Canson Papers
History
The story of Canson starts with Jacques de Montgolfier when he moved to the Beaujolais area in France where he founded a paper mill in 1557. His sons and heirs continued the family business for over 200 years. Barthélémy de Canson married into the family and in 1801 the name of the business changed from Montgolfier to Montgolfier-Canson and later to Canson. Over 450 years of experience has given Canson the expertise and know-how to produce high quality papers for artists and printmakers around the world.
In 2021, Canson introduced a new range of papers made in the legendary Arches paper mill located in the Vosges region of France. This mill is one of the few left in the world to still make fine art and printing papers using cylindrical moulds. This process produces very high quality paper that is as good as the finest handmade papers.
Canson Infinity Papers
Canson’s printing papers are sold under the Infinity brand. Their extensive range includes matte and glazed (i.e. gloss or semi-gloss) fine art papers, modern Resin Coated (RC) photo papers and canvas. Click on the links below for more information.
Matte fibre-based premium fine art papers
These papers are based on Canson and Arches long history of making premium fine art papers for artists and printmakers, and more recently for photographers. These papers have been adapted to suit modern digital printing inks.
- Aquarelle Rag
- ARCHES 88
- ARCHES Aquarelle Rag
- ARCHES BFK Rives Pure White
- ARCHES BFK Rives White
- Edition Etching Rag
- PrintMaKing Rag
- Rag Photographique
- Rag Photographique Duo
- Velin Museum Rag
Glazed fibre-based premium fine art papers
These papers are also based on traditional fine art papers for artists and printmakers. However, they are coated with a glaze (gloss/semi-gloss) and adapted to suit modern digital printing inks. They look similar to some of the glazed darkroom papers used in the early and middle parts of the last century.
- Baryta Prestige – gloss
- Baryta Prestige II – gloss
- Baryta Photographique II – semi-gloss
- Baryta Photographique II – matte
- Platine Fibre Rag – semi-gloss
Premium RC photographic papers
Canson also has a range of premium Resin Coated (RC) photo papers. RC photo papers were invented in the 1970s. They became extremely popular and most people today, when they think about a photograph, are thinking about a print on RC paper. At the turn of the century, these early RC papers were adapted from their darkroom roots to work with digital printing inks.
- Photo HighGloss Premium RC – gloss
- PhotoGloss Premium RC – gloss
- Photo Satin Premium RC – semi-gloss
- Photo Lustre Premium RC – semi-gloss
Woven premium fine art canvases
Canson has a small range of canvases suitable for digital printing. They are made from polycotton (a mixture of polyester and cotton) or 100% cotton.
- PhotoArt Pro Canvas – matte
- PhotoArt Pro Canvas – semi-gloss
- Museum Pro Canvas – matte
- Museum Pro Canvas – semi-gloss
Inspirational Arts is a Canson Certified Print Lab.
