Top 15 Best Papers for Prismacolor Pencils: Reviews

Finding the best paper for Prismacolor pencils is a maze. If you have ever walked into a bookstore, stationery store, an art supply vendor or searched on the internet, you may have noticed that it is challenging to choose the right paper when you know nothing about it.

When painting with Prismacolor pencils, the result obtained will depend on many factors of the paper that you use: its surface, its texture, its weight, or its ingredients. For example, the smoother the surface, the less the color will hang; the rougher the surface, the more the color will hang.

That’s why it’s hard to choose. It all depends on how you want to draw. To make it simple, you can go through this article today with me before choosing an art paper.

What’s Prismacolor Pencils, And How Many Types Of Pencils Do They Have?

Drawing tools manufacturers Prismacolor is one of the world leaders in its sector. This brand originates from the US and is mass-produced in Mexico with many different product lines such as Markers, Pastel, Watercolor, or Colored pencils.

Prismacolor Markers is a product that has premium-quality alcohol and vivid color thanks to its dry-based ink. When Markers are these colored brush pens, Prismacolor Pastel is similar in shape to chalk, and it is smooth chalk that you can easily blend and shade.

As its name, Prismacolor Watercolor is a water-soluble pencil, and you can use it with water to have watercolor effects. The last line product, Prismacolor Colored pencils, are pencils that have soft cores and durable leads. This line is categorized into three groups for all manner of clients: Prisma Scholar, Prisma Professional Quality, and Prisma Verithin.

Why Choosing Paper To Paint Is Important?

Many people think that the heavier the paper, the better the quality; the finer the paper, the easier it is to draw. It doesn’t work that way. Whether a good paper or not will depend on how you want to use it, what type of colored pencils you use.

Choosing a paper’s surface, for example, will affect your pencil trace. The paper with a smooth surface is suitable for meticulous details, difficult to correct, but it comes out with extraordinary color. Textured paper or rough paper is suitable for medium or large details, easy to fix, so it’s suitable for beginners.

This difference happens in all of the paper’s elements. Essentially, all you need is just a Prismacolor pencil and a drawing paper, but choosing a drawing paper is one of the most important influencing decisions for your work.

How Many Types Of Drawing Paper Are There?

There are many ways to classify drawing paper. You can classify it based on its texture, thickness, weight, manufacturing process, material, size, or even tone. In this article, I will give you three common ways.

Based on its manufacturing process, there are three types of drawing paper: Craft/Handmade paper, which is heavier than other drawing paper, highly durable and has cockle texture, Mould-made paper that is made with a machine-made paper and cylinder mould and finishes with a beautiful texture, and Fourdrinier/machine-made.

Based on its texture, there are also three types: Cold-pressed paper is pressed between 2 cold rollers and finished with a medium and week tooth on its surface, Hot pressed paper comes with smooth and free texture, and Rough paper has a seamless texture with many strong tooths.

And based on its size, there are six types of drawing paper A5, A4, A3, A2, A1, and A0 (arranged in order from small to large).

What Are The Best Paper For Prismacolor Pencils?

Strathmore is known for their traditional basic drawing paper, while Arches is famous for their aquarelle paper, and Canson delivers surprising-quality paper.

Then, what is the best paper for Prismacolor pencils that you should use? Let’s take a look at my recommended paper list and choose the best one for your painting.

• Best Overall – Strathmore Sketching Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “Lightly texture, smooth, acid-free, made in the USA, bound as a book, for dry media.”
• Best Budget – Canson Fine Surface Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “65 pounds, non-acid, sketch pad with hard cover, easy to correct, smooth texture.”
• Best For Prismacolor Markers – Bienfang White Sketch Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “White, lightweight, not include acid, suitable for many types of colored pencils, medium surface.”
• Best Bristol Paper – Neenah Brightness Heavy-Weight Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “Smooth surface, heavy weight, bright white, acid-free, cardstock.”
• Best Paper For Primascolor Pastel Pencils – Strathmore Pastel Pad Many Size Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “For professionals, 6 subtle colors, non-acid, suitable for oil, soft or hard pastel, textured surface.”
• Best For Easy Blending – Strathmore Smooth White Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “Free texture and vellum surface, heavyweight, high-quality Bristol paper, has additional sizes.”
• Best Toned Paper – Strathmore Toned Acid Free Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “Toned sketch paper, made from recycled material, acid-free, good quality.”
• Best For Beginners – Espon Matte White Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “Matte paper finish, bright white, basic weight, double-sided, work with all inkjet printer.”
• Best For Professionals – Bellofy Sketching And Coloring Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “Watercolor and acrylic painting, durable, acid-free, drawing notebook, thick and free texture.”
• Best For Watercolor – Arches Grain Hot Press Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “Hot pressed paper, 100% cotton, thick and high quality, not easy to tear.”
• Best Sketching Paper – Bellofy Sketching Non-Acid Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “Fine tooth surface, smooth paper, bound with a micro-perforated, easy to erase, free of chemicals.”
• Best Hot-Press – Paul Rubens Watercolor Hot Pressed Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “Fine texture, made of cotton, hot-pressed paper, watercolor painting, well designed.”
• Best Cold-Press – Bee Paper Watercolor Cotton Paper For Prismacolor Pencils
  “Cold-pressed cotton paper, loose paper, good quality for blending watercolor.”

Best Paper For Prismacolor Pencils Comparison Chart

You always have to choose the best Paper For Prismacolor Pencils if you want to get a high-quality drawing. So I have confronted these main factors in the comparison chart below to give you an overview of these products I have mentioned.

Top 15 Best Paper For Prismacolor Pencils Reviews

If you are still wondering how to fit these art papers into your works, let’s go through this detailed review of my Best Paper For Prismacolor Pencils. It will help you demystify these options.

Strathmore Sketching Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best Overall)

This is an art paper that I would recommend for all drawing and sketching types. This Strathmore sketching paper comes with perfect quality and a basic drawing paperweight with high manufacturing techniques.

This acid-free paper has a light texture, and you can draw on it with ink, charcoal, and almost Prismacolor’s product lines. Its 60 lb weight is not really suitable for wet media like markers or watercolor pencils.

100 sheets of paper are bound with a micro-perforated so that you can paint on the right or the left without any trouble. The paper’s hardcover in brown is a plus for you to draw at everywhere you prefer easily.

Key Features:

• Bound as a notebook
• Smooth and thin paper
• Basic weight
• Draw with dry media

Product Specifications:

Paper size	9 in x 12 in
Paper Weight	60 lb
Number of sheets/pack	100 sheets
Color	White
Surface/Texture	Smooth texture
Brand	Strathmore

Click here to watch a detailed review of the features of this Strathmore Sketching Paper

Canson Fine Surface Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best Budget)

This Canson pad is manufactured in the USA and has 100 sheets of paper. This paper is a perfect and efficient drawing notebook for people who want to practice painting or daily painting.

Its 65 lb weight, 9×12 inches size, and smooth surface are factors you should notice when choosing it. Thanks to these factors, you can also use this drawing paper as a printing A4. That’s very convenient for all tasks you may have.

Without professional paper’s thickness, this Canson paper is maybe not an artist’s choice. However, it is a sketching paper pad with texture and durability that you should use one time to draw.

Key Features:

• Acid-free
• Ideal for practice drawing
• Fine texture
• Erasable

Product Specifications:

Paper size	9 in x 12 in
Paper Weight	65 lb
Number of sheets/pack	100 sheets
Color	White
Surface/Texture	Smooth texture
Brand	Canson

Find out the reasons why you should get this Canson paper pad via this review clip

Bienfang White Sketch Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best For Prismacolor Markers)

It is quite hard to find a good painting paper for wet colored pencils like Prismacolor markers. And this Bienfang white paper is a friendly suggestion for you. It will bring a better result.

This sketchbook comes with a wire binder, and you can paint or draw with both your left hand and right hand. When you are out with this pad, you can also tear off some pages and use them as paper notes.

Thanks to its non-acid material, this drawing paper can hold ink of almost all markers and watercolors, keep it vibrant and not smudgy. With this Bienfang Paper, it will be a joy while you work with Prismacolor Markers.

Key Features:

• 50 lb lightweight
• Lightly textured surface
• Can choose paper’s size
• Comes with 100 sheets

Product Specifications:

Paper size	8.5 in x 11 in
Paper Weight	50 lb
Number of sheets/pack	100 sheets
Color	White
Surface/Texture	Medium surface
Brand	Bienfang

Neenah Brightness Heavy-Weight Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best Bristol Paper)

This Bristol paper will give you a strong surface so that you can paint well. Its weight at 110 lb, bright white, and smooth texture are qualifications for great artwork. You can paint it with colored pencils, markers or ink as you want.

The pack comes with over 300 loose sheets of paper that are enough for a long time. It is not much for some professionals, but there are other suggestions with 2 or 4 packs for getting an economical purchase.

Overall, this Neenah brightness heavy-weight paper is a high-quality bristol paper. All are non-acid paper and have an ideal thickness, and you can use it as a backing board or put your artwork directly on its surface.

Key Features:

• Thick art paper
• Brilliant white
• Free texture
• Nearly the size of A4 paper

Product Specifications:

Paper size	8.5 in x 11 in
Paper Weight	110 lb
Number of sheets/pack	300 sheets
Color	Bright white
Surface/Texture	Smoothest texture
Brand	Neenah

Strathmore Pastel Pad Many Size Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best Paper For Primascolor Pastel Pencils)

Strathmore pastel pad has lovely color tones such as tan, light yellow, pastel pink, off white, blue, and light green. So you can choose a background color for your painting. This is a highlight of this pastel paper.

This art paper brings the best effect when you paint it with pastel pencils. This tooth on its surface will keep brushstrokes of soft or hard pastel pencils intact. Plus, its non-acid material can restrict the yellowing.

Strathmore pastel paper is bound with a brown ground book cover. They wrote all information about this pad on that cover and printed a little girl’s portrait that can be your inspiration whenever you see it.

Key Features:

• Acid free drawing paper
• 6 pastel colors per pad
• Exactly same A4 size
• Less tooth on its surface

Product Specifications:

Paper size	9 in x 12 in
Paper Weight	80 lb
Number of sheets/pack	24 sheets
Color	Bright white
Surface/Texture	Textured finish
Brand	Strathmore

Strathmore Smooth White Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best For Easy Blending)

For blending with Prismacolor pencils, this Smooth White Paper is the perfect one. Its material is non acid, its surface is free texture, and its smoothness is perfect. You really should add it to your list if you are Prismacolor’s users.

It is available in similar size to A4, A3 or A2. Depend on your works, for home, for the studio, office, or school, you can pick the right paper size. Bringing many choices of paper size, Strathmore pleased many painters.

This smooth surface paper can work well with almost dry or wet media such as Prismacolor Pastel or Markers. However, the manufacturer Strathmore didn’t recommend watercolor pencils. If you are a smooth blending lover, this paper is still an ideal choice.

Key Features:

• Smooth surface
• Non-chemical materials
• Nice glue binding
• High-quality blending paper

Product Specifications:

Paper size	9 in x 12 in
Paper Weight	100 lb
Number of sheets/pack	20 sheets
Color	White
Surface/Texture	Smooth texture
Brand	Strathmore

Strathmore Toned Acid Free Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best Toned Paper)

Choosing a toned paper for creation is considered an advanced artist’s choice. You have to choose wisely the colored pencils and use different color schemes to make your work stand out from the dark background.

Non-acid, basic weight, recycled material, and perfect surface, these factors help this paper be appreciated. This toned paper makes light painting striking but still keeps dark or black painting have strong sense and soulful feelings.

It is recommended to use with colored pencils. With paintings with colored pencils, you can show your work’s value and keep this toned paper’s significance. An awesome toned paper!

Key Features:

• Toned sketching paper
• Made from materials that can be recycled
• Heavy chipboard backing
• For non-watercolor pencils and markers

Product Specifications:

Paper size	9 in x 12 in
Paper Weight	80 lb
Number of sheets/pack	50 sheets
Color	Tan
Surface/Texture	Medium surface
Brand	Strathmore

Unbox and review this Strathmore Toned Paper via this video to get a closed-up.

Espon Matte White Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best For Beginners)

A sturdy paper and heavyweight are the reasons that make this Espon Matte Finish Paper be suggested to beginners or students for their drawing practice, painting exercise, or drawing hobby.

Thanks to its matte finish and bright white, this art paper make your works look more professional. It would be the best idea to try it for your artworks at school or your significant creation, which needs a heavy and strong paper.

However, you can have disturb when putting a strong erasure on this paper’s surface. So it is not really suitable for graphite pencils. You also need to pay attention when choosing the paper’s side for your work because it has a bright side and a duller side.

Key Features:

• Can use for clerical tasks
• ISO (European Standard) brightness
• Recommended for art exercises
• 2 color tones on 2 paper’s sides

Product Specifications:

Paper size	8.5 in x 11 in
Paper Weight	48 lb
Number of sheets/pack	50 sheets
Color	Bright white
Surface/Texture	Matte finish
Brand	Epson

You want to know why people choose this Espon Matte Paper? Click here and watch it (from 2:30)

Bellofy Sketching And Coloring Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best For Professionals)

This Bellofy Coloring Paper is a perfect choice for all professionals who usually have many types of artwork. Durable, non-chemicals, strong surface, and textured are what I will say about this Bellory paper. This is one kind of paper that artists prefer to draw.

This paper’s surface can hold well colors of watercolor, markers, acrylic pencils, and ink pen. You can also draw with graphite, Prismacolor pastels, or Prismacolor colored pencils without any difficulty when erasing.

Compared with the bristol smooth surface and the rough surface, this art paper’s surface is a mix of them. You won’t be afraid of “too smooth” or “too rough” line drawings. This surface comes with a wonderful medium texture.

Key Features:

• Use for watercolor pencils or acrylic painting
• Bound with spiral bind
• Sketching pad in 9×12 inches
• Easy to tear each paper

Product Specifications:

Paper size	8.5 in x 11 in
Paper Weight	98 lb
Number of sheets/pack	100 sheets
Color	White
Surface/Texture	Premium surface
Brand	Bellofy

Arches Grain Hot Press Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best Watercolor Paper)

Pressed between two hot rollers that “iron” all tooth on its surface, this Arches Grain Paper comes with a smooth, hard, and non-tooth surface. This type of surface is totally suitable for watercolor, especially for detailed painting.

Great durability and resistance to destruction are great advantages of this paper. These factors also keep the surface from bleeding and the color from blotching. Your artwork will stand out well and be more realistic at the end.

With its heavy-weight and thickness, this Hot Press Paper does not easily warp or buckle as other art papers when you put a watercolor painting on it. Absorb “water” and retain “color”; this is what a watercolor paper needs to have.

Key Features:

• Free tooth on the surface
• Strong and durable paper
• Pressed between 2 hot rollers
• 12 sheets of paper per pad

Product Specifications:

Paper size	9 in x 12 in
Paper Weight	140 lb
Number of sheets/pack	12 sheets
Color	Natural white
Surface/Texture	Hot-pressed texture
Brand	Arches

Let’s check out the differences between rough and hot-press versions of this Arches Paper, Click here!

Bellofy Sketching Non-Acid Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best Sketching Paper)

If you need a paper with a slightly rough surface to keep your line drawing most softly for sketching or drawing, I would recommend this Bellofy Sketching Non-Acid Paper for that type of artwork.

Bellofy said this drawing paper is suitable for both expressive sketching and detailed sketching with its fine tooth surface. With heavyweight, this paper allows you to erase mistakes hardly.

If you are looking for a rough texture, this art paper is not the one for you. But if you are annoyed with a completely smooth paper, this Bellofy Sketching Paper is a perfect choice.

Key Features:

• Sketching painting
• Acid free materials
• Good quality paper
• 64 lb/95 g/m² weight paper

Product Specifications:

Paper size	9 in x 12 in
Paper Weight	64 lb
Number of sheets/pack	100 sheets
Color	White
Surface/Texture	Smooth texture
Brand	Bellofy

Paul Rubens Watercolor Hot Pressed Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best Hot-Press)

A journal book or a portable pad is what you think when you see this pad’s design. Paul Ruben Hot Pressed Paper is bound with a watercolor cover so that the water can’t damage its pages.

With 120 lb weight paper and a hot pressed surface, this paper is recommended for dry and wet media. This strong surface also handles the constant pressure better when you draw.

There are many choices of watercolor and hot-pressed paper out there, but you can consider this Paul Rubens Paper as the nice one for your watercolor art. You also can reuse its cover for your other artworks. An exciting note for artists!

Key Features:

• Water-resistant cover book
• Made from 100% cotton
• Hot pressed texture
• Art journal pad

Product Specifications:

Paper size	5.3 in x 7.6 in
Paper Weight	140 lb
Number of sheets/pack	20 sheets
Color	Natural white
Surface/Texture	Lightly textured
Brand	Paul Rubens

Bee Paper Watercolor Cotton Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

(Best Cold-Press)

As I mentioned earlier, paper weight and thickness are important for your artwork, especially watercolor artwork. You need a paper that can stand well the weight of water, and this Bee Paper is one of them.

This paper from Bee PaPer brand has 140 pounds weight paper, which means that the paper will not wrinkle where it gets wet. Cotton material is also the right factor for watercolor paper. It keeps the paper from tearing.

One of the highlight points of this paper is its large size. Many artists are pleased with it because it is perfect for some of their artworks. If you are looking for an inexpensive and easy to paint on, let’s try this Bee Cotton Watercolor paper.

Key Features:

• 50 loose leafs paper/pack
• 100% cotton material
• A suitable weight for watercolor
• Cold-pressed production

Product Specifications:

Paper size	6 in x 9 in
Paper Weight	140 lb
Number of sheets/pack	50 sheets
Color	White
Surface/Texture	Cold press surface
Brand	Bee Paper

Winsor & Newton Professional White Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

Winsor and Newton is one of the brands that are known for their aquarelle products. They have launched many types of paper for both students and artists. This Winsor & Newton paper aims at art professionals.

This paper has 4 sizes: 7×10, 9×12, 10×14 and 12×16 inches. Almost all artists appreciate this because they have many artwork types, from portrait painting to landscape painting, which requires different paper sizes.

Its texture is one more reason for artists choosing this paper. Winsor & Newton White Paper has great resilience and water absorptance that can keep colors vibrant and lively. This art paper can perfectly fit your professional needs.

Key Features:

• Recommend for aquarelle art
• Stable and resilient
• Can stand rough painting
• Without tooth on the surface

Product Specifications:

Paper size	9 in x 12 in
Paper Weight	140 lb
Number of sheets/pack	20 sheets
Color	White
Surface/Texture	Smooth surface
Brand	Winsor & Newton

Canson Recycled Drawing Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

What is the best paper for drawing? The most common answer is any pencils that have fine teeth on their surface. That means you should not choose the smoothest texture. And this Canson Recycled Paper is my favorites.

This paper’s surface is totally suitable for colored pencils like the Prismacolor Colored line product. You will have no difficulty when drawing on it, whether you are beginners, students, or artists.

Non-acid and slightly textured features help this drawing paper hold up well the pressure and the heavy blending. Its natural white is what I also want to mention here, it will make your eyes more comfortable during long time working.

Key Features:

• Can cleanly erase
• Free textured
• 60 sheets measuring 9×12 inches
• Stiff and sturdy cover

Product Specifications:

Paper size	9 in x 12 in
Paper Weight	70 lb
Number of sheets/pack	60 sheets
Color	Natural white
Surface/Texture	Fine tooth surface
Brand	Canson

Buying Guide To Get The Best Paper For Prismacolor Pencils

Colored pencils and art paper are essential materials for people who work with painting mediums. There are many types of drawing paper on the market today.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, you should get to know and pay attention to all paper’s features when choosing to get the one that meets your work. Any feature is a measure of the paper’s quality.

Here are a few paper’s basic parameters that will help you get used to it.

Paperweight

They are divided into 2 types of paper based on their weight: heavy-weight (thick) and light-weight (thin). Choosing the thickness of the paper is very important because the paper’s surface has to stand the color’s weight and the pressure when painting.

The paperweight is usually listed as lbs or g/m2. The larger the number, the heavier and thicker the paper. This information is marked on its packaging by the manufacturers like 90 lb, 190 gsm, 140 lb, 300 g/m2, etc.

The most common weight is 140 lbs (300 g/m2) because it is suitable for most painting types. If you are going to apply many blending layers, you should use paper with a minimum weight of 300 gsm.

But if you are beginner, that weight is difficult for you to draw. You should choose the weight from 180 gsm to 300 gsm. This paper is the most cost-effective but still suitable for many watercolor techniques.

Texture/ Surface

Choosing texture is a personal choice. It depends on your own preference or your own taste. So all I just can give you information from my personal experience. Paint surfaces vary from super fine to very coarse.
However, there are three main types of texture paper.

Hot-Press paper has a smooth and non-lumpy surface so that the color will dry faster. This kind of paper is suitable for detailed drawing or watercolor painting. This is the most challenging paper to draw and control, but many artists prefer the unique effect.

Cold-Press is the most popular and versatile paper’s surface. This paper is suitable for both beginners and professionals. You can draw it with all types of colored pencils. It is also considered to be the most basic paper surface for art print.

Rough paper has a lumpy and rough texture on its surface, especially suitable for landscapes or sketches. This paper is great for large head brushes and large line paintings, but it’s not for small detailed drawings.

Ingredient

Paper is primarily made from cellulose, which is the principal constituent of plants. It means that you can produce paper from any tree, and each will have its distinct features.

Paper can be made from 2 types of cellulose: wood cellulose or cotton cellulose. Wood cellulose is derived from wood fibers, which contains lignin – a hormone. It will react with light and cause paper acidification.

The second type of cellulose is derived from cotton. Cotton cellulose is free-lignin. It is extremely sturdy due to the structure of the cotton fiber. It is about ten times stronger than wood cellulose. Cotton cellulose produces the softest and most durable drawing paper.

So how can you know if that paper contains lignin or not? Let’s find the phrase “100% cotton” or “acid-free” when looking at paper’s package.

Brand

As well as the basic parameters of drawing paper, you should get more information about popular brands in this market. Canson, Arches, and Strathmore are three famous brands that I have to talk about.

Strathmore has appeared in 1899 and quickly became a quality art paper manufacturer in the world. They have the serial number for each line product, 100 Series Youth is for kids, for example, 200 Series – Good is for students or 400 Series – Best is for professional artists.

Arches is a French global brand. Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh and many other artists have used this paper. This brand produces paper for drawing, painting, watercolor, printing, digital photo and traditional publishing.

Canson is one of the world’s most famous art paper brands. For more than 450 years, Canson has inspired artists worldwide and asserted their slogan “Papier d’inspiration since 1577”. They currently have manufacturing plants in France, the US, and Australia.

Packaging

The most common form is loose-leaf paper, but you can also find scrolls, notebooks, pads, or blocks. So is the paper’s packaging important? In my opinion, yes, it is. The packaging determines the convenience and quality of future work.

If you are beginner, I would recommend the pad or block (its 4 corners are bound by glue) so that you don’t have to stretch the paper before drawing. The pads are suitable for outdoor painting because they are portable.

Of course, this factor also bases on your hobby and drawing style. Many artists choose to buy loose sheets of paper while others find a pad or block more convenient.

FAQs

In this part, I will answer the questions that you may experience during this choosing time.

My Top Pick

I hope this article today will help you get more about drawing paper for your Prismacolor Pencils and know which one is the better one for your artwork.

My choice is Strathmore Sketching Paper For Prismacolor Pencils. A major part of my tasks is worked on A3 or A4 size with a basic paperweight. This Strathmore Sketching paper has the exact features that I need for my daily artwork.

Let’s me know your choice, or if you have any question, you can share with me by posting the comment below!