The 5 Best Arches Smooth Watercolour Papers (2023 reviews)

It is important to have the well suited arches smooth watercolour paper. In the following post, we will help you to select the best arches smooth watercolour papers.

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Our Top Picks:

Best Overall: Buy: Arches every sheet READ REVIEW

Best For Watercolour Painting: Buy: Arches Hot Press READ REVIEW

Best For frame: Buy: Arches Acid Cotton Paper READ REVIEW

Best For colored pencils: Buy: Arches Hot Press Paper READ REVIEW

Best For beginner: Buy: Arches Smooth Watercolour Paper READ REVIEW

Best Overall: Arches every sheet

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This arches every sheet is capable of outshining several other products featured in this list in overall features. This paper is beautiful, its incredibly smooth making it great for mixed media like pen and ink and is wonderful to work with when using waterrcolors. All arches paper is acid-free and made from 100% cotton, ensuring it valiantly stands the test of time and allows you to make the most out of every sheet. It lends itself better for media that don't require a rougher texture.

The surface is smooth and velvety. This paper is so easy to layer with and you can tape it down without the tape tearing your paper and design/paintings/drawings.

• Takes many layers of watercolor, scrubbing, easily stretched
• Each sheet is generously sized for creating medium-sized images
• Takes water well with minimal pilling and holds its shape fairly well

Best For Watercolour Painting: Arches Hot Press

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This "paper" contains some cotton, which helps prevent the surface of the paper from disintegrating when it gets wet and you try to erase a mistake. Because of the smoother surface this paper is great for "cleaner" more detailed paintings or times when you might want to layer colored pencil on top. It has a finer tooth than cold-pressed, so you can achieve more detail. It is easy to recommend this brand in all of the textures.

This paper is glued on its four sides and accepts a good amount of water and layers. It has some glued edge like a normal pad of paper so the pages are easy to remove. It is also very easy to sketch on. The paint sets to the paper well.

• All arches hot and cold pressed are acid free and fully archivable
• Great flat surface paper, due to the hot press
• Incredible for calligraphy, authentic gold gilding, sketching, and any paint

Best For frame: Arches Acid Cotton Paper

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The arches acid cotton paper is satisfactory and appropriate and fits well with your regular usage. Cold pressed papers absorb water faster and are slightly textured. It is great for watercolor painting, very forgiving on little mistakes, and absorbent. Because its less porous, it also extends drying time, so you can do more color manipulation after application.

It’s excellent quality, holds up well to watercolor or acrylic. The hot pressed papers absorb water faster and are slightly textured. It is very durable and allows for "scrubbing" without lifting the paper. Because it is very durable and allows for "scrubbing" without lifting the paper. It's big enough to do some decent sized paintings even when you're not in a studio.

• Nice quality paper, heavy keeps shape
• Best paper to use for watercolor
• Nice watercolor paper for beginners or intermediate watercolor painters
• Heavy duty, good sizes and easy to frame

Best For colored pencils: Arches Hot Press Paper

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If you often find yourself confused about convenient and suitable paper, this product is your solution. This paper is much more forgiving than the cold press paper. It is made with natural gelatin sizing. The hot pressed watercolor paper is smoother and yields brighter colors than cold pressed. It holds up well to heavy washes. The sizing is consistent and absorbancy is fine and it has a decent heft.

This is hot press watercolor paper. It is best for highly detailed, photo-realistic artwork. They actually have a plastic knife for the purpose.

• Excellent for portraits, holds up to heavy washes
• Great and quality paper for watercolors
• One of the new comers and featured product

Best For beginner: Arches Smooth Watercolour Paper

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The arches smooth watercolour paper is capable of outshining several other products featured in this list in overall features for the price point. This is a fantastic paper for a beginner or a professional. It is made with natural cotton fibers on a cylinder-mold machine. The paper is high quality & you’ll be able to make changes with your non staining watercolors, like re-wetting & blot off areas you don’t like. The top cover sheet needs to be removed to reveal the white paper of the block.

These blocks contain 20 sheets of natural white, acid free, 100% cotton paper, and are glued on all 4 sides. It retains its structure even under moderate scrubbing with the brush much better than cold-pressed. The hot press is very smooth & easier to control than the more textured cold press or rough. This is a wonderful size for quick on-site work.

• Come in standard sizes like 8x10, 11x14, etc
• Good investment for long term