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 Morgan Gilmore

See photo description and paper comparison at the bottom of this review. I really thought I was buying a quality thing, but this paper is inferior to even school paper. I don't know what the problem is; Whether there is little or no sizing or design on the paper, the results are dismal. The colors on this paper appear dull and lifeless compared to other 100% cotton paper (and even student-grade 25% acid-free cotton paper) I use. It's as if the pigments are so deeply embedded in the paper that they barely show through! Even varnishes with, for example, granulating properties do not show any of this on this paper, which leads me to believe that it is due to the sizing. The back of the paper is even worse than the front, but the front is bad too. The back cover can be completely dimensionless, which for me is a big problem for a magazine with a limited number of pages. I intended to paint on a medium sized Paul Reuben watercolor pad I bought and used a smaller legal pad (this one) to catalog the color swatches, but honestly it's useless for both purposes. The front of the page is slightly better than the back, which doesn't seem as big as some other brands of cheap watercolor paper. But hey, the cover is great so I'm giving them a free star to give a 2 star rating - maybe I'll rip out the paper it came with and fill it with something usable. I would return it but I used a few pages to get it working so I'm stuck with it now. I think I'll try to use it for miniature sketches or something where I don't care too much about colors. They are easy. To top it off, forget all methods like scraping or even trying to gently lift the paint with a stiff brush. The paper tore immediately. Even trying to carefully remove the covering liquid had ripped gaping holes in the paper, so deep had it penetrated. Are you trying to transfer an image using tracing paper and iron-on transfers? Only the average pressure required to transfer the graphite grooves to the paper makes further sketching difficult. I do this on lower quality paper all the time, but this stuff has left me stumped. When the paper was torn again trying to remove the masking fluid, I was ready to toss it in the trash. (No, he didn't sit on it for too long - definitely less than an hour). Pictures: Note the comparison samples I made above (top 2 rows taped to the board behind Paul Reuben's magazine). This is a competitor's 140# heat pressed watercolor paper that is also 100% cotton, so they should be about equal. Pay special attention to the 2 color swatches in the upper right corner compared to the same swatches on this paper. Do you see what's missing? There is no grain on Paul Ruben's paper, while it is clearly visible on other paper. It can be a little hard to see in a photo, but what I noticed on Paul Reubens paper is that the color swatches look like they're covered in white sweat, which really dulls the colors. Note how dull the azo-orange (2nd row, 1st column on both papers) on Paul Reuben's paper looks compared to a competitor. I believe this is because the pigments in the paint penetrate too deeply into the paper to be properly visible, but I'm no expert. This is the only explanation as to why it may not have high grain pigments and appear so dull and lifeless compared to quality paper. These were all express color swatches so I didn't sand the paper to death and ruin the sizing. I will definitely never buy a Paul Reuben product again. Maybe it was a quality control issue at the time, maybe the paper has changed since the other positive reviews were left, but I'm definitely not impressed.