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Paper marbling is a technique for producing colorful patterns on paper (or, rarely, on other surfaces) by swirls of paint, traditionally water-based paint, floating on water. The resulting marbled paper is a popular decorative material, especially as endpapers in book binding and stationery. Part of its appeal is that each print is unique.

Contents 1 Procedure 2 History 3 Examples 4 External links

The age old art of making paper look like marble.

The basic process needs only blank paper, a shallow tray filled with water, and some free flowing oil-based ink. The paper must be strong enough to withstand being immersed in water without tearing.

First a few drops of ink are placed on the water, just enough to create a thin layer. The paint is slowly and carefully stirred with a thin rod to create the desired pattern. Then a sheet of paper is carefully placed over the water's surface, so that the paint adheres to it. The sheet is then pulled out and laid on a flat surface to dry.

Often paints of two or more colors are used; however, by playing with the thickness of the paint layer, one can obtain good results even with a single color.

The traditional method, the one used in Turkish marbling, is to take a tray of viscous liquid called the size, sprinkle pigments mixed with a surfactant such as ox gall on to the size, one color after another until there is a dense pattern in many colors. Each successive layer of pigment spreads slightly less than the last and may need more surfactant to stay on top of the size. Once the colors are laid down, a stick or tools including rakes or combs may be drawn through the base pattern to make a new, more detailed pattern. Paper or cloth that has been coated with alum and allowed to dry is placed on the surface gently, which instantly absorbs the pattern. The excess pigment and size are rinsed off the paper and it is allowed to dry. Without the alum on the paper, the pattern would wash away with the excess. After the print is made, the remaining pigments are skimmed off the size to make it ready for a new pattern.

Traditional marbling uses carrageenan mixed with water for the size, real broomstraw to sprinkle the paint, ox gall for the surfactant, and water- base paint or gouache for the pigment. Modern marblers use a variety of new materials, often in combination with traditional materials. Other types of size have been used such as methylcellulose, gum tragacanth, gum agar, sodium alginate, or even wallpaper paste or laundry starch. Acrylic paints, watercolors, or ink can replace the traditional oil paints. Plastic broom straws can be used as well as bamboo sticks and eyedroppers to place the pigment on the surface of the size. Ox gall is still a superior surfactant, but other commercially available products may be used.

The art originated in China over 2000 years ago. It became popular in Japan in the 12th century under the name of suminagashi ("ink-floating"), first as a divination tool of Shinto priests, later as a decorative art. In the 15th century a similar art, called ebru (Turkish for "two-toned marbling") and now known as "Turkish marbling", developed in Turkey and Persia, but using a rather different technique. In Europe, marbled paper became popular in the 17th century, especially for book endpapers. At first a secret art exploited by few professional makers, it became a popular handicraft in the 19th century after the English maker Charles Woolnough published his The Art of Marbling.

Marbled paper is still produced in large quantities in Venice.

Endpaper with marbled paper from a book bound in France around 1735	Book bound with typical simple marbled paper in France around 1825	Paper marbling from a book bound in England around 1830	Paper marbling from a book bound in England around 1830 (detail)
Paper marbling from a book bound in France around 1880 (detail)

• About suminagashi and other marbling techniques
• Ebru A collection of information on Ebru.
• List of ebru sites by Cetin Koc.
• Large Format Fabric Marbling, or "Hippie Marbling"