Welcome

The Saint-Armand paper mill was established by David Carruthers in 1979. We manufacture, here at the mill, the Saint-Armand handmade papers, the machine-made Canal papers, and the sanded paper Sabretooth for artists. We also make pads, books, presentation folders and invitations. We sell through art stores and gift retailers.

To manufacturers we sell cover stock for albums and books, folding boxes, labels and folders.

We distribute archival products in Canada. The Neutracor corrugated board is manufactured in Quebec according to our specifications.

The Saint-Armand handmade papers are made one sheet at a time following traditional methods. The sheets have 4 deckled edges and no grain direction.

The Saint-Armand handmades are used by artists for watercolour, pastel, acrylic paint, and printmaking. Art restorers use them for documents repairs. Limited edition printers like the texture crispness for type. Bookbinders appreciate their strength.

We keep a large inventory in stock. Formats available are from 4 inches x 5 inches to 3 feet x 4 feet.

Papers can be extra rough for a striking visual effect or smooth, like the old master drawing papers, for pen writing or ink jet printing. Saint-Armand handmades are offered in 32 colours, some very bright. Saint-Armand decorative papers have inclusions of flowers, leaves or stars etc. The Umbrella and Turtle papers, are heavily embossed and can be used like cloth, stitched and made into bags.

Before making the paper, we prepare the pulp by beating rags. We recycle mostly cotton off-cuts from clothing manufacturers and also linen, flax straw, jute and sisal.

Our pulping is mechanical. We don't use any chemical or bleaching agents, only water and rags. For example, our white is made from white tee-shirt off-cuts, and our blue from blue denim. The mechanical beating keeps the fibers long and pliable. The papers do not crack when folded and will resist very deep embossing.

The pulp is sized with an additive. When more absorbtion is wanted less sizing is used. When less absorption is wanted like in a watercolour sheet, more sizing is used. The Dominion watercolour paper is sized again in gelatin for maximum holdout.

In 1992, we installed a fourdrinier paper machine in order to manufacture Canal Paper. We use the same pulp as for the handmade papers.

Canal papers are kept in stock in 22" x 30" sheets in a choice of 20 different grades. The sheets have two deckled edges and two cut edges. The grain is in the long direction. The white is used in our panoramic and block pads for watercolour and sketches. The black denim makes a good background for photographic albums. Linen wrappers make original invitations.

Canal papers are often custom made for manufacturers. For as few as 2000 sheets or 600 lb we can mix a customized pulp. We have made patterned papers with spots and stripes, papers with inclusions of coffee beans, die-cut letters, vine leaves, apple leaves and photocopied images. We have imitated marble, bark and animal skin. Paper sizes can be modified for a better yield, the only limit is the width of 22".