Cotton has a long standing tradition of being used in paper, as this anonymous 18th century poems demonstrates:
Rags Make Paper
Paper Makes Money
Money Makes Banks
Banks Make Loans
Loans Make Beggars
Beggars Make Rags
Today you can still find ‘rags’ from old clothing in recycled papers, however, for digital fine art printing we source only the highest quality cotton linters. These are short fibres found in cotton seeds, and also contain cellulose (found in wood pulp), this gives stability to the final sheet of paper but, due to the cotton source, produces a much softer feel on the surface when compared to 100% alpha cellulose papers. It also has better strength and durability than wood pulp papers.
Cotton also has great archival qualities, it is said that for each percentage point of cotton contained in a paper that represents one year of resisting deterioration through use. For example a 25% cotton paper could be handle and referred to for 25 years without showing signs of deterioration.