A Finishing Detail

Hand-torn deckle edges on your fine art prints.

A deckle edge is the soft, feathered finish you see on traditional hand-made paper — the opposite of a clean cut. We tear each one by hand, on the printed sheet itself, so your fine art print arrives with the look and feel of an original work on artist’s paper. Available on our matt fine art papers, torn at the border, for £5 +VAT per print.

A framed fine art giclée print with a white border and a hand-torn deckle edge.

What it is

A finish with real history.

Before machines started cutting paper to size, every sheet came off the mould with a soft, uneven edge — where the pulp thinned out at the boundaries of the deckle frame. That feathered, slightly imperfect edge became a quiet signature of hand-made paper. Cut edges came later, with industrial production.

A deckle edge brings that signature back. Each one is torn by hand, by one of our print specialists, on the same sheet your work is printed on. No two are exactly alike. The result is a print that reads less like a reproduction and more like an original on artist’s paper — soft at the borders, considered in the hand.

A close-up of the soft, feathered torn edge of a deckled fine art paper.

Suitable Papers

Best on matt fine art papers.

A deckle edge looks its best on matt fine art papers, where the paper fibres show through the torn edge and the inkjet coating is thin enough to tear cleanly. On baryta, pearl and gloss surfaces the coating fractures along the tear — so we don’t recommend it.

What deckles beautifully

Our matt fine art papers tear cleanly. The coating is thin, the fibres come through, and the torn edge reads as authentic in the hand and under glass.

Hahnemühle Photo Rag — 308gsm, 100% cotton
Canson Infinity Aquarelle Rag — 310gsm, 100% cotton
Somerset Photo — 300gsm, 100% cotton
Somerset Enhanced Velvet — 100% cotton
Hahnemühle Albrecht Dürer — 210gsm, 50% cotton
Bockingford Watercolour — 190gsm, matt textured
Redcliffe Watercolour — 210gsm, matt textured
Hahnemühle FineArt Hemp — 290gsm, 60% hemp
Hahnemühle FineArt Agave — 290gsm, 70% agave
Hahnemühle Sugar Cane — 300gsm, 70% bagasse
Hahnemühle Torchon — 285gsm, matt textured

Not suitable

The coating on baryta, pearl and resin-coated photo papers is thicker and more brittle. When torn it chips along the edge — you’d see white fracture lines where the coating has sheared away from the paper beneath. We’d suggest a clean trim instead.

Hahnemühle FineArt Baryta
Canson Infinity Platine Fibre Rag
Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl
Hahnemühle Photo Rag Metallic
Permajet Titanium Lustre
Resin-coated photo papers (Canson Photo Glossy, Photo Satin)

The Finish

Torn by hand, at the border.

A fine art print with a white border, deckle-edged at the border.

Deckle Edge — with Border

Your artwork sits inside a white border, with the deckle torn at the border’s outer edge. The image stays cleanly framed, while the deckle gives the paper itself a hand-finished signature. A deckle edge needs a border to tear into — our 25mm border is free, with 50mm and 75mm options if you’d like more paper around the image. The natural choice for float-mounting in a frame.

Add a deckle edge to any of the papers above — £5 +VAT per print (£6.00 inc VAT), whatever the size.

Where it really sings

Float-mounted in a frame.

Where deckle really comes into its own is in a float frame — the print held off the backing board, the torn edge casting a soft shadow against a contrasting mount. The detail that’s easy to miss in a photograph becomes obvious in person.

Add it to your next order

Tick deckled edge when you choose your paper.

When you order your fine art prints, choose any paper marked “Edge options” on the Print Media step and tick Deckled edge — £5 +VAT per print, regardless of size. Your print will need a border; the 25mm border is free. Or give us a call if you’d rather talk it through first.

Order Fine Art Prints →

Or contact us: support@redcliffe.co.uk · 0117 952 0105