Paper marbling Turkish and Persian, which literally means Frankish. Historic forms of marbling used both organic and inorganic pigments mixed with water for colors, and sizes were traditionally made from gum tragacanth ("Astragalus" spp.), gum karaya, guar gum, fenugreek ("Trigonella foenum-graecum"), fleabane, linseed, and psyllium. Since the late 19th century, a boiled extract of the carrageenan-rich alga known as Irish moss ("Chondrus crispus"), has been employed for sizing. Today, many marblers use powdered carrageenan extracted from various seaweeds. Another plant-derived mucilage is made from sodium alginate. In recent years, a synthetic size made from hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, a common ingredient in instant wallpaper
Carrageenan main commercial classes of carrageenan: The primary differences that influence the properties of kappa, iota, and lambda carrageenan are the number and position of the ester sulfate groups on the repeating galactose units. Higher levels of ester sulfate lower the solubility temperature of the carrageenan and produce lower strength gels, or contribute to gel inhibition (lambda carrageenan). Many red algal species produce different types of carrageenans during their developmental history. For instance, the genus "Gigartina" produces mainly kappa carrageenans during its gametophytic stage, and lambda carrageenans during its sporophytic stage. All are soluble in hot water, but in cold water,