About Paint Pads

Cold Pressed Vs Hot Pressed

The features of hot-press and cold-press refer to the paper’s surface finish or texture.

• The Cold-Pressed paper has a slightly textured, bumpy surface. But the hot-pressed paper has a smooth surface finish.
• Cold-press paper is more water-absorbent than hot-press. This means you have slightly less time to move the paint around the surface before the pigments fix to the paper, and are more suitable for amateurs, for this reason, its more popular with students. The texture of the paper adds to the aesthetic appeal of the final painting.
• Cold Pressed paper is also labelled as NOT in the UK implying Not hot-pressed. These names are from how the paper is manufactured

What should be the ideal gsm of a Watercolour Paper?

There are many thicknesses of Watercolour Paper in the market

• ​Thin - 190 gsm / 90 lb
• ​Medium - 300 gsm / 140 lb
• ​Thick - 356 gsm / 260 lb
• ​Board - 640 gsm / 300 lb

The most ideal thickness is 300 gsm (or medium), anything less than 300 gsm will deform when wet, and can tear when using a wet on wet technique. On the other hand, the thicker paper tends to absorb quickly and modify the water cycle when working wet on wet.