Since paper is so important for the scrapbooking process, it’s natural that it would be important to shop smart for scrapbook paper. In this article, we’ll take a look at a few tips that will be the difference between being frustrated with your scrapbook and being truly satisfied, all with proper paper buying habits.
There are some papers that can be truly disastrous to your scrapbooking endeavors. The first is to have a paper with high acid content, such as is found in cheaper papers like construction papers. Instead, look for papers which explicitly say “pH neutral” or or have a pH of 7.0. Anything else will harm your scrapbook, especially the photographs in it, in the long run.
It’s also important to find paper that has two other features. The first is that the paper is buffered. If the paper is buffered paper, it will not even be affected by any acid substances that it encounters. This ensures that your scrapbook will always be protected. Also, look for paper that is specifically marked “lignin-free.” Lignin is a common content in cheaper paper and is found in wood. Unfortunately, over time, paper that has lignin in it will become brittle and the color will change.
Even if you’re a penny pincher, you will save money in the long-run by buying more paper than you think you will use. This can also help you avoid a lot of heartache if you find just one more use for that particular paper and you find that it has been discontinued and sold-out since you bought it originally. Also, paper can vary from lot to lot, so even if you think you’re buying the same thing again, the pigment will naturally vary, and you’ll be stuck with mismatching paper. In the end, it’s much easier and less expensive to buy more than enough of a particular paper from the beginning.
