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ARCHES
Arches Infinity is 100% cotton with a proprietary coating designed specifically for fine art and fine photographic prints. The paper offers maximum color gamut with true color fidelity, exceptional image permanence and nearly universal printer compatibility. The paper beneath the coating is the celebrated Arches watercolor paper, so the distinctive textures, pleasing hand, and aesthetic beauty are retained.
The Finest Materials
made with an understanding passed down through five centuries, Arches
papers are a testament to the papermaker's art - and the product
of excellent ingredients. In pure French stream water, only the
finest natural fibers of cotton, flax, and esparto are used. All
Arches papers contain cotton fibers, ranging from 25% to 100%, depending
upon each paper's ultimate use. These carefully selected cotton
fibers produce uniformity, adaptability, color fastness, longevity,
and printability. Free from lignin, acid, and chlorine, Arches papers
last.
A Process Tested by Time
All Arches papers are manufactured on a cylinder mould, as they
have been for more than a hundred years. This process, in which
the pulp gradually settles and drains on a slowly rotating screen-covered
cylinder, results in a paper which has a uniquely hand-made look
and feel. With long fibers, this thick, stable sheet is beau-tiful,
durable and resilient.
Deckle Edges
Arches and Rives papers are recognizable for their four deckle edges,
which add another aesthetic dimension to the papers. Two of the
deckle edges are formed directly on the cylinder as the sheet is
being made. The other two are created in the sorting room, as the
paper is unrolled and torn by hand into sheets along a water line,
before being hung to dry.
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An Eye for Quality
All Arches papers are hand sorted, for strict quality control.
The only way to ensure that Arches standards are met is through
visual inspection of each and every sheet. Just as it has
been done for the last five hundred years.
The Watermark of Authenticity
The Arches watermark is the artists' proof of authenticity
and quality, a method as old as papermaking itself. Watermarks
are created by hand, by craftsmen who solder or sew the mark
onto the cylinder screen, cre-ating a raised area. Less pulp
settles in this area, creating a subtle mark of more transparency
than the rest of the sheet, whose presence is revealed when
held to light. On heavier watercolor sheets, the water-mark
is hand embossed. Each Arches and Rives paper features its
own unique watermark. Many of them incorporate the sign of
infinity, a symbol of permanence which reflects the long
lasting quality of Arches.
Quality that Lasts
The longevity of a work depends largely upon the quality of
the paper used. Acids damage papers and cause them to deteriorate.
Optical brighteners can have the same prematurely destructive
effect. All Arches papers are manufactured in a carefully
controlled, completely neutral environment, with naturally
whitened pulp, to ensure that the papers produced are acid-free.
Calcium carbonate, an alkaline substance, is added to the
pulp in manufacturing to raise the pH, and provide a buffer
against environmental acidity.free. Calcium carbonate, an
alkaline substance, is added to the pulp in manufacturing
to raise the pH, and provide a buffer against environmental
acidity.
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Each Arches sheet is individually inspected
to guarantee quality.

The Arches watermark is proof that the sheet
is genuine Arches.

Acid free Arches papers are naturally whitened
to ensure longevity.
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