Why does nobody talk about grain direction when using decorative papers?

I ruined a $40 sheet of marbled paper for a cover in Austin because I didn't check, and the whole thing warped overnight. Anyone have a good trick to tell the grain on those fancy, thick sheets?

4 comments

4 Comments

jade_lane4mo ago

Sometimes the watermark or the deckle edge can give you a hint.

drew80525d ago

Austin huh? I've wrecked plenty of sheets myself before I learned. That bending trick from @ryan494 is solid but for those thick marbled sheets it's tricky. The best thing I've found is to wet your finger and run it along the edge of the paper, the grain direction will feel smoother. What @jade_lane said about deckle edges is right too, the grain runs parallel to those rough edges. Another thing that works is to lay the sheet flat and lightly tap the center, it'll buckle more against the grain. For $40 a pop I also started buying a scrap sheet from the same batch to test before cutting. Once you screw up enough expensive paper you figure these things out real fast.

abby_kim5525d ago

Forty bucks for one sheet of paper. Thats insane. I literally gasped when I read that. And @drew805 saying they wrecked "plenty of sheets before" at that price... man, that hurts my wallet just thinking about it. The wet finger trick is genius though, I never would have thought of that for thick marbled stock. I usually just try the bend test but on those heavy sheets it feels like a guessing game. I'm definitely gonna grab a scrap piece next time, too.

ryan4944mo ago

Forty bucks for one sheet of paper? That's brutal. Try bending it gently each way, the side that gives less is with the grain.