The Best Acid-Free Tissue and Interleaving Papers for Protecting Your Work
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An essential material for any studio, interleaving paper effectively prevents damage to your artworks. Use these acid-free sheets to separate prints, photographs, documents, textiles, and book pages to prevent unwanted chemical reactions and protect scratches or pigment chips. Interleaving paper is also great for securing work in transit, serving as a barrier between art and packaging material, and for covering delicate papers or fabrics. While they might all look the same, interleaving papers do have differences, and it’s critical that you purchase the right product to suit the materials that need preservation. Browse our top picks below.
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ARTnews RECOMMENDS
Legion Interleaving Paper
Designed specifically for artists and for interleaving, Legion’s paper is heavier than most, with a 60 gsm or 40-pound weight. This thickness provides top-grade protection for your artworks while still feeling light and folding with ease. Made of pH-neutral, 100 percent high-alpha cellulose, it is buffered, which helps to prevent acid migration to tissue, making this ideal for storing photographs and objects sensitive to higher pH levels. Each is machine-made in the United States so you can expect consistent and crisp white sheets. The papers measure 25 by 38 inches—great for large artworks but also easily customizable for smaller pieces. Note that you have to purchase this product by the sheet.
Legion Interleaving Paper
WE ALSO LIKE
Lineco Interleaving Tissue Paper Pack
Another buffered option, Lineco’s paper pack is made with the addition of a 3 percent calcium carbonate buffer to provide safe and long-term protection of photographs. These acid-free sheets are thinner than our top pick, at 16 gsm or 0.001 inches, making it ideal for artists seeking a balance between protection and bulk. This is also a great option for those who want to buy packs of paper rather than individual sheets, as the papers are sold in 100-sheet packs. The sizes are smaller than Legion’s, but you have five to choose from, from 8 by 10 inches to 16 by 20 inches.
Lineco Interleaving Tissue Paper Pack
ANOTHER GOOD OPTION
The Linen Lady Archival Tissue Paper
Ann Christine, better known as the Linen Lady, is an established name in preservation. She specializes in high-grade archival tissue carefully formulated for long-term storage and protection. These are unbuffered white sheets that are pH-neutral and safe to use with protein- or vegetable-based materials, whether textiles like silk and wool or finicky cyanotypes. Sold in a pack of 75, each of these sheets has a 10-pound weight and measures 20 by 30 inches. They’re also attractive, designed with a subtle sheen.
The Linen Lady Archival Tissue Paper
STUDENTS’ CHOICE
Colors of Rainbow Acid-Free Tissue Paper
This tissue paper is an environmentally friendly option that tends to be more budget-friendly. The sheets are made entirely out of recycled papers sourced from Forest Stewardship Council–certified producers. We recommend them for students who want to store work without paying a premium and who also might not need to send art off in a professional presentation. Acid-free and sturdy but not stiff, they arrive in a neatly folded bundle so they remain crisp until ready for use. Each measures 15 by 20 inches and comes in a 48-sheet pack.
Colors of Rainbow Acid-Free Tissue Paper
ALSO CONSIDER
MIP-It MicroChamber Interleaving Paper
This paper is designed to protect comics, but it’s a great choice for books, magazines, and small-size prints. Each is made of 100 percent cotton and cut to size. Every pack comes with 50 sheets, and you can choose from four sizes, from 6½ by 10⅛ inches to 7 3/16 by 10 3/16 inches. The sheets are formulated with a proprietary adsorbent zeolite that absorbs acid from papers. MIP-Its sheets are capable of eliminating odors from smoke, mold, and mildew as well as guarding against airborne pollutants.
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Brought to you by the oldest and most widely circulated art magazine in the world, ARTnews Recommends helps you make the choice that suits you best from products in hundreds of art and craft supply categories. Our offerings are based on intensive research, interviews with artists and craftspeople, and the accumulated experience of the site’s editors and writers. We provide trustworthy and helpful advice about materials to artists ranging from beginner to professional.
1. TheLinenLady Acid Free Archival Tissue
Ann Christine, better known as the Linen Lady, takes preservation seriously. For years she has been selling this high-grade archival tissue carefully formulated for long-term storage and protection. Carrying a satisfying sheen, these white sheets are thin enough to easily fold and crumple, but they aren’t prone to tearing. They are also nonbuffered, which means they are pH-neutral and won’t tarnish silver, while also safe to use with animal-derived materials like silk and wool. You’ll pay a premium for these sheets, but they’re worth it.
TheLinenLady Acid Free Archival Tissue
2. Flexicore Packaging Tissue Paper
If you want to aid a bit of flair to your storage solutions, consider this acid-free option, which comes in more than a dozen vibrant colors. It’s an eye-catching way to store trinkets or to wrap work that you’re sending off to customers, but for long-term protection, you’ll probably want to invest in an upgrade. These sheets are quite thin, so you have to be extra careful when handling them to avoid accidental rips.
Flexicore Packaging Tissue Paper
3. Colors of Rainbow Kraft Tissue
These sheets are made entirely out of recycled papers sourced from Forest Stewardship Council–certified producers. Although sheer, they are sturdy but not stiff; you can easily manipulate the tissue without tearing it. This makes them ideal for packaging items you’ve crafted or using in decorative arrangements, but note that for long-term storage, only the “kraft” color (among dozens of other available hues) is acid-free. The sheets come in a neatly folded bundle so they remain crisp until ready for use.
Colors of Rainbow Kraft Tissue
4. Lineco Acid-Free Tissue
Lineco’s archival-quality products are tried and trusted, and its tissue is a consistent top pick of artists. Durable and translucent, these white sheets are buffered, which means they are treated with an alkaline solution that helps prevent acid migration to the tissue itself. They are well suited for paper ephemera, from photographs to documents to archival clippings, but should not be used with protein- or vegetable-based materials, nor with certain prints such as cyanotypes. These are high-quality sheets that can withstand manipulation without ripping. Because they are thin, they also don’t take up a lot of space in storage boxes.
Lineco Acid-Free Tissue
5. Premium Quality Gift Wrap Acid-Free Tissue Paper
This acid-free tissue is best used for short-term protection of art and keepsakes; while it’s a quality product, it’s far from museum-quality. These sheets are an excellent option for wrapping artworks and other items for transportation, or for keeping small pieces safe for a year or so. The sheets are relatively small, but you get a lot for your money, so this is a good option for artists or business owners who frequently ship delicate material.
Premium Quality Gift Wrap Acid-Free Tissue Paper
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