Review on 🎨 Paul Rubens 100% Cotton Hot Press Watercolor Journal - 7.6” x 5.3”, 20 Sheets (140lb/300gsm) - Acid-Free & Ideal for Watercolors, Gouache, and Acrylics by Tara Ford

I'll say right away: I didn't check the product and asked for a refund. I hope you can see it in the photo, but the goods arrived perfectly packaged and neatly packaged, there is no sign of any damage. I opened it up immediately and found a few isolated issues. Damage/Manufacturing Issues: The 1st edition was about 7 pages in the book: The bookmark ribbon that lay diagonally inside the book apparently left a stain on both pages, it was pinched in between (pages 6 and 7). The second problem that has been identified is that on pages 1-6 there is a permanent crease towards the outer edge of the front of the book (opposite the spine) that occurs on each of the 6 pages. Oddly enough, the wrinkles started on the first page that touched the ribbon (page 6), although the ribbon didn't seem to have anything to do with the wrinkling. The first fold on page 6 also has brownish stains. The 3rd issue I noticed last, but is perhaps the most annoying due to the build quality, is related to the markers that keep appearing throughout the book. EXPLANATION (go to "OK" for a shorter version) A book, like almost every book of its kind, consists of "captions"/sections/collections, d - Some captions contain them in a stack, but in this case each caption a piece of thick watercolor paper, 2 sides of which fall on a signature (not counting the back). That explanation aside, if you open the signature so both sides of it are visible, I noticed that there were marks on both sides that seemed to be from rubbing against the metal (you know how that looks when you see that scratch). paper with a coin or a coin or a nail). The marks are now clearly visible in the center of the left page (which will be the "back page" of the previous page) and on the edges (before the perforation) of the right page. This particular disadvantage only affects you if you use back and 1/2 page discounts. Conclusion: If I only had the first release, only two of 40 theoretical workspaces would be damaged. (assuming we paint on both sides). If I only had the second problem, only 12 out of 40 healthy services would be broken. If I only had the third problem, only 25% of healthy services would be broken. For all three problems, only 20 of the 40 serviceable services (10 actual pages) can be used. I think it's pretty obvious by looking at the pages that the paper wasn't handled properly when they cut or stacked the pages in making the book. Of course, this is not a seller or delivery problem, it is entirely dependent on the quality control of the production. There is also no reason why the bookmark ribbon included with the book should stain the pages. More thoughts on quality: the book has no unpleasant odors, the outside is a comfortable material with a soft feel. There is a small discrepancy between the spacing between the signatures and the spine, but it seems insignificant to me. The product is listed as a hot press product and admittedly I don't have much experience with hot press paper so I can't rate its quality but I will say it only shows a permanent but uneven paper texture visually and to the touch. Almost as if everything used to press paper has an intentionally repeating texture; It's the same on every side and I want it to be similar to how people can use a textured roller when painting their house so they end up with a repeating final texture consistency, but every square inch contains texture modeling. As for watercolours, I personally don't think this paper gives a perfectly even flawless look with a slight blur, but I could be wrong. The paper is naturally less jagged than cold-pressed paper. To be honest I think it would be great as a beginner junk pad for wash or acrylic paints but I think the shortcomings would definitely discourage any watercolourist. I wanted to use it for gouache but I paid for an undamaged product and that's what I wanted. It may be ok for similarly priced products, but I will not be reordering this particular product.