Polymin is made from a high specification engineering plastic; technically it is infinitely superior to Ivorine. The base is a guarded secret held by the manufacturer.

Here are some advantages of using Polymin for the artist:

Dimensional Stability - it won’t shrink, expand, buckle or warp.

Painting Surface - more uniform and of a finer texture which is constant from one batch to another. It is achieved by a surface coating of acrylic which is more controllable than the heat texturing process that is used for Ivorine.

Chemical Resistance - it can be used with all media -- pencil, charcoal, ink, oil, acrylic, watercolor and gouache, pastels etc. There was a heated discussion a few years ago when it was suggested that residual nitric acid in Ivorine had caused certain colors to change. This was never satisfactorily resolved as it coincided with new health and safety regulations which came into force and which necessitated reformulation of some of the pigments used in paints.

UV Light Resistance - Polymin will not discolor to brown. This has been proved by accelerated exposure tests. UV exposure also causes brittleness over a period of years.

Flammability - not an important characteristic for artists, but Ivorine is more flammable than Polymin. Polymin has a burning rate similar to paper but it generates moresmoke than paper. Another unimportant difference is the susceptibilityto static electricity. It is quite easy to generate a static charge in Ivorine but not in Polymin which has an additive to minimize this.

(Produced by the Polymin supplier)
www.miniartsupply.biz - Used with permission