteristic burrs that some artists prefer to remove completely or partially.

Technique for creating three-dimensional images on paper. There are 2 types of embossing: dry embossing and heat embossing. The former is done using a special kit consisting mainly of a hard stencil that allows the paper to be deformed. The latter requires a heat gun

The appearance of a paper when held up to the light, which is the first thing that any papermaker worth his salt will look at. Holding the sheet lengthways and placing it in front of the light, he can immediately see the quality of the