I wanted to see if the papers I used made a difference in blending alcohol markers so I tried blending on six different papers.  Two in particular are supposed to work really well with alcohol markers, the Neenah Solar White and the Strathmore Bristol papers.  What I found when I blended the markers, was impressive.  Please remember that I used Spectrum Noir markers, so maybe other alcohol markers would react differently to the papers, I don’t know.  I wanted to put that note in, though, because maybe Copics blend differently.

The papers I used:
from Michaels (as Recollections is a Michaels brand) Recollections 110 lb. cream card stock that sells there for $14.99 for a pack of 100 (without a coupon).

Georgia Pacific 110 lb white cardstock for pack of 250, that I normally buy at Walmart, but did my price checking was done through Amazon so the price comparison is apples to apples.  $7.27

Strathmore Bristol 100 lb. 9 x 12″ pack $7.43 at Amazon

Canson XL 9 x 12″ 140 lb Cold Press Watercolor Paper $7.37 at Amazon

Neenah Solar White Classic Crest 80 lb. 250 pack, $36.00 at Amazon

Fabriano 140 lb. Hot Press Watercolor Paper 9 x 12″, $10.98 at Amazon.

I used Spectrum Noir markers DR1, DR4, and DR5 for my blending as reds sometimes are difficult to blend.

I started with the Canson that is a watercolor paper.  I started by putting all three colors in a row then used the DR1 to blend them all together.  Then went back over with DR4 to ensure a good blend.  After it was dry, it did not do a good job of blending as you can see the line between 4 and 5.

Strathmore Bristol–after it is dry, this blends really well.

Georgia Pacific–after it is dry it blends really well.

Neenah–I could see a clear line between the 4 and 5 and didn’t think it did a good job of blending.

Fabriano-after it was dry, it blended well.

Recollections (cream color)–even after re-blending it after it was dry, it did not do a good job of blending.

You might wonder if using the larger nib on the DR5 made a difference in my blending.  I used it on the Georgia Pacific, Neenah, Fabriano, and Recollections.  The Fabriano and Georgia Pacifics were two of the three that I chose for best for blending.

The papers that did a great job of blending were:
Strathmore Bristol
Fabriano Hot Press
Georgia Pacific

I hope this helps you to determine which papers you should use with your alcohol markers.

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