The Origami Forum

I work at a company who gets alot of incoming shipments and some of the packaging is large loosely pack paper. All we do is recycle them. So, I took a few. They are about 4 by 3 feet each.

The crumpling isn't enough to deter me to use for origami, but I realized it's easier of they weren't there. I want to use it to fold first t ime complex insects so I get a good idea of what paper to use when I do a smaller version for displays and gifts.

Anyone tried to flatten / iron out paper? Techniques? This is just basic thin craft type paper

Just try it out and tell us how it works.
Steam Ironing surely isn't recommended and I would try the lowest heat something you would use for silk should be fine.

Eric Gjerde tried ironing paper after spraying clothes starch on it. Starch acts like MC. He liked it, since it made the starch dry faster. I haven't tried ironing myself, but I've sprayed starch on thin papers many times, to good effect.

I have ironed some dollar bill models to get them to collapse better (it didn't seem to do much, but if I remember correctly, it diminished crease lines). Try it-it sounds like a promising idea.

I've tried adding sizing to the paper to take wrinkles and unwanted folds out... it seems to work pretty okay. although, sometimes it just adds crumples in other places, it all depends on how crumpled the paper is.

While spray starch may be viable, I would think that simply fine mist from a water sprayer would work as well. Then iron or press .
As to using packing paper for complex insects, I would have to wonder if it might be too thick, even once it is ironed .
Certainly may be useful for other models however !

I ironed some paper: tissue-wax-tissue glued togheter. I liked the results but maybe with different kind of paper the results are not so good.

It worked for me. Yesterday my notebook got soaked in the rain, and I spent a good half hour ironing out the pages.

Just don't start a fire!

I tried ironing paper before when I was small, for fun. It nearly caught fire...

Ironing paper to flatten crumpling is a good thechnique.
I've done it many times.

The only raccomandations are:
- dry ironing the paper (quite obviously )
- if the paper has a waxed side, ironing the opposite one
- do not hold to much time the papaer under the hot iron, because the paper degrades as more quickly as the thin it is (it becomes fragile and doesn't stand multiple creases any more)

I recicle too the paper I receive as protective wrapper at work. It is very thin, quite strong and in very light brown or yellow color.
But I like to use it "as is" (expecially when I fold insects) because I think crumpling give a more realistic texture t the finished model.