Stopped buying $25 sketchbooks and started using copy paper from work instead

I used to think I needed a nice spiral bound sketchbook to do decent drawings. Then my last $25 one filled up in two weeks and I couldn't afford another. Grabbed a ream of used copy paper from the office recycling bin and now I draw twice as much without worrying about wasting pages. The paper isn't as thick so markers bleed a little, but for pencil and pen work it's basically the same. Has anyone else figured out a free alternative to expensive art supplies that actually works better?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryanprice4d ago

Wait, doesn't the copy paper jam your printer though?

val2234d ago

Honestly, @ryanprice, I've never had that problem with copy paper but I think the bigger issue is how most cheap copy paper leaves a weird dust coating inside your printer over time. It builds up on the rollers and then you start getting those random misfeeds out of nowhere (which is way more annoying than a single jam). That dust factor is something people overlook when they're just looking at the price tag on a ream.

reed.eva2d ago

Oh I gotta jump in here @ryanprice. The dust thing is actually the real problem, not jams directly. Cheap paper sheds that fine powder and it coats everything inside the printer over time. I had a Brother laser printer that started slipping on every other page after about six months of using the budget reams from the dollar store. Cleaned the rollers with some isopropyl alcohol and it ran fine again until the dust built back up. So yeah the paper itself usually doesn't jam, it's the buildup that causes issues later on.