Hey everyone... I bought some of the X-Press It Blending card and the Copic Illustration paper for paper crafters the other day, and wanted to do a comparison for myself. I have two papers I generally use - Neenah and Hammermill (Color Copy Cover). So I cut out strips of each one, and stamped two simple images on each one. Although I was doing it for me, to kind of get a feel, I went ahead and took pictures of them during the process to show everyone here.
DISCLAIMER - I did not take a lot of time on each one... so the coloring and stamping isn't great. Please bear with me. Also, As I said - I did this comparison for myself primarily... so these are MY OPINIONS! LOL... I am not a professional, and I do not do this on tv.
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| These are the four cards under an Ott Light. Sorry about the one image off the Neenah paper... I wasn't real consistent with placement of the image at this stage. |
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Paper weight (thinnest to thickest)
- Copic - WOW this is thin
- Hammermill - This is 80 lb, but is slightly thinner than the Neenah 80 lb
- Neenah - 80 lb
- X-Press It - Not sure the weight, but it was the thickest of them all
I used the following colors:
Bird - B21, B23, B24, B26
Butterfly - Feathering technique Y00, Y04, V01, V04
How did each one do..
The Copic one turned out to be the thinnest of all, and the most off white. Because it was so thin, it took next to no ink to get it to blend. Blending was fairly easy. However, because of the thinness and the color, I probably won't use this one nearly as much as the others. This I think will lend itself well to windows layered on top of it, as opposed to it being raised up. The color will also do better when not mixed with a white background. This one was $7.99 for 25 sheets. (~ 32 cents / page)
The Neenah is the second thickest of the cardstock, and was rougher than both the Hammermill and the X-Press It. Because it is thicker than the corresponding Hammermill - I tend to use this more if I am going to raise the layers and / or sponge off the side of the edges. It was a little harder to blend than the rest of the papers, I think because it took a lot more ink to soak it up. Also - - it is $30 a package. (~12 cents/ page)
The Hammermill Color Copy Cover was next. This has been my favorite paper for a while, so I am a little prejudiced. When I first purchased the Neenah, the store was asking what I was looking for. When I told them smooth and white, they pointed me to this one. It is smoother than the Neenah... and a bit thinner although it claims the same weight. It is Very close in color to the Neenah. As far as blending it seemed a bit easier to me than the Neenah. But again, I use this one primarily... and so that could be due to practice. :-). Also, the price is very right - - $15.50 a package (~ 6 cents / page).
The last one was the one I was really excited about trying. This one is the X-Press It blending card. The blending on this one beat all the others hands down. The ink just slid around the paper. It was thicker than the others, but probably the most comparable to the Neenah. It was also the brightest of the whites, or truest... not sure how to describe it. 11.99 for 25 sheets (~48 cents / sheet) so it was definitely the most expensive of the papers. However, due to the color and thickness I will probably use it for cards where I am popping that layer up and need a very bright white... and coloring a bunch.
My final take is that I will probably use all of these at one time or another... with the Hammermill still being my go to paper, and the X-Press It and Neenah being used as well. I probably will not use the Copic that much, just due to the color being so off white, but I will use it if I want a more antiqued look.
Thanks for stopping by, and if you made it through this - WOW.... I am impressed. Again - only my Opinion.
See you soon!
