Fountain Pen Paper Type And/or Pad Type At Staples?

[dspeers58]

I ended up picking up a 12 pack of the sustainable earth pads. Perfect for to replace the (bleep) yellow legal pads at my work, and for anything else. The paper is, indeed, surprisingly nice! Am very very impressed. Thank you for the recommendation. Glad to have some FP-friendly "every day" paper so I can save the Rhodia pad and webnotebooks for special occasions.

 

The pads are nice, I got them on sale. They are not something nice, that is, something you would use to write a book on, cf some of the other suggestions, which are nice papers, (however I hated Ampad Gold, feathered like crazy, as did Cambridge). I use the sustainable earth, bagasse pads for simple note taking etc and they work well. The paper seems to dry very quickly, unlike some of the richer papers, especially when you get into Rhodia, Clairefontaine etc. However, I have found, every once and a while, that some of the Bagasse paper is not as good as others

Edited March 21, 2014 by dspeers58

[androids.conundrum]

from staples the sustainable earth stuff if good and southworth 25% cotton business paper (ivory) is great

[JediGamer]

I actually find Staples paper for their Arc system of notebooks to be very FP friendly.

[mhm802]

I have been happy with the Staples M series small and large legal pads (white)

[Parker51]

I suggest roaring spring environotes for every day notebooks. They are available from Staples, as well as others including my favorite the Robert Mason Co. But if you want a great pad, I suggest you get Office Max's Virtuo pads.

[Fabienne]

HP 32 lb. paper.

Amen!

[DanF]

Out of curiosity what's the significant difference of paper made in Brazil versus those of Egypt/Vietnam?

The non-Brazilian paper will feather and bleed through a little bit.

 

Dan

[ac12]

 

Out of curiosity what's the significant difference of paper made in Brazil versus those of Egypt/Vietnam?

 

My experience has been that the Brazil paper is more consistent in quality and paper surface.

But this is only for spiral bound notebooks and filler paper.

The Brazil composition books are not as consistent and has me frustrated. Some pages are good, others not so good, and even on the same page, the quality of the paper surface changes. I'm going to use up what I have, then not buy any more Brazil composition books.

 

Other countries are either inconsistent in quality, some good, some not good, or they are just NOT good.

• I tried some Vietnam spiral notebooks, and some felt good, others felt "junk." These you had to feel the paper in the book to find the ones with good paper. There may be a pattern to help you, as last year, all the good Vietnam notebooks were in red covers.
• I thought the Mexico spiral notebooks at Walmart was OK, but turned out they were BAD. The paper blotted and bled through. REJECT.
• I forgot why I rejected the Egypt notebooks, but their filler paper was not up to the quality of the Brazil filler paper.
• The India composition books are GREAT stuff. Got mine at the local Dollar Tree store. But compared to the 2 for $1 price at Staples, it did not win.
  But I have not been able to find any Indian spiral bound notebooks.

By feel the paper, I learned to see with my fingers.

I will feel the paper and select only the notebooks that feel smoothest.

With a little bit of practice you will be able to feel the junk stuff pretty easily.

 

It is best to buy just ONE notebook, then take it home and test with a variety of pens and inks to determine it it works for YOU. Because your fingers could be fooled, as I was with the Walmart Mexico spiral notebooks. Then if it works well, go back and buy more.

The best time is during the "back to school" sales in July/Aug. The Staples spiral bound books go on sale 2 for $1. That is when I stock up for a years worth of paper. I am on notebook #11 since starting in August of 2013, so I make use of the back to school sales.

[ajcoleman]

In addition to the bagasse sustainable earth paper, I have been very happy with Staples "M" series notebooks and journals. The paper is very similar to that in the Black and Red notebooks. They are available in both wire-bound and hard cover, in two sizes, about 5" x 8" and 9" x 12."

[Betweenthelines]

So in addition to the Sustainable Earth pads, I wanted to find some lazerjet paper to print my progress notes on for work notes. I tried out the Southworth 25% cotton paper and EGADS it was horrible! Not sure if I got the wrong kind or what... I tested out the Staples brand 24, 28, & 32 paper, OK.

 

Also tried the HP 24 & 32. Ended up with the HP 32lb. By far the best printer paper for FP's from my small test.

[ac12]

My problem with the HP 32# paper is that it is so heavy that I cannot see my guidesheet under it, so my writing is not level.

[Betweenthelines]

My problem with the HP 32# paper is that it is so heavy that I cannot see my guidesheet under it, so my writing is not level.

 

 

Ah, yeah it is very thick. But for my purposes, in which I'm printing lined forms onto them and then hand writing on that form, it is perfect.

 

Something I was thinking:

 

What's to stop one from buying HP 32 paper and then taking a template for dots similar or identical to Rhodia dot paper, and just printing dots onto the HP paper? Sure it could be a pain, but for those of us who have access to big office printers that can copy and print double sided, seems like it would be a way of gaining really affordable smooth dot paper!

[Jordan N]

They don’t sell Clairfontaine and Rhodia at Staples Also, you can’t buy letter size Rhodia or CF paper (at least I can’t find it). Sometimes, I have to use letter size.

 

I’m ok with Southworth Quality Bond. It’s 70 gr paper so you can see a guidesheet under it. It’s watermarked and not cheap. It’s not very smooth but dries quickly without fathering. We use it in our office.

 

By accident, I found some cheap Hilroy refill paper, purchased in Staples few years ago. It was a pleasant surprise comparing to more expensive notepads (e.g. Cambridge) you can buy in Staples.

[johnsi02]

 

What's to stop one from buying HP 32 paper and then taking a template for dots similar or identical to Rhodia dot paper, and just printing dots onto the HP paper? Sure it could be a pain, but for those of us who have access to big office printers that can copy and print double sided, seems like it would be a way of gaining really affordable smooth dot paper!

 

I do this. I have used both the 32 lb and the 24 lb HP premium laserjet paper. I haven't found any noticeable difference in performance, so have mostly used the 24 because the thinner paper works better in my slimline Filofax. Google "pdf dot paper" and the top link works great. I use .7 on the dot weight and black for the grid color. You do have to make a two page pdf for it to work with double sided printing. At least I did. If you can't do that, pm me.

[casualmerlinconstant]

I walk around feeling notebooks LOL. I look for 3 things in paper

1.Smoothness

2.Thickness

3.Hardness.

I use XF nibs so hardness is the most important criteria as smaller nibs tend to dig in making for a horrible writing experience.

A paper satisfying all three should give you no trouble.

Basically have a feel of rhodia/clairefontaine. Then find cheaper paper that feels similar. Then tell me where you got it xD

[Betweenthelines]

 

I do this. I have used both the 32 lb and the 24 lb HP premium laserjet paper. I haven't found any noticeable difference in performance, so have mostly used the 24 because the thinner paper works better in my slimline Filofax. Google "pdf dot paper" and the top link works great. I use .7 on the dot weight and black for the grid color. You do have to make a two page pdf for it to work with double sided printing. At least I did. If you can't do that, pm me.

 

Awesome, thanks for the tip. Will give this a try and report back.

[shortwizard]

I use the Black n Red for letter writing and find it works well with FPs and gel pens. I don't buy them at the local Staples store because I can get them for less on the Staples.com site with free shipping. I know, it doesn't make sense, but I'm not going to argue with it. I love Rhodia paper but the dots and grid lines are too close together for my handwriting. I will buy unlined next time.

[av8r172]

I would add that I have had very good experiences with Vietnamese paper. In fact, the brand I get is made in Vietnam, and is my favorite paper for FPs.

 

It isn't very smooth, but the shading is stunning. Here's an example from my history notes.

 

 

Noodlers Navy in a Lamy CP1 medium nib

Edited April 29, 2014 by av8r172

[Zookie]

I've been seeing a lot more paper made in Vietnam lately. I wasn't sure how the quality would be,and as I don't need any more paper at the moment, haven't tried it.

It looks and feels pretty good though.

[Bemo]

Sorry to go off topic, but boy I love Noodler's Navy. Almost always have something inked with it.

 

Back on topic then, the only Vietnamese made paper I've seen is in composition books. Have I not been looking hard enough?