I am lost in all the threads about paper , and I hope I am not going over old ground too much , but I have 4 questions,

1.Is there a British equivalent of the HP 32 pound and 28 pound laserjet paper recommended in many threads, and where do you get it from ?

2.Are there any non white papers available in Britain that are recommended.

3.Has anyone in Britain tried the Apicas , and does anyone want to club together to get a combined decent order to mininise the shipping ?

4.If I want to make a journal in A4 or A5 size - do I need to buy A3 size paper to ensure the grain runs down the page ?
It seems to me that the fantastic journals made are all A6 size , starting with A4 paper

If you do a search of the forum of 32lb you will find a hell of a lot out. Unfortunately you may also get an overload of information.

In short, many people rave about the HP 32lb, one forum member from Ireland recommended 5 Star 120gsm multi-function paper which I ordered in some quantity and have found to be excellent. Just do a Google-type search for a supplier or use this link.

Non-white paper is not really my thing but I did get some close-out stock of Conqueror 100gsm wove which has been good.

On Apica, in common with many other forum members I also ordered from Taylors in the Rockies (a quick search will yield results) a wide range of Apica books. Again they are very good but they may be a little quirky for your tastes.

I have never made a journal other than the most basic sort so would be unable to advise on grain but there will be experts here who can help you out on that.

Do you have any of the Apica spare that I could buy to try out ? I haven't managed to get a reply out of Molly yet

The link provided by Number looks excellent, good value too for a 110 paper.

Another alternative is to approach a printer who specialises in letterheads and ask for a special paper, even cut to
size and hole punched to your spec.

British equivalent of HP 32lb - try Tesco Finest Inkjet 120gsm (yep you read that right: Tesco and inkjet). £2.99 for 250 sheets. I've used this for homemade A5 journals - A4 folded gives you A5. I haven't given a thought as to which way the grain lies to be honest.

TBH its a little bit on the thick side, esp when compared with a Moleskine. I am on the lookout for some 90gsm paper with similar quality, also in A3 to be able to make an A4 journal. I plan to make a trip to Staples at some point to see if they have some HP A3 laser paper that might fit the bill.

The HP premium paper in UK is called HP Colour Laser Paper and is available in a range of weights from 90gsm (26 lb) through 100 gsm (28 lb) and 120 gsm (32 lb) up to 280 gsm.

OCE make an equivalent range called TopColour and Clairefontaine make an equivalent range called DCP (Digital Colour Printing).

I prefer the OCE and Clairefontaine to the HP paper, although all three are excellent papers.

Hmm, I see at £7.40 (on ofice365.co.uk) that the HP 120gsm is over twice the price of the Tesco branded paper.

On the subject of grain, a colleague at work who has also been doing a spot of hand bookmaking also commented that he thought the grain of all the A4 paper he has used runs along the long edge, which makes it perpendicular to the spine when folded A4, which gives problems he reckons. It is widely recommended that the grain runs parallel to the spine, which would involve buying A3 paper (assuming its grain is along the long edge) and cutting to A4 before folding. (Or making A6 from A4 as noted previously).

The A3 100gsm HP runs out at about £17 for 250 sheets. It would be annoying to buy this then find the grain runs along the short edge, ie still the same as the regular A4 when cut. Is there any way to find this out before buying?

That would match the price for that HP product in Australia.

I prefer to go for the 100 gsm papers, in most cases you still don't get any significant bleeding with the thinner papers, it is easier to fold, and it is significantly cheaper, typically AU$15-$20 per 500 sheets, vs AU$15 per 250 sheets for 120 gsm.


I didn't know about the paper grain. Maybe that is what OCE is talking about in their product sheets when they talk about longgrain and shortgrain?

Perhaps an email to your HP Head Office in UK (HP Presales Support) might get you the answer.

I would be really interested to know how you created your journals. Having looked at the journals shown on the threads, I wonder where you buy stuff for the covers , endpapers and things like that , in the UK. Also, do you leave the pages blank , or add lines , and I expect that you can write on both sides . I also wonder if you have found a thinner paper yet . Have you made an A4 journal yet ?

Phew a lot of questions ! Sorry about that

If you know somebody with a business I would recommend makro for a quality selection of A3 paper in various colours. Its a while since I've been so I dont have the details as in make/price etc but it is good quality (100gsm I think)....you have actually put to my mind to go get some to try. I am also now thinking about making my own journals - I made my own paper for many years and was going to have a go at book binding back then - maybe this is the right time to look at it again.