I had been looking forward to using my new Sailor PG pen to write to my sister:
Sailor Prof Gear B nib + Noodlers Midnight + Paperchase spectrascope coloured paper

However it has put me in a bad mood. The surface of the paper seems "hard" and is not really taking up the ink; I'm sooo disappointed because the rainbow colours are vibrant and pretty.

I was not in a great mood before I started writing and now I'm sunk into a depression as I had bought quite a lot of this paper.

Is it the paper? Or is it just me? The wrong ink?

Comments would be very much appreciated.

Hmm... What do you mean "hard"? I'm trying to imagine what hard paper would feel like... Do you mean like cardboard or card stock? I have the Sailor PG Slim with an M nib, and I can attest that, though it's not the flexiest nib, it does not write hard. I've never used Noodler's Midnight, so I can't comment on the ink you've chosen. I've used various brands of bottled ink in the Sailor PG Slim -- though I have to admit that I have not used any Noodler's in it -- and so far so good. So perhaps it is the paper. Could you elaborate by what you mean by hard surface?

well.... it seems to repel the ink somehow and is quite shiny, otherwise it seems like good paper. I had been thinking about getting some Aurora black to use on it (with Sailor PG)

It seems to me that shiny is the problem. I have some very smooth, hard paper that is a delight to write on, but it is not shiny at all.

Does the packaging suggest what the paper is made for? I have seen some pretty coloured papers that were made for craft work or origami, and didn't take ink at all well.

Thanks for your comments

No the paper is not for craft or origami . I can only assume that the paper is somehow not porous enough for FP ink. I have printed successfully on it with an inkjet printer. I am going to experiment with ballpoint and gel rollerball pens to see how they compare. And I have ordered some Herbin Perle Noir. Maybe the only options are to write on it with marker pen or use it as printer-paper. Or maybe a Noodlers waterproof ink would work......(worried about clogging up my nib)

Some inkjet papers have a coating on them that is made to prevent ink from soaking into the paper. In theory, when printing, it helps create a sharper print because the ink from the printer won't bleed (at least not much). I would imagine that if this were used with a FP, you could have problems unless the pen wrote very wet.....kind of like when I used glossy paper made for commercial photo printing in my inkjet printer. The ink literally ran off the paper. It took me hours to clean up that mess...

Hope you find a pen/ink combo that works on the paper. I have come across correspondence cards and Christmas cards that turn out to have some sort of pearly glaze on them that repel ink. I've ended up using an EF Sharpie on those.

Your problem is the shiny. Shiny = wax (or other such-substance) has been placed over the paper. This creates a sort of "waterproof" layer on the paper. Fountain pen ink being made largely of water - will not soak into this.

Find something else to write on.

Or use a biro.

Yep... Sounds like the paper may have some coating on it that's not allowing the ink to be absorbed very well. That's a pity because it's probably why it's so smooth to begin with, but not practical for fountain pen use.

I have a 19th-century knowledge of paper (dissertation in progress). The paper could be coated--the most common coating at one time at least was gelatin, or hide glue. But the paper could indeed be hard--paper manufactures, at least at one time, added china clay to the pulp to give the paper weight and make it less porous. Too much of either would be bad for fountain pens.

Oops--too handy with the enter key.

Sometimes even on shiny/hard surfaces patience can be a big help.

I have been participating in the Postcard exchange and find that most postcards are shiny and the ink doesn't soak in at all....

Sooooooo, I resort to waiting for it to dry and cautiously check it before touching the inked parts. Once its dry it seems to be fine.

This may be of help to you for right now, and then you can resort to other "better" paper when you have a chance to get some.

Deacon, Is your disertation about 19th century paper?

It sounds as if you are using coated paper, which has a shiny or semi shiny surface which repels ink. Trying to write well on a surface like this, can be a nightmare.

Look for a good quality inkjet paper like Kodak Bright White or Viking Imperial. These are beautiful papers with great matte surfaces for accepting writing ink. A box of 500 A4 sheets will last for ages and is surprisingly cheap.

Thanks for all your comments

On a page of the red coloured paper I have tried:
(a) Sailor blue-black cartridge ink in Sailor Professional Gear
( Black Bic biro medium
© Sharpie Fine marker (black)
(d) Uniball Signo gel roller 0.7mm (black)

The Sailor wrote, but the lines were thin even though it is a B nib and there was no lustre to the ink;
The biro performed quite badly also - I was surprised when after a few words it started to dry up;
The Sharpie probably gives the most aesthetically pleasing result if I don't mind writing large;
The winner is the gel roller! There is a slight glimmer to the lines which are defined and intense

(e) Inkjet printed page - had to increase the font and make it bold to stand out enough to make it legible on the purple colour paper

Maybe there is a good reason why people choose to write mainly on white paper!!

Today in the post I got a new Rhodia pad No 16 squared so I have enjoyed using it for my letter writing. I don't think I shall be using as much of the coloured paper...

It's a sad thing that you can't tell about a paper's FP suitability by just looking at it. I just bought some Jane Austen themed notecards at Barnes & Noble. The inside of the card doesn't look shiny at all, but writing on these cards is almost like trying to write on a wax milk carton. The ink actually beads up in places. I'm using these cards by lining the inside with some good paper - they're too pretty to discard. Seems like buying any paper or notecards is a gamble unless you know someone who has already tested it out for you. It's a shame there's not a "Fountain Pen Seal of Approval" - you know, like the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" on home products.

Judybug

Best Paper for Fountain Pens, The Surface Matters :
by PamHB

Look for this article in General Pen Topics, under th Pen and Paper Paraphnaliea topic at the beginning of the Network page. It maybe that the paper you chose is treated with "calendaring" and will not absorb ink.

Paperchase Spectrascope rainbow coloured paper:

I got it to work! I got it to work!

I sent off for a bottle of Herbin Perle Noir from thewritingdesk.co.uk and followed some advice on another thread about filling the pen via the nib/feed instead of just filling the converter as if it was a cartridge (Sailor Professional Gear), started writing and away I went.

The paper is still not perfect, but at least I know I can use it with this ink, and I have finished my letter to my sister!

scratchy

It's about the technology and manufacture of paper. I'm looking at the impact of early woodpulp paper mills on several villages in New England between 1870 and 1930. The early part of the dissertation is mostly about technology, while the end of it is the story of strike that resulted in the closing of the mills I'm writing about. Recently I got my hands a paper making manual that explains a lot of the technology.

Fun stuff.

Yes I will look out for it thanks for the tip!

Yes it would be helpful!

Thanks hardyb, a lot of helpful discussion there.

Deacon that sounds fascinating, I like socio-economic history.