Surf Paper

Lightweight yet strong, this sheer pH neutral rayon paper is a favorite among surfboard artists for custom logo applications and among chine-colle’ artists when layering, due to its ability to meld almost transparently into the subject matter it is laminated to.

It is recommended to print on the shiny side of this paper. This paper can be screen printed, block printed or digitally printed. For digital prints, the “carrier method” is recommended, since this rayon paper is too thin to feed through a digital printer on its own. The carrier  method uses a base paper or plastic sheet as a base to carry the thin paper through the printer. Then the printed paper is removed from the base after printing.

To achieve this, the paper is trimmed smaller than the carrier sheet and either taped to or adhered down to the carrier sheet before printing. If adhering vs. taping, several artists have recommended adhering it to a plastic carrier sheet, such as Grafix brand 5 mil Dura-Lar® polyester film. The paper is layed on top of the carrier sheet and brushed with an adhesive precoat such as inkAID Clear Semi-Gloss to temporarily laminate it to the plastic so that it doesn’t move when going through the printer. Precoating can also aid in better ink application results from your printer. Once the precoat is dried, the laminated sheet is run through the printer and the printed sheet is then peeled away from the Dura-Lar carrier sheet. This carrier process is well demonstrated in the book Digital Art Studio, by Karen Schminke, Dorothy Simpson Krause and Bonny Pierce Lhotka.

Special thanks to Elizabeth Burton Designs, for the use of her amazing photography shown as the printed example on our surf paper. Her artworks can be purchased from her online store on RedBubble. Be sure to follow her Facebook page as well!

Last but not least, for you surfers looking for a Surfboard Shop to print your logo graphics on surf paper for your board, check out Foam-EZ your one stop surf shop, they can laminate it for you too!