AlternativeExperimental
Layered Paper Pulp Printing
Paper that's printed as it's formed.
Pigmented cotton or abaca pulp is sprayed through stencils onto a wet sheet—colour and substrate emerge together.
A machine glues thousands of paper sheets together one by one, slicing each sheet to the shape of that layer.
- ▸The final object is built up like a contour map made of paper.
- ▸When you peel away the scrap, a full color, papery 3D model is left.
- ▸Cheap material, surprisingly strong, fully recyclable.
History
Emerged from late-20th-century studio papermaking (Dieu Donné, Magnolia Editions). Practiced as a sculptural printmaking hybrid by artists like Kiki Smith and Chuck Close.
Process
- 01
Beat cotton or abaca fibres into pulp.
- 02
Pigment separate batches with archival pigments.
- 03
Pull a base sheet on a deckle.
- 04
Spray pigmented pulp through stencils onto the wet sheet.
- 05
Press, couch and dry as a single integral artwork.
Strengths
- +Image is the paper
- +Permanent—no surface ink to fade
- +Sculptural
Limitations
- −Slow
- −Studio-bound
- −Hard to edition consistently
Sources & citations
References for the history and process described above.
- 01Mcor Selective Deposition Lamination — Smithsonian Magazine
- 02Sheet Lamination Additive Manufacturing — ASTM International — ISO/ASTM 52900