Millford Watercolour Paper
September 19, 2026
På SvenskaThere was once a watercolour paper called Whatman. After several years of intermittent production, the paper was relaunched in 1983. But it did not last very long. Production of the paper was discontinued in 2002, although sporadic production continued until 2014. It is a paper I remember with great fondness – it was a fantastic watercolour paper. When the paper was finally discontinued, many watercolour artists around the world were very disappointed. The paper had a devoted following.
In 2016, St Cuthberts Mill launched a new paper which, at the time, they said was intended to revive the discontinued Whatman paper. They called the new paper Millford. Nowadays, St Cuthberts Mill no longer compares the paper with Whatman. It is probably not a good idea to market your own product as a copy of another paper. Instead, St Cuthberts Mill describes its paper in terms of its own unique properties – and unique they certainly are.
The paper is available only as cold-pressed paper and only in a weight of 300 gsm (140 lb). It can be bought in blocks in the sizes 310 × 230 mm (12 × 9 in) and 410 × 310 mm (16 × 12 in), as well as in sheets measuring 560 × 760 mm (22 × 30 in), with cut edges and no watermark. The paper therefore has a very limited range of surfaces, weights and formats.
In terms of price, Millford is slightly cheaper than other cotton papers from St Cuthberts Mill. Compared with similar papers from other manufacturers, it is roughly in the same price range as Winsor & Newton Professional and a little more expensive than, for example, Fabriano Artistico.
Millford is not surface-sized but relies on internal sizing. This gives the surface a soft and absorbent feel, while the strong internal sizing creates a paper with a high resistance to water. The paper is sized with a non-animal sizing agent. The manufacturer does not state whether the sizing agent is plant-based or synthetic.
The combination of the soft surface and the strong internal sizing means that Millford initially takes up water and paint quickly. Even with generous amounts of paint, puddles do not form; instead, the paint is readily absorbed by the paper. However, the strong sizing within the paper means that after this initial absorption, the paper remains wet for a very long time. In other words, it is a fast absorber initially, and a slow one afterwards. This gives it some excellent properties for carefully planned and controlled wet-in-wet painting.
Despite the lack of surface sizing, it is very easy to lift paint from Millford. The paint adheres only lightly to the surface.
Paper with such a high resistance to water would normally have a very robust and durable surface, but Millford, with a lot of internal sizing and no surface sizing, has a rather delicate surface.
Some care is therefore needed when the paper is wet, as rough handling immediately leaves marks on the surface.
An example of the delicate surface. The painting is from a wet-in-wet demonstration at one of my watercolour courses. Can you see all the small scratches in the sky? They are the result of careless brush handling. Paint was applied too quickly, causing the metal ferrule of the brush to touch the paper and leave all these marks on the surface. They are most clearly visible in the upper left and above the tree on the right.
Paper with such slow absorption of water would normally also have a stable surface, but Millford’s surface is rather soft. This becomes obvious when carrying out a tape test on the paper. When a piece of transparent tape is attached to a sheet of watercolour paper and then transferred to a black surface, it reveals how much paper fibre comes away with the tape. The more fibres that come away, the softer the sizing on the surface of the paper.
All of this makes Millford an unusual watercolour paper: a soft and absorbent surface combined with a core that is highly resistant to water. This makes the paper particularly well suited to wet-in-wet painting, especially careful and controlled wet-in-wet techniques.
Name: Millford
Manufacturer: St Cuthberts Mill
Manufacturing method: Mould-made
Material: 100% cotton
Sizing: Internal only (non-animal)
Surface: Cold-pressed
Weight: 300 gsm
Formats: Blocks in two sizes and cut sheets
Colour: Natural white
Manufacturer’s website: St Cuthberts Mill – Millford Watercolour
