What is Hahnemühle Photo Rag, and why we print on it
Every print in our shop is made on the same paper: Hahnemühle Photo Rag, 308gsm. The name appears on every product page, so it seemed fair to explain what it is and why we chose it.
A paper mill that has been at it since 1584
Hahnemühle makes paper in Dassel, a small town in Lower Saxony in Germany. The mill received its founding charter in 1584, and it was built there for the water: the site has its own artesian springs, and the paper is still made with that spring water today.
What the name means
"Rag" is an old papermaking word. Before wood pulp took over in the 19th century, good paper was made from cotton and linen rags, and the best art papers still are. Photo Rag is 100% cotton.
The 308 is the weight: 308 grams per square metre. For comparison, ordinary printer paper is around 80. In the hand it feels closer to thin card than to paper, and a large sheet is less likely to ripple in the frame.
Why cotton matters
Cheap poster paper is made from wood pulp. Wood contains lignin, and lignin is what turns old newspaper yellow and brittle. Photo Rag is acid-free and lignin-free, and it is buffered with calcium carbonate, which neutralises acids it picks up from the air over the years. It meets ISO 9706, the international standard for paper meant to last, so the white of the paper stays the white you bought.
The surface
Photo Rag is smooth and matte. There is no gloss, so it doesn't throw back reflections from a window or a lamp, and under glass it still looks like paper. The base is a soft, slightly warm white. That suits our work, which is mostly plaster, terracotta and sage: the colours sit in the paper the way they would on a lime-washed wall.
The paper does contain a small amount of optical brightener in the base, far less than "bright white" papers do. And a matte paper can't reach the deep, glossy blacks a photo paper can. For quiet, textured work like ours that hardly matters. For a black and white night photograph it might.
The ink
Our prints are giclée prints, made on large-format printers with archival pigment inks. Pigment inks are made of tiny solid particles, and they hold their colour much longer than dye inks, which are colour dissolved in liquid.
Our print partner rates these prints for 80+ years indoors, out of direct sunlight. In museum conditions, with controlled light and humidity, it is well beyond 100. In a sunny window, or in a damp bathroom, it is much less.
Looking after a Photo Rag print
Hang it on a wall that gets indirect light, because daily direct sun is hard on any print. Keep it out of damp rooms and away from radiators, because cotton paper moves with moisture. If you frame an unframed print yourself, ask for an acid-free mount and UV-filtering glass, and handle the paper by the edges, since the matte surface marks easily.
There is more on care on our Shipping & Art Care page, and if you're deciding where the print should go, our guide to how high to hang a framed print has the measurements.
Quick answers
Is Hahnemühle Photo Rag acid-free?
Yes. It is 100% cotton, acid-free and lignin-free, and buffered with calcium carbonate.
What does 308gsm mean?
The paper weighs 308 grams per square metre. It is a heavy fine art paper that feels close to thin card.
Is Photo Rag glossy or matte?
Matte, with a smooth surface and a soft, slightly warm white base.
How long does a print on Photo Rag last?
Our print partner rates our prints for 80+ years indoors, out of direct sunlight, and well beyond 100 years in museum conditions.