Grain Direction

Grain Direction Explained

All machine made paper has a grain direction, and depending on how you are using the paper it can make a difference whether you choose a short grain or long grain paper.

Short Grain means that the grain is running parallel to the short side.

Long Grain means that the grain is running parallel to the long side.

In the manufacturing of cheap cellulose based paper a machine can make paper at a speed of up to 2000 metres per minute where a fine art paper is made at much slower speeds between 5 and 100m per minute. Even at this slower speed you can imagine the fibres or strands of paper pulp flowing in one direction like someone's long hair in a speeding open top sports car !!

So this grain direction makes a difference when working with paper and especially card.

• There's less resistance when folding with the grain, so the results are smoother and you won't get cracking.
• If folding a 300g A4 sheet in half to make an A5 double card, it makes sense to get a short grain card, there should be no cracking and smoother folding. 
• In bookbinding the grain direction of the boards, endpapers and book block should all run parallel to the spine.