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Established by Kathryn and Howard Clark in 1971, Twinrocker was pivotal to the renaissance of hand papermaking in America. Combining their background in Fine Art and Mechanical Engineering, they approached the ancient craft of hand papermaking with a fresh look, forming sheets by hand in the most traditional manner, but also introducing innovative design. Twinrocker makes handmade papers from the finest cotton rag, just as paper was made in Europe centuries ago. The dedicated staff of fine craftspeople have set the highest standards for the papers, both in beauty and performance. Aesthetically innovative, Twinrocker was the first hand mill to make a wide variety of sizes and shapes, including circular and square sheets. Papers are made in dozens of sizes from 2" x 3" cards for invitations, up to 34 x 48" art papers. Thickness ranges from text to board weight. For beautiful, rough, surface texture, the sheets are naturally air dried in their drying loft as paper was dried hundreds of years ago. To meet the needs of the modern world, we also offer a smooth, yet toothy Cold Pressed surface and a very smooth Hot Pressed surface. Colored papers are tinted with light fast pigments. All are archival and neutral pH. All Twinrocker papers, except those marked “Printmaking or Letterpress” are suitable for all media, including water-based materials such as pen and ink. Watercolor paper is given an additional “surface” or “tub” sizing of gelatine. Only handmade papers have four truly natural deckled edges. (Machine-made papers can only imitate a deckled edge.) In 1973, Twinrocker designed a decorative, exaggerated “Feather” deckle which is recognized world-wide as unique to us. To inquire about either stocked or custom papers, contact or General Manager Travis Becker or Studio Director Kathryn Clark , both master papermakers, or Fran Lacy in customer service.
One of the most confusing things about choosing a paper, is to describe the thickness you want. Centuries ago in Europe, thickness was described by the weight of the paper. In England, they would weigh 480 or 500 sheets (a ream) of paper, like 22" x 30" Imperial, and the weight of each sheet would be referred to by the weight of that whole ream, i.e. 140 lb., or 90 lb. Today, the universal standard is to describe the thickness of a sheet by the weight, in grams, as if you weighed a square meter of that paper ( i.e. 140 lb. = 300 gm/m2). Because Twinrocker paper is handmade, it can vary slightly in thickness from sheet to sheet, so we actually measure the thickness of the sheet with a micrometer to arrive at thousandths of an inch, or .000" and then convert that to a Letter Code. See the Chart below: |
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CODE description |
Weight in pounds (lb.) |
Weight in grams (g/m2) |
Thickness in inches (") |
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(TT) Thin Text |
55 lb |
80 g/m2 |
004" - .005" |
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With Handmade Paper, as opposed to machine made paper, there are only three different surfaces: Coldpressed, Hotpressed, Rough. However, Twinrocker also offers a “Both” option in which one side of the sheet is Hotpressed and the other side is Coldpressed which you will find in the on-line ordering section of our web site. |
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A flat sheet of paper with a mildly textured surface or “tooth”. It is the most commonly used surface. |
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A flat sheet of paper with a VERY SMOOTH, satiny surface, created by burnishing it between stainless steel plates in a calender machine or mangle. Sometimes Hotpressed paper is called “plated” or “calendered”. |
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With Handmade paper, as opposed to machine made paper, a rough surface is created in the drying loft as the damp sheet dries in the breeze. This allows the sheet to shrink naturally and develop a rough or “pebbled” surface as well as being slightly cockled or wavy. Because of the shrinking, a 22" x 30", sheet will actually be about 21 ½" x 29". |
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