Smythson Vs. Crane & Co. For Personalized Stationery

[Barkingpig]

That's interesting. My dad was in the printing business for 50 years. I got a fair amount of engraved stuff through him, and he always said the engraving plates could be reused.

 

Persevere, and do not use your laser printer. There is nothing like real engraving, and you can tell a lot about a person by his ability to recognize it.

My plates have been reused by the same maker when ordering more paper so I know they "can be." Some I have not reused because of address changes. And you are indeed "on the money" regarding your assessment of those who "know the difference!" It was something very important to many people & not that different it would seem as those persons here who value "nice" paper. Just another part of making an experience "nicer."

[tfwall]

I have been unable to get a hold of Piccolo Press.

 

+44 (0)1667 454 508

[Keyless Works]

I will try and call them tomorrow morning as I have to get up early to make a call to Switzerland anyway. I hope they have samples they can send me.

[tfwall]

I hope they have samples they can send me.

 

Certainly they do. Here.

[Keyless Works]

Update (this is becoming a sad story isn't it?)

 

Piccolo Press does not do hand painted borders. Crane & Co. only does 100% cotton papers; their William Arthur line has 25% cotton papers but they cannot do the hand painted boarders on the William Arthur line

 

So my options are down to Smythson or a local engraver.

 

I always thought 100% cotton paper was considered superior but I realize that in Europe they do almost no cotton papers (could be due to the historical lack of cotton) and I wonder if it's because cotton papers are inferior.

[john74]

I see that, like me, you live in San Francisco. Did you check out Hyegraph to see if they could help you find what you want?

 

http://www.hyegraph.com/corporate-stationery-business-stationery-bar-mitzvah-and-bat-mitzvah-invitations/

Edited April 15, 2015 by john74

[Blade Runner]

Update (this is becoming a sad story isn't it?)

 

Piccolo Press does not do hand painted borders. Crane & Co. only does 100% cotton papers; their William Arthur line has 25% cotton papers but they cannot do the hand painted boarders on the William Arthur line

 

So my options are down to Smythson or a local engraver.

 

I always thought 100% cotton paper was considered superior but I realize that in Europe they do almost no cotton papers (could be due to the historical lack of cotton) and I wonder if it's because cotton papers are inferior.

Content alone doesn't necessarily mean fine paper, but the finest papers in the world are those that are 100% cotton or have a significant cotton content. High cotton content paper is softer, more flexible, more durable than wood pulp paper, absorbs ink better. Europe continues to produce beautiful 100% cotton rag stationery, not on a scale of wood pulp, but the tradition continues. Think Italia. For example Amalfi. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/italy/727946/Italy-The-last-word-in-luxury-paper-making.html

Edited April 15, 2015 by Blade Runner

[Blade Runner]

To clarify a bit, the local engraver uses copper plates were Crane supposedly uses copper coated steel plates.

 

I tried the proper Crane ecru white paper today and by comparison to my Medioevallis and Smythson Cream Wove papers and results were not to my liking.

 

It performs very similar to Southworth 100% Cotton 32lbs. The lines my pens put down look raged on it. I am not a paper expert so maybe this is a desirable quality but it's not one I like. Perhaps I should try some of their other papers before I completely cross Crane off the list.

I have the Southworth paper, and I don't think it is similar to my Cranes. I find the Southworth is too highly sized. It doesn't accept fp ink very well. On the other hand, my Cranes 32 lb and 23 lb sheets are excellent with my fps. . Having amassed a huge supply of stationery, I haven't bought Crane papers in the past few years and can't comment on them. Perhaps a change in production. although I kinda doubt it. Paper performance can also be affected by environmental factors such as hand oils, dust, humidity, etc.

Edited April 15, 2015 by Blade Runner

[zenshrink]

Pianki.com is in Seattle and distributes Pineider stationary and looks like they engrave as well. Give it a look.

[Keyless Works]

I have the Southworth paper, and I don't think it is similar to my Cranes. I find the Southworth is too highly sized. It doesn't accept fp ink very well. On the other hand, my Cranes 32 lb and 23 lb sheets are excellent with my fps. . Having amassed a huge supply of stationery, I haven't bought Crane papers in the past few years and can't comment on them. Perhaps a change in production. although I kinda doubt it. Paper performance can also be affected by environmental factors such as hand oils, dust, humidity, etc.

I agree that there is a difference between Southworth paper and Cranes....the Cranes is superior from what I can tell. I think my comments relate to the differences between wood and cotton papers. Cotton is a lot more revealing on the quality of the nib and steady angle of the pen.

 

By comparison my Smythson papers (all 100% wood) and Fabriano papers (mostly,if not all wood) accept fountain pen much more readily and overall the lines are crisper. But if I take my time and slow down the Cranes has its own unique charm.

 

After playing with it a bit more I went ahead and ordered the Cranes. I have plenty of wood pulp based stationery to go through.

[Blade Runner]

I agree that there is a difference between Southworth paper and Cranes....the Cranes is superior from what I can tell. I think my comments relate to the differences between wood and cotton papers. Cotton is a lot more revealing on the quality of the nib and steady angle of the pen.

 

By comparison my Smythson papers (all 100% wood) and Fabriano papers (mostly,if not all wood) accept fountain pen much more readily and overall the lines are crisper. But if I take my time and slow down the Cranes has its own unique charm.

 

After playing with it a bit more I went ahead and ordered the Cranes. I have plenty of wood pulp based stationery to go through.

Last time I made an inquiry, a Smythson rep informed me that their papers are a blend of cotton and wood pulp.

Not sure if Fabriano also makes wood pulp papers, but I always thought Fabriano produced cotton stationery. I'll have to check on that.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Blade Runner

[Blade Runner]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/jelb/120510-epc-cotton-handmade-300x300_zpsjdc7znx1.jpg

[Keyless Works]

No, I don't think its cotton maybe it's 25% like Verge de France but not 100%. Fabriano has an ultra expensive line thats 100% cotton but I see little info about Medieovalis being cotton. I could be wrong but if it's cotton they don't advertise it as such.

 

Based on other 100% cotton papers I have used from Southworth and Original Crown Mill, Medieovalis performs more like regular paper.

 

The Smythson rep told me that it's all wood pulp no cotton in their line.

[Blade Runner]

No, I don't think its cotton maybe it's 25% like Verge de France but not 100%. Fabriano has an ultra expensive line thats 100% cotton but I see little info about Medieovalis being cotton. I could be wrong but if it's cotton they don't advertise it as such.

 

Based on other 100% cotton papers I have used from Southworth and Original Crown Mill, Medieovalis performs more like regular paper.

 

The Smythson rep told me that it's all wood pulp no cotton in their line.

I'm pretty sure the Fabriano paper I had was all cotton, but that was ages ago. I'll contact them to see if they still produce it. The Medioevalis may be a blend.

If true, I'm surprised and disappointed that Smythson doesn't use cotton any longer. In my last inquiry I was told they used a mixture of hard and soft woods and cotton.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Blade Runner

[Blade Runner]

Here's a 100% cotton Fabriano stationery on their website called Secolo: http://fabriano.com/en/134/secolo_xiii

Presumably the other correspondence lines are not 100% cotton because 100% cotton is not explicitly stated.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Blade Runner

[Keyless Works]

Yes this is the line I was referring to. It's really expensive and I have not be able to find a place to buy it from recently. I was able to get some Fabriano Minerva from goldpen.it though they don't say what's it's made out of.

[Barkingpig]

After reading this thread for the past few days I ordered tonite Cavallini from Amalfi. It is reputed to be 100% cotton & looks similar to the Hungarian cotton long notes I had engraved @ Mrs. John Strong a few years back. Since it has a new owner there doesn't seem to be anything like it on their site. I did get an email from them once this summer asking if I needed to order any replacements. I did not so I didn't pursue what they were going to offer to fill the order with if they didn't show it as available on their site. But European Papers had these in stock so I thought I should @ least see what it looked like. It was nice to see a company that definitely listed 100% cotton for their paper.

 

If it is not pens then it is inks & if not inks then papers........

[Keyless Works]

Amalfi paper is gorgeous. I had some trouble with their cardstock but the writing paper great.

[Blade Runner]

That europeanpaper.com site looks good. Type cotton in their search box, and you get some 100% cotton and high cotton content prducts as well as papers with less % cotton. The Arpa stationery from Spain looks delightful!

[Blade Runner]

After reading this thread for the past few days I ordered tonite Cavallini from Amalfi. It is reputed to be 100% cotton & looks similar to the Hungarian cotton long notes I had engraved @ Mrs. John Strong a few years back. Since it has a new owner there doesn't seem to be anything like it on their site. I did get an email from them once this summer asking if I needed to order any replacements. I did not so I didn't pursue what they were going to offer to fill the order with if they didn't show it as available on their site. But European Papers had these in stock so I thought I should @ least see what it looked like. It was nice to see a company that definitely listed 100% cotton for their paper.

 

If it is not pens then it is inks & if not inks then papers........

Thanks for mentioning europeanpapers.com. Looks like a fine source.

Let us know how you like your new paper.