The different types of print edition

The China paper

China paper, bamboo bark compound and manufactured in the open, which gives it its gray color, is generally considered the most luxurious of the big papers. It is reserved for head of prints, sometimes restricted to one or two copies. If it is a paper with a finesse and unequaled flexibility, it is still very fragile, not easy to browse and especially prone to freckles.
But it has a unique quality that gives it a special status, as Anatole France wrote in The Book of bibliophile:



"China Paper needs a special mention; it must specify employment. (...) We talk about the real China, light as cork, very thin, and very spongy both, soft and shiny like a silk scarf. Despite all its qualities, the Chinese paper, too inconsistent, owes its reputation, not its own beauty, but its special affinity with the printing ink. Its fabric, smooth and soft all together, is more likely than any other to receive a nice draw. This property is search for the Chinese paper for printing engravings ... The impression comes there with unrivaled sharpness. The small text printed books particularly benefit from being drawn on China. "