Paper Quality Where I Live Must Be Getting Bad.

[Icywolfe]

I was playing around with some new cheaper papers today. I guess I need schedule another mass cleaning day for my pens. The fibers are stuck now. Also the old Mead paper I compared it to held up better than the Mead I have now. Not sure if the term bleedthrough can count for what I noticed, but the ink went to the other sheet behind it while the old Mead just had some bleed through/show through.

 

Why am I using cheap paper? Clairefontaine and Rhodia are expensive. Black n Red at staples are 12 bucks a notebook it went from a great price of 6 bucks to 12.

 

I know the grass is always greener on the other side, but why don't I see real paper selling in the stores?

[lynxcat]

soft pencils and bic sticks can write on toilet paper, so why bother selling anything fancier in the big box stores whose customers write with nothing else when they write at all?

[Kuhataparunks]

Heavens... how could lynx cat mention BIC haha, but it's true. The masses don't pay attention to what they're using.

And actually, sometimes you can come across some remarkably good cheap paper. Office Depot notepad paper performs extremely well with my Fine Pilots with aurora and Iroshizuku inks.

I also acquired a TOPS docket gold notepad that's exactly like a Rhodia pad (even with that cool hard cover with the creases at the top) which performs very similarly to Rhodia paper. Only downside is, both these papers I mentioned are yellow/"canary" colored.

[FLZapped]

I think paper is getting crummy in general. I have some decades old lined notebook filler paper that takes FP ink WAY, WAY better than today's variety.

[tendollarword]

Most people aren't willing to pay a premium for higher quality paper, so most stores aren't going to stock it.

 

I've never seen anything fancier than Moleskine or the occasional Black n Red in my neck of the woods.

[carlos.q]

You can get FP friendly Ampad Gold Fibre notepads at OfficeMax and Office Depot.

[Icywolfe]

You can get FP friendly Ampad Gold Fibre notepads at OfficeMax and Office Depot.

The nearest Office Depot is in Beverly Hills. It's pretty far.

 

Staples do sell a very good FP paper cheap, but it's green. Well the paper is recycled, but the paper color is eye searing green. I still wonder who thought that was good idea.

 

 

Most people aren't willing to pay a premium for higher quality paper, so most stores aren't going to stock it.

 

I've never seen anything fancier than Moleskine or the occasional Black n Red in my neck of the woods.

I never used Moleskine but I touched the paper and it feels rough. Bn'R got a price raise. I still have no idea why they raised the price. Every time I went in staples I personally emptyed their shelves and some times demanded them to check their back rooms for more paper. But now the price increase I'm considering buying like 10 Clairefontain notebooks from GPC because I know shipping won't make the product expensive.

 

They should do some type of advert that says 'High quality paper allows your writing to last forever. Buy XX brand." I have some Mead paper from earlier this year and that paper is yellowish and fragile. I have Mead from High School and its yellow but still usable.

 

 

I think paper is getting crummy in general. I have some decades old lined notebook filler paper that takes FP ink WAY, WAY better than today's variety.

 

I have Mead from middle school and that paper is wonderful, but it's a bit yellow. And Middle school was only a few years back. Actually I wonder what is the average age for a middle schooler?

Edited August 25, 2014 by Icywolfe

[carlos.q]

The nearest Office Depot is in Beverly Hills. It's pretty far.

 

 

You can look for Black N Red notebooks at your local WalMart.

[Icywolfe]

 

You can look for Black N Red notebooks at your local WalMart.

I do believe its the same distance.

 

Walmart is at Crenshaw.

[Komitadjie]

Hey, wasn't directly the topic of the thread, but thanks for the pointer that I can get Red 'n Black notebooks locally! I did not know this, our Staples doesn't carry them, but our Office Depot does! Picked up a very conveniently-sized pocket notebook for $6 yesterday. A bit pricey, by comparison to Rhodia, but locally available which is a big plus.

[Icywolfe]

Hey, wasn't directly the topic of the thread, but thanks for the pointer that I can get Red 'n Black notebooks locally! I did not know this, our Staples doesn't carry them, but our Office Depot does! Picked up a very conveniently-sized pocket notebook for $6 yesterday. A bit pricey, by comparison to Rhodia, but locally available which is a big plus.

Black and Red is awesome paper, only if (|3133P) *cough*Staples*cough* stop increasing the price. The 8 x 11 school sized notebook used to be 6 USD. Now it's like 12.(about 3 months ago when I checked) Now sure if they increased the price more. That pocket sized one used to be like 4-5 USD.

 

I just checked online and it's 8.99 at staples yet their retail stores are at 12.

[Komitadjie]

Yeah, the prices are a bit high, I don't think I'll buy them locally very often, given the price. But it's good to see another brand that works decently and can be FOUND locally, given that it's the ONLY one I've been able to find here in town!

[Icywolfe]

Yeah, the prices are a bit high, I don't think I'll buy them locally very often, given the price. But it's good to see another brand that works decently and can be FOUND locally, given that it's the ONLY one I've been able to find here in town!

They used to be cheap enough I robbed both the Staples and Office Depot shelves. (Not literally robbed, but I wiped clean the shelves) Now to do the same I'm going to pay like 100 USD+ for paper.

[Komitadjie]

I can see why, if these were a bit cheaper I know precisely what my go-to for daily work writing would be! As it is, I'll most likely simply continue to order my paper from Goulet (I typically toss something paper-wise in with most any order I make, along with a single random ink sample) but it's good to have something locally if I need a usable notebook in a hurry.

[Ghost Plane]

Target periodically carries Rhodia/Clairefontaine products with tacky/"artistic" covers. Staples just instituted free shipping no matter no how small the order.

 

Jetpens and GPC periodically sell packs of 5 at discounted prices. European Paper Company does free shipping on orders over $75 so they're too expensive except for the times they have coupons or specials so I can plan a bulk buy. I stopped ordering from shopwritersbloc.com as shipping & unavailability was eating me alive. A few other smaller sellers I used to use went under or stopped selling in Classifieds.

[Moshe ben David]

In a pinch, FedEx Office (formerly known as Kinko's) often have Black and Red spirals.