Environotes Sugarcane Paper

[yogalarva]

This post is a bit picture heavy, but I am going to try and keep most of the writing in the beginning and then group the pictures together at the end so that if you just want to read you don’t have to scroll forever…

The notebook I want to look at today is made by Roaring Spring Paper Products and it’s called “Environotes.” From that kind of name you know it’s going to be “green,” even though that can mean a multitude of things nowadays.

According to the back of that front flap, this notebook is made from the waste products that come from processing sugarcane. Their claim is that “Producing sugarcane paper conserves over 60,000 acres of forestland every year!” I mean, who can argue with that?

I certainly can if the paper inside the notebook is absolute garbage. Luckily, it is not. :-) In case you aren’t interested in reading too much farther, here’s quick list of the things I like and dislike about this notebook:

Positives

• smooth, bright paper
• good line spacing (college rule, 7 mm)
• handles most writing instruments with ease
• stiff covers for knee writing
• not too expensive (I think this cost me ~$3 for an 80 page notebook)
• convenient size (9.5” x 6”)
• fairly sturdy spiral

Negatives

• not perforated
• the paper is pretty thin and can get hung up in the spiral when turning pages

 

Overall, I think that the positives far outweigh the negatives for this notebook. I could definitely see using this as a notebook for class or in the lab or for personal uses. I think that if you get the chance to pick up one of these notebooks you should definitely give it a chance because it’s not like it’s a huge expense and I’m sure anyone could find a use for it.

Alright, if you’ve stuck with me this far, you’ve made it to the nitty gritty details…

As you can see, the paper held up pretty well against the fountain pens and gel pens that I tried on it, as well as markers. There is a decent amount of show-through because the paper is pretty thin, but I did not have any problems with feathering or bleeding except for that little bit with the markers where I got too excited…

The paper also works wonderfully with pencils and colored pencils for sketching:

Pencils erase pretty cleanly, which is a good thing for me since I make lots of mistakes!

And a final comparison between the color of this paper and the bright white inkjet paper that I use for all of my ink reviews:

As you can see, the paper in this notebook is pretty white, bordering on the bluer side of things than cream. Though, part of that could be because of the blue lines throwing things off a bit.

Again, I think this notebook is a great deal for the money and I’m glad I gave it a try. Not sure what this notebook will wind up getting used for, but I’m certainly having fun sketching and playing around in it for now.

This notebook was purchased with my own money and I am not being compensated for this review in any way. All opinions expressed above are my own and you are free to disagree with them if you like.

[playtime]

interesting and thanks for sharing. i wonder how a flexible nib would do on this paper............

 

J

[Kuhataparunks]

I use nothing but EF and PO nibs.

It is hard to find affordable paper that doesn't snag, and this is about ideal as I can get. I LOVE this paper!! It's so light and not pretentiously thick like Rhodia paper. I'm extremely satisfied with this paper, and I'll have to stock up on them before they're discontinued