I got a package of paper samples in today, various Strathmore and Mohawk papers in #24 weights and either cream or ivory color which I will be reviewing shortly.
This paper has a linen texture - a square texture that is quite light, yet still visible. When writing on this paper I was not able to feel the texture as I could when writing on a laid textured paper. For the most part writing on this paper felt to me no different than writing on a plate finish paper. Interestingly enough, even though this is a #24 paper, compared to the other papers of similar weight, to the touch it felt lighter, which was not a bad thing at all.
Please Note: My pen loaded with blue ink ran out of legs while writing these tests. It wrote very smoothly up to that point, and I found no problem with skipping or hard starting.
As you can see in the attached scans, there is little to no feathering that I can see - the letters are quite crisp and clean (please disregard my penmanship). I used the three inks that I have on hand at this time with both fine and medium nibs, and found the paper wonderfully nice to write on with both nibs. As with the previous paper I reviewed, I liked the way this paper responded my medium nib pen, which I find leaves too wide of a line with many papers. There is no bleed through at all, although I was just barely able to see writing on the other side of the paper when it was laid on my writing surface. Still, I don't see any reason why both sides of the paper could not be used.
When held up to the light, the square pattern can be easily seen, although it was not quite as prominent as the Strathmore Laid paper I reviewed earlier. The watermark, which reads "V|i|a" is visable when help up to the light, but not when laid on my writing surface. Unfortunately the pattern is difficult to photograph, but feels great to the touch.
This is nice paper, striking a good balance between a laid surface and a plate finish. I think that this paper would make great journal paper if you were to bind it into a book. Hmm... that gives me an idea!
- R
EDIT: For those interested, I just found out that this paper is made using %100 sustainable wind power.