Canson Infinity papers are manufactured by the world’s leading Fine Art Paper Mills, Canson and Arches, located in France. Canson was founded in 1557 and its illustrious history includes the prestigious appointment to Manufacture Royale in 1784 by Louis XVI and the invention of the Hot Air Balloon, made with Canson paper in 1782. Canson is at the origin of many other inventions such as tracing paper, pulp dyes paper, fine textured vellum paper, nanking paper, and paper making techniques such as the continuous paper machine, paper sizing directly in the tank…
In 1865, Canson was granted a patent for a system that simplified the photo printing process and improved the quality of black tones whilst making it less expensive. This invention was rewarded at the International Photography Exhibition of 1892.  97 years later, back in 1989, began on an Arches watercolour paper at Nash Editions in Los Angeles. These pioneers of digital print reproduction selected this quality, as the world’s most celebrated artists had done for five hundred years before them. The Arches Mill was founded in 1492 and through the years, the history of Arches has been closely linked to the history of France. Many literary milestones and works of art have been entrusted to Arches’ exquisite papers, such as Beaumarchais’ “The Complete Works of Voltaire” and Napoleon’s “The Description of Egypt”.  The unique qualities of these two premier paper mills and their products have been embraced by artists such as Picasso, Chagal, Warhol, Ingres, Miro and Alechinsky.They remain the standard for today’s artists.