Hi,

This is my first post here so would like to say hello to everyone! I'm so glad I found this place, it's great to know that I'm not the only one out there still using a fountain pen.

I'm in the UK and want to have some notepaper printed for correspondence (or more probably buy my own paper and print it using an inkjet printer). I want something smooth and silky which I'll be able to use with my fountain pens. Do you have any recommendations about what I should buy and where I should be buying it from?

Thanks a lot,


Dan

WHS have "Quality Bond" paper for about 3 quid for 50 A4 sheets - works nicely with my pens. They also have loose sheets of "Premium" printer paper but I haven't tried that.

Jan

Sorry I can't BEAR to shop in WH Smith. I find them the most depressing places in the world.

I have heard that Tesco Finest printer paper is quite good... and at around £3.00 for 250 sheets it works out pretty economical to boot!

Thanks for the heads up. Just popped out to tesco in the lunch hour and this paper is very good. Its 120 gsm which is equivalent to 32 pound bond in Imperial (like the HP 32 lb covered in this [topic="33686"]thread[/topic]). Even my Pilot Prera fine nib feels very smooth on this paper, whereas it is audibly scratchy on our stock stationery notebooks here at work. Somewhere at home I have a ream of some decent quality Viking Direct own brand paper which I will compare this against.

Now I just need to learn how to bind this stuff into my own notebooks and journals...

Speaking of WHS, I did pick up some nice suede covered A5 journals with very moleskine-esque cream paper ('Pebbles range'), but with about 200 odd sheets. I bought 3 for about 6 quid each but they don't seem to stock them anymore. They also stock Pukka Vellum pads which are ok.

Other than that, I have bought Clairefontaine Matris notebookswriting paper from http://thewritingdesk.co.uk which are good if you prefer pure white paper in a notebook.

I find the Tesco Finest stuff to be good, but on my recent trawl of 120gsm papers it didn't quite come out on top.

The best I've used was 5-Star Premier multi-function paper, which showed rather less feathering than the Tesco, and the best compromise was DataCopy Colour Printing multifunction via Viking - a little cheaper than the 5-Star, but performed better than Tesco.

That said, the three are very close in performance and it takes a ise by side comparison to tell them. Nice, fairly economical papers!

Thanks for the tips goodyear.

How do you like to use them? Do you simply use the sheets loose or do you have them bound?

Bradbury Graphics in Belfast has a great selection. I live in Texas but I spend Christmas in Northern Ireland every year- I always go to Bradbury- they have fantastic stuff.

That shop will be the end of me (or my banka cco8ht bank account, at least...)

edit: how's that for typing prowess?

Your in NI- how wonderful. I need to book my tix soon for Christmas. I absolutely lose my mind and any sense of control at Bradbury. I'm sure they are thinking "Who is this crazy Texan that is running around the store grabbing everything - I just hope they never close.

I don't know how my typing is right now- I've been up all night- dare I admit to pen shopping!

Cheers,

Elizabeth

Based on Goodyear's recommendation I have an order of 5 Star Premier Copier Paper Multifunctional Smooth 120gsm arriving during the week. It worked out at £5.11 (inc VAT) per 250 sheets so if it lives up to the intended purpose I would regard that as very good value!

If not then my armada of paper aeroplanes will be even nearer to enabling my goal of world domination through the medium of stationery-based products.

The paper has arrived and it is fantastic!

I wholeheartedly second Goodyear's rec on this.

hi there,
its good to see lot of information on handmade papers well i recently found a website on handmade paper suppliers from india well all u guys will found lot information on this site too
Regards

As far as notebooks go...

WH Smith do an online pack of five 140pp (i.e., 70 sheets) black hardbound notebooks. They're A6 which is usual, though a little big to be ideal, but the paper is excellent. Very smooth and nice to use with a wet pen, such as my medium Paragon and my Binderised M800, but almost as nice with other FPs.

And they're only about £1.50 for the five. (Though since this offer may only be online, you have to take account of a bit of postage.)

Their webstore is a bit limited, but these are there, and are good, very inexpensive, basic notebooks. For me, the paper's beviour with FP ink is by far the most important criterion.

A little bit of bleedthrough with some pen/ink combos, but I personally can put up with this in moderation.

You could also try Manor notebooks - fantastically sturdy and very good with, again, wet nibs. I get these from Staples, but as Manor is an American firm, they may well be available over there too.

Finally, Collins Debden make a very nice A6er.