Which Coloring Books have Poor-Quality Paper? (2 Tips for Amazon)

Categories: Tips & Tricks

Buying a coloring book? How to check for poor-quality paper. It matters.

In this article, I would like to share a couple of tips on how you can identify the coloring book paper quality, what others from the adult coloring think of the paper, and some options you have when deciding to buy coloring books with poor-quality paper. Coloring book paper can make a difference.

How to Find Coloring Books Paper Quality
Table of Contents

Types of Coloring Book Paper on Amazon
When to Buy Coloring Books with Poor-Quality Paper
Tip Number 1: Find the Cost and Publisher
- Example 1: Amazing Patterns: Adult Coloring Book
- Example 2: Publisher and Higher Cost
Tip Number 2: Google Search “Paper”

Other resources. Check out other supporting resources on ColoringButterfly.com that you might enjoy.

Most coloring books on Amazon or other online stores don’t write or post the type of paper used in their coloring books. You are left asking questions like…

How to determine the quality of a coloring book’s paper?
How will you know what type of coloring experience the paper will provide?
How do you find coloring books with better paper?

Let’s take a closer look. [TOC]

Types of Coloring Book Paper on Amazon

The grade of paper in coloring books can range from photocopies to artists’ paper. Each grade of paper has a surface texture that has unique qualities and responds differently to coloring media (e.g., colored pencils, watercolor, gel pens, markers) and technique/style. The thicker the paper, the less likely it is that inks will bleed onto the adjacent pages.

The following are examples of the papers used in coloring books.

Amazon KDP Paper. Many of the coloring books on Amazon come from Amazon KDP. KDP is a service that helps new authors, artists, and illustrators self-publish coloring books. I have found some incredible artists who publish on Amazon KDP paper. The paper used in KDP paper is not very good; it can be very frustrating for coloring.

Joanna Basford coloring books (e.g., Lost Ocean, Magical Jungle, World of Flowers) use a medium texture paper that gives you enough tooth (peaks and valleys) to layer your coloring pencils. Her artist editions (e.g., Enchanted Forest, Lost Ocean, Secret Garden) use heavier paper whose texture has enough tooth so you can layer, burnish, and blend colored pencils easily. The color of the paper used in Joanna’s coloring books is ivory and white. The ivory, for example, allows light coloring layers without mudding the color palette and does not change the color pigment when applied. The paper can have different properties depending on where the books are published.

ColorIt coloring books feature hardback covers, double spiral bindings, thick acid-free artist-quality paper, and a bonus blotter to be works of art. [TOC]

When to Buy Coloring Books with Poor-Quality Paper

I do not care to color in color books with poor-quality paper. Why? This is an example of what I have experienced…

One of the characteristics of this paper is that when you have double-sided printing, you can see the image of the other side.
The paper feels light and flimsy and has an almost cheap feel.
A lot of self-published/independent-published coloring books are in this range.

When I color in books with higher quality, I will not have any see-through, meaning that when you have double-sided printing, you will not see the line art/drawing on the other side of the page. The paper feels unique and richer to the touch.

Before I purchase coloring books, I will read reviews and comments on Amazon and look at flip-throughs on YouTube. As I have mentioned, coloring books come with all types of paper. Some favorite artists are Johanna Basford, Hanna Karlson, Maria Trolle and Millie Marotta. The paper in their coloring books is excellent. For a while, I just wanted to purchase coloring books with quality paper. [TOC]

Is printing a color book with poor-quality paper a bad thing? In my coloring journey, I found many authors/illustrators whose illustrations and coloring books were excellent. Many of their books were created on Amazon KDP with marginal paper. These artists may be new or seasoned, but self-publishing is the best option for getting their work into the coloring community. Do I buy coloring books with low-quality paper? Yes and no. Today is a no-brainer; I purchase the coloring books with the artwork/line art I want to color. [TOC]

What do you do when you find coloring books with poor-quality paper? I will choose between three options:

I will purchase the coloring book and coloring in the book.
I will purchase the book and remove the pages I want to color and print them on Bristol Vellum surface paper and other quality papers in my Laser or Inkjet printer.
I will not purchase the coloring book. [TOC]

How do you find coloring books with low-quality paper? I would like to now introduce to you two ways in which I find the quality of coloring book paper on Amazon product pages.

Tip Number 1: Find the cost and publisher of the Amazon coloring book product page.
Tip Number 2: Google search for “paper” on the Amazon Coloring Book Product page. [TOC]

Tip Number 1: Find the Cost and Publisher

Tip Number 1: Find the cost and publisher of the Amazon coloring book product page. I want to reiterate just because you find a coloring book with poor-quality paper does not mean that you have a terrible coloring book. You may love the line art/drawings but dislike the paper and how it feels, the type of coloring experience you have, and more. In Tip Number 1, I will focus on how the coloring book publisher and cost can determine Coloring Book paper quality.

When I am looking to find the paper quality, I will look at the cost of the coloring book and who published the book.

Coloring Book Cost. Paper has a lot to do with the cost of the coloring book, and the lower quality paper allows the artist/publisher to put more pages in the coloring book and offer the book at the cost of around $5.00 and $8.00 USD.

Coloring Book Publisher. Look at the product details. In the product details, look for the line that says the publisher. If you see descriptions like “Self-published” and “Independently published,” there is a good chance that the book has the cheaper paper. There are literally hundreds of coloring books on Amazon self-published by the artist.

Let’s look at two examples of searching the Coloring Book Amazon product page for cost and publisher. I am using Amazon for all my examples. [TOC]

Example 1: Amazing Patterns: Adult Coloring Book

In this example, once I was on the Amazon coloring book page for “Amazing Patterns: Adult Coloring Book,” I looked for the cost and publisher. The cost was $5.99 USD, in the $5.00 to $8.00 USD range, and the book was independently published. I then did “Tip Number 2 to see what the publisher and Amazon reviews had to say about “Paper.” I love the coloring book but dislike the paper. I bought the coloring book, but I removed the pages and printed them on my favorite “Bristol” coloring book paper. [TOC]

Example 2: Magical Dawn Coloring Book

In this example, once I was on the Amazon coloring book page for “Magical Dawn Coloring Book” by the artist Hanna Karlzon. I looked for the cost and publisher. The cost was $14.99, above the $8.00 USD Range, and the publisher was “Gibbs Smith.” Gibbs Smith is a Utah-based publisher founded in 1969. I love the coloring book and paper. I ended up buying the coloring book. I color in the coloring book and also remove selected pages and print them on coloring my favorite “Bristol” coloring book paper.

The following is “Tip Number 2: Google Search “Paper” which shows you how to find coloring book paper quality on the Amazon product page.

However, I want to do my best to identify these books to consider whether it is worth my time to purchase them. See the section in this article, “Choosing to Purchase Book with Poor Paper.” [TOC]

Tip Number 2: Google Search “Paper”

Tip Number 2: Google search for “paper” on the Amazon Coloring Book Product page. Ok, we have talked about coloring book paper. When you find the coloring books that interest you, you don’t have to be a paper expert. In Tip Number 2, I will focus on conducting a Google search for “paper” on the Amazon Coloring Book Product page. I am using Amazon for all my examples. Do the following:

Find the coloring book you desire on Amazon
Click open the book
Once on the page, do a search on that page for “Paper.”
- All of the places where “Paper” is listed are highlighted in yellow
First, look to see what the publisher says about “Paper.”
- Most publishers of coloring books say nothing about paper
Second, look at the Customer Reviews.
- Look for every place where “Paper” is highlighted
- Read the review.
- The review will provide the experience I had with the paper, the pros and cons of the paper, and give you ideas of how to work with the paper and more.

Now let’s take a look at four different coloring books. I will share what I found and how you can use the Google coloring book search query to help you make good decisions regarding the paper. [TOC]

Example 1: Magical Dawn Coloring Book

The following example is about “Magical Dawn Coloring Book” and how you can use the Google Search Strategy with the search term “Paper.”

First: Right-click on the Amazon page and Google search “Paper.” This is what I found.

Artist/Author: Hanna Karlzon
Publisher: Gibbs Smith; Clr Csm edition
Date of publication: March 14, 2017
Where to find: Amazon Link

Google search: I found 18 instances where the term “paper” was found.
Publisher comment on paper: I did not find any comments.

Second: Look for all the places where “Paper” is highlighted in yellow. The following are three of the reviews.

Overall reviewer rating of paper: The Paper was a great experience. A few of the comments are below. Note: The comments about “paper” are typed as they appeared in the reviews:

Reviewer 1—“At first glance I as worried that I could not use markers in this coloring book-the paper is not particularly thick and pictures are printed on both the front and back of each papge.”… “This book would be much improved by better paper, a looser binding and single sided pages.”

Reviewer 2—“I love the fact that this book, and all of Hannas other books are hard covers, and I think that the paper in this book is printed “the best” I’ve come across since taking up this hobby 2 years ago.”

Reviewer 3—“This is printed on the same quality paper. I pre-ordered this book months ago and the wait was well worth it. Hanna Karlzon’s books are all excellent books The quality of the paper, and design of the book, hard covered, makes it a true gem to have on any colorist library.”

My Comment (Author Schreiber): Yes, I purchased the coloring book, and my experience with the paper was like the other reviews. [TOC]

Example 2: ColorIt Colorful Flowers Volume 2

The following example is about “ColorIt Color Flowers Volume 2 Wildflowers” and how you can use the Google Search Strategy with the search term “Paper.”

First: Right-click on the Amazon page and Google search “Paper.” This is what I found.

Artist/Author: Not provided
Publisher: Colorit
Date of publication: April 23, 202
Where to find: Amazon Link

Google search: I found 20 instances where the term “paper” was found.
Publisher comment on paper: I did not find any comments.
- Full-spread designs mixed with stand-alone designs offer a variety of coloring options, all printed back-to-back on high-quality paper.”

Second: Look for all the places where “Paper” is highlighted in yellow. The following are three of the reviews.

Reviewer 1—”Unfortunately, it’s published and distributed by Design Originals, the same people who used to put out DO Magazine with the horrible paper and charge an arm and a leg for a subscription (that’s not longer a thing, I can’t imagine why /s) The paper in this books is terrible, almost not tooth and wave to thin for markers since its double-sided.”
Reviewer 2—”The Paper is of lesser quality and the printing is not as good either. Buyer beware.”
Reviewer 3—”It is very white smooth paper. Almost like photo copy paper and its hard to color on it with pencils. the old version has a creamy white paper with enough tooth to grip my pencil well and blend nicely.”

Overall reviewer rating of paper: The Paper was a great experience. Here are just a few:

My Comment (Author Schreiber): I liked the images of the book and purchased it, and I experienced the same as the reviewers did with the paper. I removed the paper and put the image on my favorite-colored pencil paper and the second sheet of paper underneath the image so it would not ruin the second page. [TOC]

Example 3: Kingdom of Curious Creatures

The following example is about “Kingdom of Curious Creatures” and how you can use the Google Search Strategy with the search term “Paper.”

First: Right-click on the Amazon page and Google search “Paper.” This is what I found.

Artist/Author: Kanoko Egusa
Publisher: Design Originals
Date of publication: First edition (June 7, 2022)
Where to find: Amazon Link

Google search: I found 20 instances where the term “paper” was found.
Publisher comment on paper:
- High Quality, Smooth, and Thick Paper in 175gsm. Features ColorIt’s signature perforated paper that is designed to not bleed through. Ideal for coloring markers, gel pens, colored pencils, and more.

Second: Look for all the places where “Paper” is highlighted in yellow. The following are three of the reviews.

Overall reviewer rating of paper: The Paper was a great experience. Here are just a few:

Reviewer 1—”The book itself is great, nice size pages, great paper & nice hard cardboard covers.”

Reviewer 2—”You can use type of pens and markers and never worry about them bleeding through the paper.”

Reviewer 3—”First of all, this is some of the best coloring book paper I have ever encountered: thick, super smooth, and even allows second rate pencils to lay down color beautifully. Top Quality pencils are a dream on this paper.”

My Comment (Author Schreiber): Yes, I purchased the coloring book and my experience with the paper was like the other reviews. [TOC]

Example 4: Amazing Patterns: Adult Coloring Book

The following example is about “Amazing Patterns: Adult Coloring Book” and how you can use the Google Search Strategy with the search term “Paper.”

First: Right-click on the Amazon page and Google search “Paper.” This is what I found.

Artist/Author: Coloring Book Kim
Publisher: Independently published
Date of publication: September 3, 2020
Where to find: Amazon Link

Google search: I found 22 instances where the term “paper” was found.
Publisher comment on paper: No comment about the paper.

Second: Look for all the places where “Paper” is highlighted in yellow. The following are three of the reviews.

Overall reviewer rating of paper: The Paper was a great experience. Here are just a few:

Reviewer 1—”Simple buy pretty drawings with unique shading, very thin paper…. I like thicker paper since I use sharpies and they tend to run on thinner paper, but other than that, its awsome.”

Reviewer 2—”No border so much color to edge of paper creating bleed thru. The paper is thin. See how it curls with gel ink pens in pics. Prob worse with paint pens. Need scratch paper bt papers to prevent bleed thru. Just ok. I wouldn’t purchase it again.”

Reviewer 3—”I like patters a lot and love the paper. The paper has tooth I have several coloring books. This is my favorite because of the texture paper. It not heave weight as Canson Artist Pad paper.”

Reviewer 4—” Great designs easy to colour with a little bit of detail but not too much.My pens do bleed through the page so I put a piece of paper underneath to stop it from ruining the next design.
My Comment (Author Schreiber): I liked the images of the book and purchased it, and I experienced the same as the reviewers did with the paper. I removed the paper and put the image on my favorite-colored pencil paper and the second sheet of paper underneath the image so it would not ruin the second page.

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