Arches paper is high quality, air-dried paper that is used by printers and watercolorists. It has a warm white colour and hot-pressed, cold-pressed, and rough varieties. Arches paper is valued for its durability, and is made in the village of Arches in the Vosges, France.
Arches watercolor papers are mould-made with 100% cotton fiber. The papers are acid-free, pH-neutral, gelatin-sized, and air-dried.
The history of Arches starts in 1492 when the Arches site completed the amalgamation of the paper-making facilities around the village of Arches, south of Epinal.
The Moulins d’Arches turned to the production of high quality paper for writings and art publications. The mill thus produced paper for incunables (the name given to the first printed books), such as the Chronique de Gutenberg by Dürer. Also printed on Arches paper was the “Description of Egypt” commissioned by Napoleon I upon his return from his Egyptian campaign. The work was used by the royalty from 1809 to 1828.