![]() Usu Gami paper has very long and strong kozo fibers that sometimes course from one end of a sheet to the opposite– an important feature for conservation work. Hasegawa Washi’s drying boards–a gift from the late Kozo Furuta-san, the Mino papermaker that taught Hasegawa and Hiromi how to make paper–are made of horse chestnut and are over 150 years old. Famous for their highly coveted Usu Gami series (formerly Usu Mino until relocating from Mino to Yamagata prefecture), Hasegawa uses only the highest quality Japanese Nasu Kozo and the purest processes to prepare the fibers making them perfect for conservation and restoration. Sought after handmade papers for conservation in the world is Satoshi Hasegawa of Hasegawa Washi Kobo (studio). ![]() ![]() Hasegawa’s HP-02 Usu Gami (15gsm) Excellent conservation paper also used extensively for hinging and backing artworks. Fibers and materials for most machine made papers are started using similar methods of the Nagashizuki papermaking style, which requires prepared fibers to be suspended in a water bath to be sort of scooped onto a suketa (paper mould and screen). ![]() Washi comes in two main forms: machine made and hand made. Different papermakers have modified the method to suit their papers. Nagashizuki is a general term for the process of scooping a sekuta into a vat of fibers, water, and neri to form sheets. Satoshi Hasegawa making paper using Nagashizuki method. Over time, washi became readily available and developed alongside calligraphy, Nihonga (Japanese painting), moku-hanga (woodblock printing)–essentially, symbiotically with the culture of Japan. Fast forward fourteen-hundred years and Kozo is now the most widely used fiber to make washi and Japan reigns supreme in the world of papermaking for its scrutiny unto itself, consistently producing papers of uniform precision and quality. The Kozo plant is cultivated throughout Japan and the lower east side of the Asian continent its fibers, some of the longest plant fibers in papermaking, are also some of the strongest natural fibers suitable for repair work and preservation. Paper too delicate and thus encouraged the shift to Kozo which was already in use by textile makers. Kozo plant ready for harvest (pic: University of Kentucky Library) The Prince Regent at the time found the materials for Chinese 720 AD), that the Korean Buddhist priest Doncho introduced Chinese paper and ink making to the people of Japan around the year 610. It is written in The Chronicles of Japan, Nihon Shoki (ca. Manufacturing currency, decor, and architecture, of which many examples still remain. Oftentimes the same or similar paper would be used to patch holes in damaged articles, and in the case of shoji and lanterns, more ornate paper would be used. Japanese paper, or washi as we will refer to it hereto forth, was never missing from art or its conservation before washi was utilized for painting and printmaking by the likes of Chagal, Picasso, and Rembrandt, it was used for specific tasks required by members of Japan’s ruling class, like writing legal documents,Įnchin Decree written on Japanese paper during the Heian period ca. By doing so, handmade Japanese paper infiltrated artists’ practices abound. Thirty years is but a droplet in the 1,400 year-old slurry of Japanese papermaking history, but when it dawned on Hiromi thirty years ago that there was a need for highly refined, chemical free, archival, strong, handmade papers among conservation specialists in the United States, she used her papermaking training to turn the droplet into a needle point that has helped sew together the history of Japanese papermaking and Art Conservation in the West. Each location provides slightly different services, some of which include: fine art reproduction (giclée printing), UV set ink digital printing, CNC routing, laser cutting and etching, museum grade high resolution scanning, and much more! For over twenty years, CyberCopy has accumulated a repertoire of services making them a go-to location for your many art needs. Until now, we have not had luck finding digital printing services who would offer to print on papers with deckle edges, that are extremely thin, or extremely thick.ĬyberCopy is comprised of four locations throughout Southern California: Santa Barbara, Ventura, Westlake Village, and headquartered at its Culver City location servicing most of Los Angeles. We jumped at the idea of bringing a selection of some of our most traditional papers, which are far from designed for digital printing of any sort, but have always drawn interest for such processes because of their physical appearances. We were recently invited by our new-found neighbors, CyberCopy USA, to challenge their very large flat-bed printer with some of our most robust papers from Japan and around the world.
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