Paperblanks Journals

[Ghost Plane]

I have no access to cameras at the moment, but wanted to post of my pleasure so others can indulge. Hopefully I'll be able to add pictures in the near future.

 

Following a discussion in other threads of the uneven performance of these products in years past, a rep from Paperblanks was nice enough to log on and inform us that their paper had changed. That was all I needed to try one, as I'd lusted after their pretty covers for years, but remembered nasty, slick paper that repelled even ball points.

 

European Paper Company has these in stock, so in the course of ordering other products, I fell in love with an Edgar Allen Poe journal in the magnetic closure wrap format. I'm a sucker for deep purple and the chance to have my own scribblings wrapped in the scrawl of a favor writer was irresistable.

 

The journal came wrapped in the foam it was shipped in, bearing a sticker intended for shop keepers to not remove until placing on display. As a result, the journal arrived pristine and obviously untouched since leaving the factory.

 

Hesitantly, remembering the disappointments of years past, I picked up an Omas stub loaded with Black Swan in Australian Roses and began my new journal.

 

Rabid Readers! [For I have seen the ravening posts in Inky Thoughts and know our readers are NOT gentle in their posts!] I am in LOVE!

 

The paper is very smooth to the touch and widely lined as opposed to the new fashion at some companies for narrow lines. As a result, even my 3B nibs are easily accomodated. And the lines are the faintest tracing of gray, more a suggestion than a line, with roughly half inch margins on either side of the page.

 

The ink flows easily onto the page. No skipping, no feathering, NO bleed through with even the thickest nibs! :clap1: So far, additional to the Omas stub with Black Swan, I have used an MB 146 OBB loaded with Kujaku, a 146 BB loaded with Yama-budo, and a Pelikan 3B positively oozing Diamines' Ancient Copper. All these pens bled horribly in the previous no-name journal purchased from the now-defunct Borders. Even my beloved Clairefontaine shows faint echoes with these pens and inks. But the Paperblanks is perfection!

 

If this product is consistent, I have a new love!

 

The journal has a red ribbon marker and the magnetic closure on the flap is consistent. I picked it up as a potential travel journal, yet to date it lives on my desk. I find the flap is the only annoyance as I either let it drop onto the right hand pages, or have to make additional space for it on the desk. That was my fault, as I got this journal to write on my knee or in the car/on planes, for which it would be perfect. Except that I can't seem to let it off my desk.

 

I can see I'll have to order more of these in the standard, open journal format for my desk and still more of these flap closure style to actually use on my travels. Another paper addiction :bonk:

 

It's still early pages yet, but I find myself filling page after page of this lovely, smooth paper as my inks flow off the nibs with ease. Left handed overwriters may find drying times a touch slow in wet pens due to the luscious smoothness of the paper. People obsessed with tooth, texture, or other tactile writing experiences need not apply. This is MY fantasy of perfect paper that makes huge nibs zoom effortlessly as if hovering on anti-grav ink. I can flood the page with my 3Bs and O3Bs, knowing even the darkest, wettest inks aren't bleeding through. And the hard cover is both pretty and functional, as I have no need of a lap desk. These stiff covers would go anywhere and the magnetic catch stand up to banging around in my computer bag or backpack. If I could bear to let it off my desk...

 

Until I can get pictures, anyone else that has one of these, chime in. I'm dying to know if the paper is consistent and behaves as well for other users as this Poe journal with the gorgeous purple cover. Because my fingers keep creeping to the mouse, wanting to place another order. :bonk:

[jimhughes]

Do you know if the paper change in Paper Blanks you allude to is across the board or only in the Poe or Magnetic closure models. Thanks, Jim

[ethernautrix]

I have noticed the consistent improvement of Paperblank notebooks in general -- also, some of them are beautiful, with pretty designs on the edges (where paper can be gilt - gilted?).

 

I can't remember where I read it, but a representative from Paperblanks said that improvements (fp-friendlier paper) were made after 2008.

[Ghost Plane]

I saw that, too, and need to hunt for that thread. I hope they'll post here more and discuss their other products.

 

I can now confirm that I've used my M1000 O3B nib to splash down quantities of Goulet's new Liberty ink that make other papers bleed thru and NO show thru in the Paperblanks! :notworthy1: I really wish I had a camera available as even my Clairefontaine shows echo with that pen/ink combo.

 

Next time I make a paper run, I'm going to have to try different formats of this brand. :hmm1:

 

Somehow it doesn't FEEL as slick as the Clairefontaine, yet the nibs float on it without skipping. And that suggestion of a line keeps me straight without cutting through my writing. Excellent! :clap1:

[missnibs]

Dear Ghost Plane,

 

I too can confirm that the latest batches of Paperblanks are a marvel. My first PB was a Midi Literary Art Deco: I did think the paper resulted in slightly 'drier' lines than my beloved Webnotebooks, but there was no feathering and no bleedthrough or showthrough whatsoever. I have since then bought about 6 more (granted, I like to hoard and actually filling them will happen over the course of the next two years), all of them Ultra's and with the exception of one (the Poe journal, it did show some feathering and showthrough I'm sad to admit - which I then gifted to my mother. She mainly uses ballpoints and an XF nibbed fountain pen which will behave better on that paper), they were all very consistent and very FP friendly. I have recently caved and bought a new Poe Ultra, and even though I swear there's less shading than I'm used to, the paper once again behaves wonderfully. I'm so glad I can now switch between Paperblanks and Rhodia Webnotebooks for the ongoing attempt at chronicling my life and storing random thoughts and comments, because I was kinda getting tired of the same black or orange covers Rhodia has to offer. (Let's face it, those excellent covers are the only reason people fall head over heels in love with PB - paper quality usually gets second place)

 

Today I ordered the brand new Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Embellished Manuscript Ultra - I hope it'll be as fabulous (paper-wise) as the other PBs I own.

 

/geeky rant

Edited June 3, 2012 by missnibs

[Ghost Plane]

Thank you for that descent into paper geekdom :clap1: I think I'll stock up on these as I much prefer the paper color, line width and faintness thereof, and general behavior, not to mention the awesome covers! I write a LOT, so one of these is doing good to last me a week or longer when I get in the flow.

 

Now that I know they can stand up to the O3B nibs, these are on my must have list.

 

I used to love the Quo Vadis Habanas, but with the "new" changes, Paperblanks suit my preferences for most uses much more than the Rhodia Webbies.

[GreenVelvet]

I am one of those who posted about Paperblanks inconsistencies in the past.

 

I love the cover designs, and the hard covers, and the variety of closures, and there is something about their covers and designs that make me want to write in them. I am a sporadic journaler at best, so anything that makes me want to write in a journal is a good thing in my book (pun intended).

 

I am delighted to echo your enthusiasm - I finally pulled the trigger on the embellished manuscript series. I don't have the Poe, but I have the "ultra" (large) version of the F. Scott Fitzgerald (I love the green cover, and also the look of his handwriting, not to mention I'm a Gatsby fan). The paper is fantastic - the best I've used in a Paperblanks. If this quality is indeed consistent, I'll stay with Paperblanks happily.

 

The lines are a touch on the wide side, but as I like to write with a variety of nibs - sometimes fine, sometimes a wet medium - it's nice to have the option to write larger. I thought of getting blank, but I really like how the lines have a nice margin, and provide a great guide on the page.

 

So yes - heartily endorsed by me as well. I bought mine online from Jenni Bick and was quite, quite pleased with their prices, shipping, and service.

[daoud62]

Dear Ghost Plane,

 

I too can confirm that the latest batches of Paperblanks are a marvel. My first PB was a Midi Literary Art Deco: I did think the paper resulted in slightly 'drier' lines than my beloved Webnotebooks, but there was no feathering and no bleedthrough or showthrough whatsoever. I have since then bought about 6 more (granted, I like to hoard and actually filling them will happen over the course of the next two years), all of them Ultra's and with the exception of one (the Poe journal, it did show some feathering and showthrough I'm sad to admit - which I then gifted to my mother. She mainly uses ballpoints and an XF nibbed fountain pen which will behave better on that paper), they were all very consistent and very FP friendly.

/geeky rant

 

Darn, a few weeks ago, I was in a store in Paris (Gibert Jeune) which had shelf upon shelf of Paperblanks products, and I assumed the paper would not be good for FPs.

 

I am a bit confused, though. Ghost Plane, you say that the Poe journal has great paper with no bleeding, feathering, echoing, skipping at all, even with the broadest, wettest nib. Missnibs, you say that the Poe journal does exhibit bleeding and feathering. What type of pens and inks are you using? I ask because it is precisely the Poe journal that I am interested in getting (I'm a big fan, and I have the Montblanc Poe W.E. pen!!!!).

 

Thanks for your clarification.

 

David

[Ghost Plane]

Not skipping has included 146 BB and OBB nibs using the Iroshizuku Ku-jaku, Yama Budo and the Fuyu something I'm too lazy to get up and check the name of. :embarrassed_smile: Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses from an Omas Stub, Goulet's Liberty out of a Pel M800 IB and M1000 O3B, Blue Nose Bear [Noodlers] out of a Van Gogh Maxi B nib, Diamine's Blue Nosed Bear off a B nib, Ancient Copper off an M805 3B, and Grape from a B nib.

 

Absolutely NO show thru so far.

 

I got the Poe from European Paper Company here in the U.S., which seems to have a pretty good turnover in paper products, so I'm fairly confident it was one of the post 2008 variety.

 

My credit card seems to have gotten ahold of my computer mouse and ordered a batch, so I'll have a few more incoming to use in the coming months. I wish I'd opened this one sooner as it sat on my shelf for a few months while I used up other products. :bonk:

 

I'm hoping the paper is consistent.

[Lalique]

I purchased four Paperblanks journals in March of this year. The Paperblanks journal I used in which to record my ink colors is like the one at this link, http://www.artsupply...il.php?id=36393 . I have six De Atramentis limited edition inks; South Seas Blue, Australian Red, Tropic Green, African Brown, North Grey and scented Vanilla. I made a record of them in my Paperblanks Blossoms Ultra journal shown at the link.

 

These were my results of the inks I recorded in my Paperblanks Blossoms Ultra journal:

 

The South Seas Blue ink is a lovely dark sapphire blue that shows no feathering with some slight bleed through. The Australian Red ink is my second best ink color showing no feathering and about the same amount of bleed through as my scented Vanilla ink. The scented Vanilla ink is a very dark purple showing no feathering and slightly more bleed through than the South Seas Blue due to the production of greater ink flow volume than the South Seas Blue ink. The Tropic Green deep forest green color ink shows slight feathering in a few places and greater bleed through than the scented Vanilla. The North Grey ink is dark grey in color such as that of heavy rain clouds and it shows consistent, confined feathering and about the same amount of bleed through as the Tropic Green ink. The African Brown ink shows heavy feathering and about the same amount of bleed through as the Tropic Green.

 

Then, I have Noodlers X-Feather black ink that shows no feathering and about the same degree of bleed through on the paper that's in my Paperblanks Blossoms Ultra journal as the De Atramentis South Seas Blue ink, and I have Montblanc Racing Green ink that shows about the same amount of feathering as the De Atramentis Tropic Green ink as well as about the same amount of bleed through.

 

The only ink I have that shows no feathering and no bleed through on the Paperblanks paper in my Blossoms Ultra journal is my J. Herbin Edition Anniversaire 1670 gold tinged red ink. However, that ink is so saturated that it will gum up a fountain pen if left in a pen even as long as overnight, so I use that ink only with a dip pen.

 

The colors of each of those inks are magnificent. It's the feathering and bleed through that are the problem for the majority of the inks I've mentioned on the Paperblanks paper that's in my Blossoms Ultra journal.

Edited June 4, 2012 by Lalique

[Ghost Plane]

Hmm. Maybe the Paperblanks rep can log again and explain the discrepancy.

 

Hoping the new ones I ordered work as well as the Poe I'm currently using.

[TheWritingSwede]

About 6 weeks ago I accidentally spilled coffee on my diary (a LOT of coffee) and it couldn't be saved. As we're well into the the year I went hunting for an inexpensive diary to replace it I came across the Paperblanks diary (size Midi) for half the original price and I ordered it. LOOOOOVVVEEEEE at first pen stroke

 

I have since ordered 2 more notebooks and I can see many more in my future

[Ghost Plane]

Just ran into my first difficulties. It seems the paper has problems with R&K Verdigris and Alt Goldgrun in broader nibs. Also De Atramentis Mandarin Red. I'm getting bleed through with a CS Italic Broad and a Nagahara Cross nib that never has before. Worse yet, the first two feather along the horizontal grain lines within the paper.

 

Until now, I've given this paper high marks, but not an auspicious start in the 2nd journal. And I know this was new as it came still in the styrofoam protective cover with all stickers in place from European Paper Company where they have a fairly fast turnover of product.

 

The Poe journal was perfection, but it seems this Mozart is off to a bad start with some very good inks. :hmm1:

[hardyb]

While out shopping I ran into the new Paperblanks series that have a very antique look and a brass clasp type of closure. The size ranges from the pocket size to a ledger size (8.5 by 11) blank pages with faint laid paper style lines. If you pick one up in your hands you will not want to put it back just from the construction alone. Cover pictures are below plus they have others colors and types too:

 

http://paperblanks.com/us/en/product

 

http://paperblanks.com/us/en/product/1/full

Edited July 7, 2012 by hardyb

[Jadie]

I recently bought their Baroque Ventaglio journal in Ultra size. It's a variation on the red-and-gold journal in the previous post, and also comes with those nifty brass clasps.

 

t really is a beauty, both inside and out. The paper is soft, smooth, and ink-friendly---I think the only time I noticed a teeny bit of bleedthrough was when I was testing a flex-nib to the max, and leaving gobs and gobs of ink...

 

Oh, and it lies flat, too, for extra euphoria.

[Ghost Plane]

Ooooooooo! I like those!

 

Discovered the same ink that was problematic in my broad nibs is very well behaved out of a Carene M nib. Go figure!

[Bookman]

Stay away from the PaperBlanks journals currently sold in B&M Utrecht Art Supply stores on "clearance." On the assumption I had stumbled across a genuine bargain, getting much more quality than I was paying for, I bought two and began writing in one of them as soon as I got home. There were no inconsistencies. Every page I tried was pure junk. Bleedthrough and feathering up the yingyang. I tried to return both, but the clerk understandably accepted only the unused item. I threw the other one in the trash.

[Jadie]

If I remember correctly, some Paperblank journals aren't suitable for fountain pens because of their special papers? Something like that was mentioned in this thread. Not sure if the info is out of date now.

 

Anyways, since we're on the subject, allow me to post random Paperblanks links... XP

 

Here's Paperblanks' random tidbit about high quality paper spotting: http://blog.paperblanks.com/2012/02/notebooks-paper-quality/

 

And here's them blogging about their paper quality: http://blog.paperblanks.com/2011/01/paper-quality/

 

And finally, a Youtube video advertising the same subject. Can anyone identify the fountain pen in the video?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s1J4JzGKpc

[Stompie]

Hmmm, I was keen on getting one or two of these but not if the paper is no good!

 

Ah well, the search for a good journal continues then.

[Ghost Plane]

Apparently the hard part is discovering if you have the post 2008 paper or not. I was surprised to find a 3B M1000 nib with Iroshizuku ink behaving better than a B with R&K. I wouldn't put them at the Quo Vadis/Rhodia/Clairefontaine level, but they're behaving better than some of the Italian brands and WAY better than Moleskine, Mead, or Piccadilly.