Pearson’s Fine Papers is a small handmade paper producer located in Hampshire, England.  They use traditional methods and the finest cotton pulp to produce high quality, watermarked, archival hand made paper. ‘Highclere’ is a 250 gsm paper produced exclusively for Sharpfoto and has been developed specifically for the Platinum/Palladium printing process.

Why Handmade?

Machine made paper always contains fibre ‘flocs’.  This is where the paper fibres agglomerate together during the sheet forming stage and give the paper its ‘formation’.  A paper’s formation can be seen by holding any sheet up to the light and assessing the ‘look through’.  The background formation of the paper is one of the major factors influencing image quality in Platinum-Palladium printing.  If the background formation of the paper is poor, then the fibre flocs absorb the sensitising chemicals at different rates when the paper is prepared.  When the image is exposed, the floc structure of the sheet becomes apparent as image mottle.   During the handmade process, however, the papermaker uses his skill and judgement to shake the mould just as the water drains from the sheet.  It is this shake that, if done correctly, can break up the fibre flocs and clear the sheet’s formation. 

All of the paper produced for Sharpfoto has a superbly clear background formation that wouldn’t be achievable with machine-made paper, guaranteeing that the properties of the paper do not interfere with the crispness of the image.  Also, all of the paper produced by Pearson’s Fine Papers is made from cotton fibre (the purest form of cellulose fibre) and is neutral (AKD) sized.  This ensures that Highclere is completely free of the additives typically found in commercial, machine made papers (such as optical brighteners, Calcium and Magnesium Carbonate fillers, wet strengthening agents, chemical buffers etc.) which are incompatible with the iron based chemistry fundamental to Dr Mike Ware’s Platino-palladiotype process.

This purity, allied to careful and painstaking development, results in a paper that demonstrates unrivalled archival stability as well as all of the merits – both aesthetic and mechanical - necessary to produce a fine Platinum-Palladium print.

Highclere is an inherently durable paper, resilient enough to withstand the lengthy immersion in the processing chemistry and rinse baths characteristic of most of the so-called ‘alternative’ photographic processes. Highclere also behaves consistently  during coating, the result of carefully optimised surface characteristics that  ensure that the precious sensitizer containing the platinum and palladium metal is absorbed deep into the cellulose fibres (thus increasing the physical durability of the image) without the paper itself being too absorbent. Highclere possesses a pleasing natural white colouration and a delicate, finely textured surface providing the perfect substrate to exhibit the individual style of Sharpfoto’s photographs.

The Papermaking process

The paper pulp used by Pearson’s Fine Papers is prepared form the finest cotton linters.  This pulp is beaten to achieve the ideal fibre length and drainage characteristics in a valley beater.  Once the pulp (or ‘stuff’) has been prepared, it is fed into the papermaker’s vat at the correct consistency.  The papermaker then forms a sheet of paper on the mould and deckle.  The mould is a hardwood frame covered with a phosphor bronze wirecloth and the deckle is the wooden frame that sits over the mould and traps a pond of fibre on the wire cloth.  The moulds and deckles used by Pearson Fine Papers are all around 50 years old and are made by Edwin Amies & Co and Green, Son & Waite.  As the sheet is formed, the papermaker gives it the all important ‘shake’ before turning it out onto a woollen felt.  The sheets are then pressed and dried in a way that produces the optimum sheet smoothness.

The Watermark

A watermark is an area in the paper sheet with decreased fibre density.  This is an intrinsic part of the paper and is formed at the same time as the sheet.  The watermark in Sharpfoto’s prints will show up within the border in the bottom left corner of the photograph. When held up to the light the text will appear light, or when mounted, as dark text.   The presence of the watermark is also the guarantee that your photograph is a genuine Sharpfoto print.