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[H2] THE ARCHES® RANGE OF ART PAPERS

[IMG: papier Arches aquarelle]
[H4] ARCHES® Aquarelle
[IMG: papier Arches Lavis Fidelis]
[H4] ARCHES® Lavis Fidelis / En-Tout-Cas
[IMG: ARCHES® Huile]
[H4] ARCHES® Huile
[IMG: papier velin d]
[H4] Velin d’ARCHES®
[IMG: papier velin d]
[H4] Velin d’ARCHES® Text Wove
[IMG: Velin BFK Rives paper]
[H4] Velin BFK Rives®
[IMG: papier Velin Johannot]
[H4] Velin Johannot®
[IMG: Ingres d]
[H4] Ingres d’ARCHES MBM®
[IMG: papier ARCHES 88]
[H4] ARCHES® 88
[IMG: moulin du gue paper]
[H4] Moulin du Gué®
[IMG: papier arches expression]
[H4] ARCHES® Expression
[IMG: papier ARCHES Platine]
[H4] ARCHES® Platine

[H3] ARCHES® papers for digital printing

[IMG: ARCHES 88 impression numérique]
[H4] ARCHES® 88 (DIGITAL PRINTING)
[IMG: ARCHES BFK RIVES Pure White digital printing paper]
[H4] ARCHES® BFK RIVES® Pure White (DIGITAL PRINTING)
[IMG: ARCHES BFK RIVES WHITE]
[H4] ARCHES® BFK RIVES® White (DIGITAL PRINTING)
[IMG: ARCHES AQUARELLE RAG]
[H4] ARCHES® AQUARELLE RAG (DIGITAL PRINTING)

ARCHES® is the paper mill that offers the most extensive range of fine art papers made on a cylinder mould.
ARCHES® Aquarelle paper gelatin sized “to the core” is a reference among papers, chosen by artists all over the world. It is only paper in the world made by this unique method.
Among the many papers in the range, we find emblematic names like Velin d’ARCHES® and Velin BFK Rives®.

[IMG: logo-EPV-blanc-transparent-rond]

ARCHES® is a Living Heritage Company (Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant, EPV), a certification that recognises its ancestral know-how in the area of the manufacturing high-quality paper.

More about EPV certification

[H3] WHICH ARCHES® PAPER FOR MY TECHNIQUE?

See the table

Artists and graphic arts professionals know that in the ARCHES® Collection they will find the ideal paper for their technique and sensitivity.

[H4] Watercolour and wet techniques
Among the water-based painting techniques that first appeared in ancient Egypt, referred to as distempers,...
[IMG: sheets of paper for watercolor]
[H4] Oil
Oil painting appeared at the end of the Middle Ages. Oil paint has the particularity...
[IMG: sheet of paper for oil painting]
[H4] Drawing and sketching
Drawing techniques are many and varied: charcoal, sanguine crayon, pastels, coloured pencil, graphite, pen and...
[IMG: drawing papers]
[H4] Ink and calligraphy
Papers for ink and calligraphy need to have good mechanical strength, limit the absorption of...
[IMG: papier encre et calligraphie ARCHES]
[H4] Offset printing
A range of special papers, ARCHES® Expression, specifically designed for offset printing and which lend...
[IMG: papiers ARCHES impression Offset]
[H4] Art publishing
ARCHES® offers the most extensive range of art publishing papers on the market, including Velin...
[IMG: papier édition d]
[H4] Art photography publishing
In 1992, ARCHES® became the first paper mill to develop a special paper for platinum...
[IMG: Phot sur papier Arches platine]
[H4] Writing
A high-end paper, beautifully completed with a finely worked watermark. Once confined to announcing family...
[IMG: faire-part papier Velin]

[H2] NEWS

[H3] BREAKING NEWS

[IMG: Gérardmer hotel school master classes]
A day of knowledge-sharing and craftsmanship at the Gérardmer hotel school

The JBS Chardin hotel school in Gérardmer had the honour of welcoming several Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, Michelin-starred chefs and world champions for an exceptional day marked by a series of exclusive master classes. Renowned leaders in their field, these ambassadors of French culinary excellence shared their passion and know-how with the students, in a truly unique spirit of interaction and mentorship.

[IMG: ARTIVIEW by ARCHES® Nicolas Draeger - Éditions Anthèse]
ARTIVIEW by ARCHES® Nicolas Draeger – Éditions Anthèse

I’ve been painting in watercolour for around 35 years, ever since I moved to Reims. I had the privilege of meeting the Belgian artist Roland Palmaerts, who comes to Reims three times a year. He’s someone who naturally passes on his knowledge and passion to others.

[IMG: ARCHES® Aquarelle Art Journals]
Discover the new ARCHES® Aquarelle Art Journals!

ARCHES® is expanding its range of watercolour products with a collection of ARCHES Aquarelle Art Journals, designed for everyday artistic use. Tailored to the needs of watercolour artists, illustrators, draughtsmen and designers, these journals offer excellent ease of use and elegantly reflect the traditional expertise of the Arches paper mill.

See all the latest news

[H3] VIDEOS

[H2] Arina Albu
Arina Albu is a self-taught watercolor artist. She is convinced that art has a real capacity to soothe and transform lives.
Discover

[H2] Sabine Ziegler
Sabine Ziegler is a German artist whose pictorial universe is primarily expressed through the delicate art of watercolor. Based in Munich, the city where she lives and works, Sabine Ziegler has transformed her preferred medium into a true playground for exploring emotions and the diversity of the world around her.
Discover

[H2] Silke Bonde
Silke Bonde is a contemporary Danish artist who sculpts organic worlds made of paper and watercolor.
Discover

[H3] GALLERY

[IMG: Dominik Senaq is a self-taught artist living in Bordeaux, France. He is a member of the Maison des Artistes and the Société Bordelaise d’Aquarelle. He trained by taking fine arts and printmaking courses with the City of Paris Ateliers Beaux-Arts in the 1980s, and then taking evening classes at the Beaux Arts de Bordeaux from 1989 onwards, and he now exhibits regularly in France. His work has been shown in particular at Art Capital at the Grand Palais in Paris and at the Musée Georges de Sonneville in Gradignan. He works with watercolours, acrylics, ink and felt pen. His aim is to enable the viewer to dive inside the frame of the work - to imagine and fire the viewer]
[H4] Dominik Senaq
Dominik Senaq is a self-taught artist living in Bordeaux, France. He is a member of the Maison des Artistes and the Société Bordelaise d’Aquarelle. He trained by taking fine arts and printmaking courses with the City of Paris Ateliers Beaux-Arts in the 1980s, and then taking evening classes at the Beaux Arts de Bordeaux from 1989 onwards, and he now exhibits regularly in France. His work has been shown in particular at Art Capital at the Grand Palais in Paris and at the Musée Georges de Sonneville in Gradignan. He works with watercolours, acrylics, ink and felt pen. His aim is to enable the viewer to dive inside the frame of the work – to imagine and fire the viewer’s imagination by following the path shown by the colours.
[IMG: Clément Scarpi graduated from the Saint-Luc Higher School of Arts in Brussels, Belgium. He acts as an alchemist, transforming simple subjects into a poetic and transcended reality. A humble little pebble becomes a face, while a familiar bird perched on a schoolchild’s body takes on a novel, tender dimension. His work is a perpetual game between the human, animal, mineral and vegetable realms, achieved through a combination of techniques such as drawing, engraving, sculpture, painting and photography. The artist also draws inspiration from old photo albums where anonymous faces catch his attention. These images give rise to paintings marked by time, substance and brushstrokes. Between painting and engraving, Clément Scarpi thus recreates a new reality, where memories and traces of the past are transformed into profound and sensitive images.]
[H4] Clément Scarpi
Clément Scarpi graduated from the Saint-Luc Higher School of Arts in Brussels, Belgium. He acts as an alchemist, transforming simple subjects into a poetic and transcended reality. A humble little pebble becomes a face, while a familiar bird perched on a schoolchild’s body takes on a novel, tender dimension. His work is a perpetual game between the human, animal, mineral and vegetable realms, achieved through a combination of techniques such as drawing, engraving, sculpture, painting and photography. The artist also draws inspiration from old photo albums where anonymous faces catch his attention. These images give rise to paintings marked by time, substance and brushstrokes. Between painting and engraving, Clément Scarpi thus recreates a new reality, where memories and traces of the past are transformed into profound and sensitive images.
[IMG: Ellen Metsker is an amateur watercolour artist in Gig Harbor, Washington. She has been surrounded by artists her whole life. Her grandmother was a watercolour artist who attended the Chicago Art Institute, and her mother was a porcelain artist (china painter). Ellen started watercolour painting at 69, through a continuing education class. She loves it and takes lessons once a week.]
[H4] Ellen Metsker
Ellen Metsker is an amateur watercolour artist in Gig Harbor, Washington. She has been surrounded by artists her whole life. Her grandmother was a watercolour artist who attended the Chicago Art Institute, and her mother was a porcelain artist (china painter). Ellen started watercolour painting at 69, through a continuing education class. She loves it and takes lessons once a week.
[IMG: Thamara Ramdani (artist]
[H4] Thamara Arts
Thamara Ramdani (artist’s name Ysoleane) is a watercolourist and artist who paints and draws. This new name, inspired by the word soleil (sun), reflects her radiant, solar personality, even though some of her works still bear her old signature, Thamy. Through her paintbrushes and her pencils, she seeks to give life to emotions, stories and suspended moments. Drawing on her passion for botany, she chooses her subjects as much for their beauty as for their strong symbolic dimension. The rose evokes love and beauty, the lily purity and fertility, and the orchid supreme beauty and sensuality. Through these flowers, the artist proposes a symbolic representation of woman, her values and her place in contemporary society.

See the gallery

[H3] SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER

[H3] Follow us on social media
[H1] ARCHES®

[H2] THE SIGNATURE OF A GREAT BRAND

In 1492, master papermakers were already making paper by hand in the Arches paper mill located in the Vosges region of France. The Arches paper mill is now the only one in France to manufacture all its fine art and printing papers using cylinder moulds.
The cylinder mould process combined with the use of a natural raw material – cotton – produces very high quality paper that is as good as the finest handmade papers. This traditional method is the best way of making luxury paper that is stable, watermarked, with a natural grain and deckle edges.

OUR HISTORY

Great artists like Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Raoul Dufy, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Marc Chagall, Joan Miro, René Magritte, Salvador Dali, Pierre Soulages, Zao Wou Ki, Roy Lichtenstein, Bernard Buffet, Andy Warhol, Pierre Alechinsky, and many more, have produced some of their major works on ARCHES® paper.
They are our best ambassadors. Their choice bears witness to the outstanding quality and permanence of ARCHES® papers.
And today ARCHES® still remains the undisputed reference for all artists.

EXCELLENCE IN PAPER

[H4] Sign-up to our Newsletter!

By subscribing you will receive the ARCHES® newsletter 4 times a year. This newsletter will contain information about our products, activities and news.

Error: Contact form not found.

[IMG: Gérardmer hotel school master classes]

The JBS Chardin hotel school in Gérardmer had the honour of welcoming several Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, Michelin-starred chefs and world champions for an exceptional day marked by a series of exclusive master classes. Renowned leaders in their field, these ambassadors of French culinary excellence shared their passion and know-how with the students, in a truly unique spirit of interaction and mentorship.
The programme featured practical workshops across a range of disciplines – cooking, pastry-making, bartending, baking and wine service – allowing the young people in training to learn first-hand from outstanding professionals such as Philippe Mille, Baptiste Depoorter and Pierre Munier. The event concluded with an exquisite dinner, prepared jointly by the students and these masters, bridging the generational divide.

[IMG: Gérardmer hotel school master classes - Arches papers]

Menu printed on natural 160 gsm ARCHES® Expression Texture paper.

To enhance the experience, the evening menu was specially printed on natural 160 gsm ARCHES® Expression Texture paper, adding a touch of elegance and authenticity to this unique moment.

[IMG: Gérardmer hotel school master classes]

[IMG: ARTIVIEW by ARCHES® Nicolas Draeger - Éditions Anthèse]

[H3] Introduce yourself briefly
My name is Nicolas Draeger and I run Éditions Anthèse in Montrouge. Twenty years ago, I set up a lithography workshop because I had several projects for artist’s books I wanted to develop. I come from a family of printers – for six generations now, we’ve been “putting ink to paper”, and the first printer in the family was also named Nicolas Draeger (1813-1910). So it was inevitable that I would carry on the tradition!

We actually revived the workshop to produce artist’s books. The first one we reprinted, in 2004, was Henri Matisse’s Jazz, because in 1947 it had been partly printed and assembled by my family. It’s a book I’ve always known, so I decided to recreate it. We felt the best approach was to use a flatbed press, working colour by colour.
For the 250 copies of the first 1947 edition, all the colour plates were produced at the Mourlot workshop on Velin d’ARCHES® paper, using the pochoir (stencil) technique with gouache, based on Matisse’s original collages. The main challenge was to faithfully reproduce the vivid colours of the cut-outs. The pochoir technique emerged as the obvious choice. The same gouaches used by Matisse were selected for printing, to preserve the luminosity of the original pieces. Each colour was applied separately using hand-cut stencils. The text plates, meanwhile, were produced in Montrouge by my family, who also assembled the book.

[IMG: Jazz Matisse sur papier ARCHES]

[IMG: Jazz Matisse sur papier ARCHES]

[H3] What techniques do you use?
We currently specialise in lithographic printing. We have a Marinoni-Voirin* flatbed press in Colombier format (63 × 90 cm paper), as well as two hand presses. A great deal of artists come to the workshop, drawing directly on stone before we print their works. We work with artists, galleries and various institutions. We work quite a bit with the Matisse Museum in Le Cateau-Cambrésis. We also worked with the Centre Pompidou for its ongoing exhibition. Our print runs are always small – between 20 and 50 copies. Sometimes we produce more, depending on the artist and the commission – we always remain flexible.
The term “flatbed press” comes from the flat printing system it uses. The sheet passes around a cylinder, which applies pressure to it, but only the sheet moves – the ink rollers and printing bed remain flat.
* The Marinoni-Voirin flatbed press dates from the very late 19th to the early 20th century. It replaced the hand press, as it was powered by a small motor that ran initially on steam and then later on electricity. This press allows us to produce very large formats on stone, zinc and aluminium lithographic plates.

[IMG: ARTIVIEW by ARCHES® Nicolas Draeger - Éditions Anthèse]

[IMG: ARTIVIEW by ARCHES® Nicolas Draeger - Éditions Anthèse]

[H3] What are the subjects that inspire you?
I have another passion outside printing: motorcycles. What’s funny is that lots of artists ride motorcycles. We work with a lot of comic-book artists, and many of them are bikers as well. We used to host evenings here with biker friends, including some comic-book artists. Some nights, we’d set out our stones and ask them to draw on them. We also collaborate with artists who specialise in posters in general. One of them, Lorenzo, produces lots of posters for motorcycle events. We also work with another artist with whom we produce at least one or two editions a year. His name is Romain Hugault, and he writes comic books on the theme of aeroplanes. We’ve worked with people like Frank Margerin. In the field of comic books, we must have published work by more than 100 artists to date. Some have produced several editions with us, while others simply wanted to try the experience once. It’s interesting, because nowadays they tend to work more and more with tablets, which means that picking up a pencil again and drawing on stone is a valuable exercise for them.
[H3] Tell us about the “Matisse” book
We’ve been printing Matisse’s work for almost 20 years now, and we’ve become something of Matisse specialists. We reprinted Henri Matisse’s Jazz in 2004. We first reached out to the Matisse heirs to get their permission. Then we worked closely with them on the colour proofs. In the end, they decided to trust us. I met Jean-Mathieu Matisse, the founder of Maison Matisse, four or five years ago. We worked with him to reissue previously unpublished Matisse plates from his personal collection. What he really wanted was to produce a new edition of Henri Matisse’s Jazz. We’d been discussing the project for the past two years, and with the Matisse exhibition coming up at the Grand Palais, he got in touch with the Centre Pompidou, which decided to publish a new edition devoted solely to Matisse’s colour plates. So we worked with the Centre Pompidou on the project, starting in December 2025. Printing the complete set of plates took us seven weeks. The book includes 20 colour plates, amounting to roughly 120 colours altogether. To reproduce the colours with the greatest possible accuracy, we asked for a copy of the 1947 edition to be lent to us.

[IMG: Matisse sur papier ARCHES]

[IMG: Matisse sur papier ARCHES]

[IMG: Matisse sur papier ARCHES]

What was complicated about this book was that some of the colours weren’t easy to reproduce. Back in 2004, we’d been able to have two specific colours specially remade: fuchsia and the characteristic “Matisse” blue. Unfortunately, the manufacturer that had produced the blue some 20 years earlier still had the formulas, but could no longer find the original pigments. So we went with a different blue, which we adapted to make our own mixes and recreate the colour. It wasn’t simple, because the original edition had been produced using gouache. Here, we were working with printing inks, so light was reflected differently on the colours. Printing colour by colour or tone by tone is always complicated. The initial lighter shades have to be strong enough so they won’t disappear once more intense colours are printed over them. In lithography, sometimes we start with blacks – it all depends on the subject and the layers we’re seeking to create. Most of the time, though, we begin with the lightest colours, so we don’t have to clean the press as often. After each colour, we have to clean the entire press, including all the rollers, before we can start on the next shade. If we begin with dark colours and then need to print lighter ones afterwards, the cleaning process is very different. So it all has to be planned carefully in advance.

[H3] Why did you choose Velin BFK Rives® paper for the limited edition of this book?
We’ve been working with this paper for a very long time. Today, it’s hard to find sufficiently heavy grammages of paper in the formats we need. On top of that, we needed a large number sheets, which was an additional challenge. The sheets also had to be perfectly identical, with no variation in colour between two production runs. Even if the difference in colour may seem minimal, when two sheets are placed side by side, that’s all you can see.
At first, the book consisted solely of cut-outs. Henri Matisse explained that “cutting into colour allowed him to draw directly with colours”. Once the 20 plates had been completed, he decided to add handwritten text between them, to provide moments of rest for the eye.
[H3] ARCHES® paper in one word?
We work exclusively with rag and cotton papers, because our presses use a great deal of water. That means we need papers capable of absorbing water, and papers that dry through absorption rather than oxidation. ARCHES® papers, including Velin BFK Rives® paper, are perfectly suited to this type of work. And then our customers expect high-quality papers. Saying that a piece has been printed on ARCHES® conveys a sense of historical quality and lasting durability.
If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be quality. When you open a pack of ARCHES® paper, there are no surprises – you know exactly how the paper will behave.
[H3] In your opinion, who is the greatest artist of all time? Why?
Right now, I’d say Matisse! I love Matisse’s colours, the way he layered them, and all the work he did with his cut-outs. Our printing method allows us to render and preserve the intensity of those colours, precisely because we print one colour at a time.

[IMG: Matisse sur papier ARCHES]

[H3] Do you have any other projects on the go or planned?
We have a small series that we’re starting tomorrow for a gallery that produces books for its exhibitions. A small lithograph is inserted into every book. We also have a large series of posters to produce for Lorenzo, on the themes of motorcycles, cars and women. And we’re going to reprint a five-colour poster for Romain Hugault.

https://anthese.fr/
“Matisse. 1941–1954” exhibition from 24 March to 26 July 2026 at the Grand Palais in Paris:
https://www.grandpalais.fr/en/program/matisse-1941-1954

[IMG: ARCHES® Aquarelle Art Journals]

ARCHES® is expanding its range of watercolour products with a collection of ARCHES Aquarelle Art Journals, designed for everyday artistic use. Tailored to the needs of watercolour artists, illustrators, draughtsmen and designers, these journals offer excellent ease of use and elegantly reflect the traditional expertise of the Arches paper mill.

[IMG: ARCHES® Aquarelle Art Journals]

[H3] High-end journals, crafted with attention to every detail
A sober, elegant hard cover, made from FSC-certified paper, protects your artwork effectively – even when you’re on the go.
The ARCHES® logo is embossed and discreetly printed on the edge, adding a touch of refinement and authenticity.
Sewn square back binding guarantees robustness and durability. This system allows the journal to open and lie completely flat, providing optimum comfort when drawing or painting without restriction.
An oblique elastic band keeps the journal securely closed.
An elegant inner pocket made of black Velin BFK Rives® paper is glued inside the back cover and is ideal for storing sketches, notes or souvenirs.
A customisable bookmark made of ARCHES® Aquarelle 185 gsm paper allows you to easily find your work in progress.

[IMG: ARCHES® Aquarelle Art Journals]

[H3] An exceptional paper to elevate your creations
At the core of these journals lie 24 sheets (48 pages) of the famous ARCHES® Aquarelle paper, recognised worldwide for its outstanding qualities:
100% cotton paper: the colours stand out better and remain brighter when they dry. The cotton gives the paper an inimitable beauty and feel, as well as strength and longevity.
Made on a cylinder mould, its quality is close to that of paper made using craft methods.
Gelatin sized “to the core”: this preserves the lustre and transparency of the colours whilst preventing paints from penetrating into the paper. It offers the ability to overlay colour washes with no fear of damaging the surface and provides strength to resist erasing without linting.
Natural white, OBA-free.
Two textures are available to suit all artistic styles: cold pressed and hot pressed.
Compatible with a wide range of techniques: watercolour, acrylic, gouache, ink, felt, coloured pencil, sanguine crayon, pastel, graphite, pen, collage and more.

[H3] ARCHES® Aquarelle Art Journals: 3 different formats
Suitable both for quick sketches and elaborate compositions, they become an essential ally for beginners and professionals alike.
The ARCHES® Aquarelle Art Journals are available in three convenient and versatile formats:
Landscape (8.3 in x 5.5 in / 21 x 14 cm): a format for roving artists that slips easily into a bag.
Portrait (8.3 in x 11 in / 21 x 27.9 cm): perfect for vertical compositions.
Square (8.3 in x 8.3 in / 21 x 21 cm): for artists seeking an original creative space.
Their 185 gsm grammage is ideal for wet-on-dry or minimally wet watercolour painting or mixed techniques.

With its new Art Journals, ARCHES® empowers all artists to bring their creativity to life wherever and whenever inspiration strikes, without ever compromising on quality.
Let yourself be captivated by these new creative companions, designed to be strong, elegant and functional!