The Playful Antiquarian

Print-on-demand chiyogami

April 16th, 2004

Occasionally, reckless use of a search engine uncovers something interesting. If you ever have a paper craft emergency and desperately need chiyogami when all of your local suppliers are closed or out of stock, look no further than Canon’s bubble jet printer Creative Park. The origami page features twenty-eight traditional chiyogami patterns, with each pattern in multiple colors. Just open the pdf files and print. And, as an educational bonus, each pattern page includes a little blurb about the history and symbolism of the selected motif.I printed about twenty 8.5 x 11 sheets, simply because the idea of print-on-demand chiyogami tickled me. Some of the designs are quite pleasing, and I can imagine using them for various projects, particularly when I do not want to use my precious stock of $20+ sheets. I do not think, however, that anyone would mistake one of these sheets for actual chiyogami, even if it was printed on washi paper with a high-quality printer.

I wonder if I should mention this in my thesis? Although I doubt that many people make use of print-on-demand chiyogami, in theory, with a computer, a printer, and a stack of paper, anyone can be a surishi. Surely, this must fit somewhere in my study on the influence of technology on decorative paper design and production in Japan…or then again, maybe not…

Entry Filed under: Bookmarks