French Paper fading question...

[wolfattack]

Hey everyone,

I'm kinda new here, and over the next few months will be printing posters for a few shows in LA and had a question about French Paper.

I search the forum and noticed that lots of people were talking about how the colored French Papers fade a ton, but I also noticed that most of the posts were from 2006-2008. Is it still the same story, or has the fading subsided any after modifications they may have done in the last couple years?

I'm a student at a design school, so I don't have tons of money to just sample things and see how they work out, so any suggestions on alternated colored papers would be really great too.

Also, does anyone on here live in LA? Where do you order your paper from? Kelly? I should probably call the one by me in Pasadena and see what they are able to order, I'd also like to find a good source for ordering Cougar Opaque in Los Angeles if anyone knows.

Thanks!

[Josh Rickun]

my friend printed a bunch of white on flourescent green from french - stuck em up all over the place, and now there's a ton of all white posters in milwaukee.

[lil_tuffy]

I'm not in LA but I use Kelly in SF for cougar.

I used Neenah classic for colored paper. I quit using french years ago due to the fading. I wouldn't say the neenah is any more or less archival but it definitley is not as prone to sun fade as french.

[crosshair]

Colored papers fade.
If you're going to rely on the paper, that's something you'll have to contend with.

I almost never use colored paper anymore; not because of fading but because I realized I was using it as a crutch to support otherwise weak or unresolved designs, or to dodge technical printing challenges I was afraid of confronting.

[lil_tuffy]

I use colored paper to save my back a lot of pain and paper is cheaper than ink.

[wolfattack]

I use colored paper to save my back a lot of pain and paper is cheaper than ink.

Yeah, thats what I was going to say. I understand what you are saying Crosshair, if I want to print big color flats, I can do so. That being said, colored paper helps not waste ink, time, and effort and can actually do some things that arent as effective on white paper.

Thanks for all the help though everyone, any more suggestions are welcome.

[art chantry]

posters are impermanent advertising artifacts. so, whether you use colored paper or not, they will eventually rot away.

i suggest you just do a great poster and let history worry about whether it fades or not.

[little french]

All paper fades. Colored paper fades more, especially brights just due to the type of dyes used. Recycled content magnifies this effect, which is why French Paper's grades typically get a bad rep. If you are looking to avoid this the best option is to use a grade that is made fade resistant with special pigments such as the Pop-tone from us. I have multiple Pop-tone sheets hanging in my office that have been up for a long time. I cant say that they haven't faded, but the effect off the sun is greatly reduced.

[Hrabovsky]

Isn't it better to burn out than to fade away?

[squeegeethree]

I like that the french took the time to post.