Cold press is the term you will encounter on almost every pad, block, and sheet of watercolour paper you consider buying. Understanding what cold press actually means, and where the term falls short as a description, helps you choose between papers rather than just between names.
At a glance
Cold press means textured, not smooth and not rough. The rollers used in pressing leave a surface with visible tooth. That tooth holds paint and allows for varied wash behaviour.
The texture varies considerably between manufacturers. Arches cold press and Fabriano Artistico cold press are both called cold press but feel and behave differently. Testing them side by side is the only reliable way to know which suits your work.
Cold press is the right default surface for most painters. Unless you have a specific reason to choose hot press for detail work or rough for texture effects, cold press is the starting point.
The surface affects how granulating pigments behave. More pronounced tooth amplifies granulation. A finer cold press surface produces less granulation from the same pigment.
Buying the same brand consistently matters more than the name. Once you know how Arches cold press behaves, switching to a different brand’s cold press can feel like a different paper entirely.
What cold press actually means in manufacturing terms
Cold press paper is pressed through cold metal rollers covered in textured felt. The felt imprints its pattern into the damp paper as it passes through, producing the characteristic bumps and dimples of the surface. The result is a paper with moderate tooth. Not smooth, not heavily textured, but somewhere between the two.
In the UK, cold press paper is also labelled NOT, short for Not Hot Pressed. The names mean the same thing. If you see NOT on a pad or sheet, it is cold press.
Hot press paper goes through heated smooth rollers instead, which flatten the surface almost completely. Rough paper skips the heavy pressing stage, drying against textured felt without calendering, which leaves a more pronounced and irregular surface. Cold press sits between those two outcomes, which is why it is described as a medium tooth.
The temperature of the rollers matters less than is commonly assumed. What creates the texture is the felt covering the rollers, not the cold itself. The name is historical rather than technically precise.
Why cold press texture varies so much between brands
The term cold press is not standardised. Each manufacturer chooses its own felt, its own pressing weight, and its own finishing process. The result is that cold press from Arches behaves quite differently from cold press from Fabriano Artistico, which behaves differently again from Saunders Waterford or Hahnemuhle.
Arches cold press has a more pronounced, irregular surface. The dimples are deeper and more varied, which makes granulating pigments such as PB27 or PY43 read more strongly. Edges dry with more texture. Pencil points wear down faster on it. Fabriano Artistico cold press is considerably smoother. Some painters find it closer in feel to a hot press paper than to what they expect from cold press. Hahnemuhle cold press sits in a similar territory to Fabriano.
This variation is not a problem to solve. It is a feature of the medium, and learning to account for it is part of working with watercolour paper seriously. Browse the materials section of this site for comparisons that go into the detail of specific papers.
How cold press compares to hot press and rough in practice
Hot press paper is smooth enough for fine line work, precise botanical painting, and illustrations where surface texture would interfere. It is less forgiving for wet-on-wet work because there is less tooth to hold the water. Backruns and blooms happen faster and with less control.
Rough paper amplifies everything the surface can do. Granulation is stronger. Dry brush work is more dramatic. Washes settle into deep dimples and pool with visible texture. It rewards confident, gestural painting. It punishes indecision.
Cold press sits usefully between those two points. It handles wet-on-wet reliably, takes detail work adequately, produces visible but not overwhelming granulation from pigments that granulate, and allows reasonable lifting. It is not the best paper for any one technique, but it is a capable surface for most of them. That is why it is the default.
The comparison between all three surfaces in fuller detail is covered in cold press, hot press and rough watercolour paper explained.
Which cold press paper to start with
The three papers listed below are all available from major UK watercolour suppliers and represent different points on the cold press spectrum.
What to buy
These three papers reflect the practical range described in the article rather than every cold press paper worth trying.
Arches
Arches Aquarelle 300gsm Cold Press
Suits painters who want a reliable baseline and the most widely compared cold press surface.
Fabriano
Fabriano Artistico 300gsm Cold Press
Suits painters who want less pronounced grain without committing to hot press.
Bockingford
Bockingford 300gsm Cold Press
Suits practice sessions and work where paper cost is a genuine constraint.
Where to buy
The practical differences between Arches and Fabriano are covered in detail in the Arches vs Fabriano Artistico comparison.
When cold press is not the right surface
Cold press is the default, not the universal answer.
If you are painting subjects that require fine, consistent line work, botanical illustration, architectural drawing, subjects where hard edges and precise marks matter more than wash character, hot press paper removes the texture variable and gives you more predictable control.
If you want the surface to do expressive work for you, if granulation and texture are central to how you paint rather than effects to manage around, rough paper delivers those qualities more fully than cold press can.
If you are using a heavily textured cold press such as Arches and finding that it fights rather than supports your technique, the answer may not be a different brand’s cold press but a different surface category entirely. Understanding sizing in watercolour paper alongside surface texture gives you the complete picture of why papers behave as they do.
The practical verdict
Cold press is the right starting point for most painters, and it will remain the right surface for most of the work most painters do. The term is useful but imprecise. Two papers with identical labels can behave as differently as two entirely distinct products.
Buy a sheet of Arches cold press. Buy a sheet of Fabriano Artistico cold press. Paint the same wash on both and watch what happens at the edges, in the granulating passages, and when you try to lift. That twenty minutes of comparison will teach you more than any description of what cold press means.