artbabe
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,407 
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Post by artbabe on Jan 19, 2024 16:48:59 GMT
The paper weight and finish threads have got me thinking.
One of the reasons I buy single sheet manufacturers and not pads is that a lot of the pad papers don't have great color saturation. The white core shows through. The Value pads at Michael's are one example. American Crafts had that problem. I'd buy the single sheets, like them, buy the pad, and the paper wasn't the same at all. I'm not really sure why that is. It must be cheaper to put less ink on a page but I can't imagine there is that much cost savings. The very old, thin, one-sided scrapbook paper from 20 years ago definitely had the white background showing.
Some manufacturers are better at this than others. Echo Park and Simple Stories never seem to have this issue.
Have you noticed this?
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Ryann
Pearl Clutcher
Love is Inclusive
Posts: 2,643
Location: PNW
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Post by Ryann on Jan 19, 2024 18:14:12 GMT
I stopped buying the AC project pads years ago because the saturation never matched the individual sheets. I only started buying paper pads again recently as they work well for making envelopes. I do not use them for anything else.
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,625
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Post by kitbop on Jan 19, 2024 18:54:55 GMT
Yes, I don't like the pad papers nearly as much. It's the finish: lower quality and rougher surface means the print looks "dull". It feels to me like the paper "weave" is looser. When you cut it on a trimmer or try to fussy cut the edge isn't as sharp. I know very little about paper but that's what it feels like.
The 6x8 AC pads have improved slightly. And I agree that the simple stories 6x8 pads are good quality.
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Post by infochick on Jan 19, 2024 20:23:29 GMT
I generally find this as well. I can't resist picking up Vicki Boutin 12x12 pads as she includes some additional basic prints that aren't available open stock. Often these are some of my favourites in the collection. In the past I noticed that there was a considerable quality difference between the pad and the open stock paper; however, with the latest collection (Discover + Create), I found the colour saturation in the pad to be much better and closer to the open stock. I hope this trend continues.
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Post by 950nancy on Jan 19, 2024 20:56:20 GMT
I was never a fan of pads, but every once in a while I'll find one. I would say that I have one Christmas, one fall, and one called Key West. I mean when you go to Key West, you kind of need that pad.  I feel like pads also have so many designs that I don't use as opposed to themes that maybe have 6-8 papers with double sides. I have some lines from pads where I kept a few sheets from the pad and gave the rest away. I just remembered I have a slew of Snow and Cocoa that are from a pad. |
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 19, 2024 20:58:47 GMT
I stopped buying paper pads for this reason. I was always disappointed in the quality.
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scrappinwithoutpeas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,012
Location: Northern Virginia
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Post by scrappinwithoutpeas on Jan 20, 2024 19:06:08 GMT
I use the thin paper from the pads for making envelopes (works great for those) and sometimes for background paper on layouts or cards. I scrap 12x12 on strap-hinge pages (CM/CM style) so the thin paper works for "wallpapering" as a background. Then I have no problem layering other stuff on top of it (thicker/higher quality pp, CS, etc.).
I typically use very muted tones so the color saturation level is not usually an issue for me, except I really dislike some of the lines that have too much of that yellowed cream/off-white color in the background or core. I stay away from those.
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Post by artisticscrapper on Jan 20, 2024 19:55:28 GMT
I stopped buying pads from the big box stores ages ago. Not only was the color low quality but the papers were thin. AC was the worst. I rarely buy whole paper collections any more but the better companies’ papers seem to be good quality—most don’t pads anyway.
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cbscrapper
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,482
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Post by cbscrapper on Jan 21, 2024 3:00:17 GMT
The other problem with AC pads I’ve noticed is that not all of the patterns shown on the cover are actually in the pad, or may be in the pad in a different color. I’ve been burned by that when I ordered one and the paper I liked most wasn’t even in the pad. I messaged them about it and never got a response.
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