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Binder Refill Shootout - Kokuyo Campus Vs Maruman


dcwaites

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A couple of years ago I found some Maruman binders and matching refills. I bought a binder each in A5 and A4 and the matching refills. I have enjoyed using these because they were pleasant to use and worked nicely with many, but not all, inks.

However recently I was browsing through Kinokuniya in the Sydney CBD and found a Kokuyo Campus equivalent to the Maruman products. I took a pack of the A5 refill home and found that it is even better than the Maruman refills.

The design of the two products is almost identical, the only difference being the Kokuyo branding at the bottom of the page of the one, and Maruman branding on the bottom of the other.

Both papers seem to have the same weight (~80 gsm) and have a similar colour, ever so slightly off-white. Both have 20 holes for a ring-binder, with two larger holes.

However, the difference is between how the two papers work with different inks. The Kokuyo Campus paper is much more resistant to bleeding than the Maruman. I have tried a number of different inks on the Campus, including PR DC SuperShow Blue and Everflo True Blue, and there was no bleeding with any of the inks. Strangely, however, the feathering and spreading behaviour, whilst being almost nil, was ever so slightly better with the Maruman paper.

The cost of the Kokuyo Campus was a bit more than the Maruman paper, and about twice what other FPN members have bought it for in Singapore. However, when you add in the shipping, and the fact that Kinokuniya is a FCR (Full Cost Recovery) store, i.e. no discounting, then it probably isn’t surprising.

In summary, this paper is about 30% cheaper than Rhodia paper per sheet, is at least as good as, if not better than, Rhodia, and is much better than the Maruman. However, it is more expensive than the Maruman, so you get what you pay for.

If you are using a well-behaved ink like Sheaffer Skrip Blue, Waterman Florida Blue or Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, then the Maruman is perfectly adequate. If, however, you want to use a richer ink such as those from Diamine, Private Reserve, Noodler’s or Visconti, then you should choose the Kokuyo Campus.

 

Anyway, here are some piccies --

 

fpn_1396077668__two_pkg.jpg

These are the packages the two products came in.

 

fpn_1396077998__campus_front_cropped.jpg

This is the sample of inks on the Kokuyo Campus paper, all perfectly well behaved, except for some slight feathering with the Everflo ink which can be seen with a loupe.

 

fpn_1396078103__campus_back_cropped.jpg

 

This is the back of the Campus paper to show the total lack of bleeding. Because of the bright light of the scanner, you can see what looks like show-through, but that is not visible under normal circumstances. The blue blotch is not bleeding, but a smudge from an inky finger...

 

fpn_1396078215__maruman_front_cropped.jp

 

This is the sample of inks on the Maruman paper, which all looks perfectly good, until you turn it over --

 

fpn_1396078330__maruman_back_cropped.jpg

 

You can see here the various inks that have bled through. Interestingly, the Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng was one of the better inks.

 

 

 

fpn_1412827311__pg_d_104def64.gif




“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

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Surprising result with the Maruman paper...I have never gotten bleed-through with the Maruman paper I purchased from Japan, and it looks identical to the one that you purchased, except it's B5 sized.

I actually did my recent review of Toucan Bright Blue on Maruman paper, and I've not experienced bleed-through even with my 2.4mm Pilot Parallel.

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I don't buy Maruman as I have had poor results. Bought a few different types from kinokinuya and must say never had one that didn't have a little bleed and showthorough. Last year I bought some Maruman Memosyne (not sure of spelling) after an excellent review on FPN. It disappointed too. I have had a bit of Campus product, especially A5 notebooks, from a source in Melbourne and it has always performed well. Campus to me has similar properties to Apica.

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I don't buy Maruman as I have had poor results. Bought a few different types from kinokinuya and must say never had one that didn't have a little bleed and showthorough. Last year I bought some Maruman Memosyne (not sure of spelling) after an excellent review on FPN. It disappointed too. I have had a bit of Campus product, especially A5 notebooks, from a source in Melbourne and it has always performed well. Campus to me has similar properties to Apica.

Similar experience. Kokuyo Campus products have been pretty good. I've read with the Kokuyo CYO-BO is no longer available, which I thought was their top of the line paper or to say it more explicitly--I liked it above the rest. The high grade mio is still around but I had a few pen/ink combos that didn't perform as well as their Campus line. I tried some Maruman products and haven't found them to be as fp friendly overall. There might be a few products in the brand that will perform ok.

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I've used both, though in a different size. I am very happy with Kokuyo papers and notebooks. I did find that the Maruman had 1 useful product: a paper that unfolded from B5 to B4 size paper. This was incredibly useful for my outline while I was working on my novel. The OP is correct, the Maruman was nice paper, but didn't take a fountain pen as well as the Kokuyo paper.

Proud resident of the least visited state in the nation!

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One thing I just noticed with the two products. Both products have packs of 100 sheets, however, the Maruman measures 7.7mm for the hundred sheets, whilst the Kokuyo Campus measures 9.1 mm, so the Campus paper is noticeably thicker.

fpn_1412827311__pg_d_104def64.gif




“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

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