Hello,

This topic can cover a lot of ground so here are some specifics to review:

1. What's your favorite type of paper?

2. Lined, graph/hex or other? (Some paper can be hors catagorie y muy bueno.)

3. Do you have a list of favorites? Sure, many of us love Clairefontaine, Molskine, Crane and Rhodia. But be creative and original. There's literally thousands out there that are great or even better than these loved brands. I know I do.

4. Spirals, legal pads, bond, or notebooks? Do you like to use a variety?

5. Smoothness and dryability. Do you like a fast or slow drying paper? Do you like texture or smoothness when you write? If you're a lover of the written word, nothing brings pleasure than brushing your hand on the paper and knowing it's the right one. Heaven!

6. What applications do you use them for? Do you use them for writing, printing, drawing or all of the above?

I find us members a descriminating bunch because we know what's good and what's not. We're a very knowledgable group for we have passion. Plus it gives us pleasure when we can share our love with others by educating better ways to enjoy writing and drawing. Let's have some fun!

Shamouti

I prefer parchment paper. My favorite is Southworth in Copper. I also use natural color and blue from time to time, but keep going back to Copper. I use it for all my letter writing, with matching envelopes. My journal is a custom made one by D'Vyne Wrytes, it it has a very nice natural color parchment paper.

When I write, I place a sheet of white paper with a 5/16th grid on it. It allows me to keep my handwriting straight in both directions.

Not to be snippy, but this topic has been gone over many times before. In fact, there are several live topics going on at this time. Rather than trying to start another "what's your favorite paper?" thread, why not use the search function and see what's been said in the past? As a bonus, you also benefit from the knowledge and experience of people who might not frequent FPN any more.

Hmm...

Well what if we try to link all the posts from the past onto one post forum topic? Since there's so many to choose from, it might be good for many of the new folks to learn more and then determine which one is best as a preference. Do you think that's a good idea?

Rhodia. The stuff is simply fantastic.

Hiya Charlie

I'm in the DC area too and went to my fav arts store yesterday (Pearl in Rockville) to find they no longer carry Rhodia pads. I really want to stock up as my one pad is almost full. Any tips for good places to pick up pads or writing tools? The office supply stores are getting tired for me.

Also, I'm awaiting my delivery of Apica pads and can't wait to try them out.

I use Moleskine w/ a fine nib slim Targa for my GTD but am willing to try new products as I search for alternative/better paper.

It would be appreciated if you would review the brands of paper you have found that are better than Rhodia, Clairefontaine etc - that is a worthwhile and needed thing! We would all like to know about such high-quality papers. Discussion is nice, but reviews are the most useful.

Also, use of the Search engine is encouraged. I'm not sure linking all of the opinion topics is worthwhile, but I will think about it.

Paper is an extremely personal thing, and variations do occur in pens, inks and climate. Paper should always be experienced first-hand, with discussions here being a way to just narrow done a personal preference - horizontal rule vs grid, or spiral vs bound, etc.

(As this is a discussion, and not a review or article, I have moved this into the main Paper forum.)

For fountain pens I have pads made up of Wassau Exact Index paper which is very smooth.

For dip pens I like 25% cotton papers like Neenah bond or Southworth. I find that toothier papers show off the shading a line variation of flexy dip nibs.

Fahrney's and The Container Store carry them.

I am a printer, so I tend to use paper from work, mostly 80 to 100 #. Whenever we have a run that uses high quality paper I try to grab some of the set-up paper (web presses tend to leave you with a fair amount of good, usable paper when doing set up or re-starting a run.)

I check out how it handles fountain pen nibs and ink first, it the paper likes it I go for it. Cut it myself on the Guillotine to the needed size, usually punch it for a ring binder of appropriate size. Some times I can even get it perffed for easy tear out. It is a heck of a lot cheaper, and far less frustrating, than buying commercially.

You are describing one of my fantasies... being surrounded by paper like that...

TimeExpress office supply downtown has the largest selection I've seen of Rhodia products (as well as Clairfontaine notebooks, etc.), it's around 19th and H, I think. As well, Plaza Arts carries some Rhodia products, I think the Written Word (haven't been there for a long time) in Dupont Circle, Politics and Prose in upper NW. Don't recall if Utrecht carries Rhodia or not.

Well, aside from Rhodia and Clairfontaine (which are my two favorites) I really like the Strathmore Writing, and Neenah Classic papers. I use them for letter writing and the like, where the texture adds some interest to the product. The super-smooth lined papers are for fiction writing and other things where I want the slickness to make long stretches of scribbling comfortable.

I love spiral-bound Rhodia graph paper. It is smooth and behaves well with my inks. I also custom-print lines on HP 32 pound paper. Dry time doesn't really bother me because I use blotting paper.

Would you happen to know if they carry the Large Rhodia Stapled Notebooks?

Brilliant! Thx guys. I actually have a conf at 1300 Penn on the 29th and know exactly where I'm going on the lunch break!

A quick google search gives the Timeexpress Office Supply address as 1776 I St.. Thx again.

Really great paper for fountain pens does not come along every day, but even so I still have close to a hundred pounds of good stuff on hand, much of it in fairly large sheets for Diane to use for drawing, plus stuff for the kids, grandkids, etc., to play around with, plus I have been known to grab a roll butt from time to time to keep for the kids to play around with. Nothing like mounting a towel rack on the wall with a couple of hundred feet of paper for kids to draw on for literally weeks on end. Put a desk under the rack and a wire bar at the top of the desk and the kids can just roll out what they need. With such a set up they will provide you with hundreds of drawings, paintings, and finger-paintings to keep you busy trying to find places to put them up for years to come.

I have:
Lalo Velin de France, nice and smooth but boring white
Crown Mill Laid, Cream, very nice for all but toothy nibs ....my Binder cursive italics don't like it
Conqueror Cream Wove....luvverly, but expensive

On balance I prefer very smooth papers, in soft colours, such as ecru/cream and light blue.

Here are some threads:

My everyday notebooks and pads - what are you using now?
What kind of paper do you use for letters?
Lined paper for writing letters
Outstanding quality paper - paper for all uses
What are your top 5 notebooks?
Writing paper for snail mail
What is your favorite "old friend" journal? The one you always go back to after straying

I like the idea of a new thread. Though I do go back and read the old posts, I find the idea of searching through all of them rather daunting.

1. What's your favorite type of paper?
Depends on my mood!

2. Lined, graph/hex or other? (Some paper can be hors catagorie y muy bueno.)
Always, always blank. No lines for me.

3. Do you have a list of favorites? Sure, many of us love Clairefontaine, Molskine, Crane and Rhodia. But be creative and original.
Here is where I am happy to be the loquacious odd duck. I use the favorites - Crane, G.Lalo and even Clairefontaine though it is not my favorite - for extra sheets in letters. I write lengthy letters. But I really have a fetish for extremely decorative stationery, sometimes offbeat. Some are better for FPs than others, but they'll all take them.

Less good for FPs but endlessly entertaining are the Dark Horse comics line of letter stationery. A few of my faves:
http://www.darkhorse.com/Products/12-243/D...lves-Snail-Mail
http://www.darkhorse.com/Products/12-656/D...tique-Shag-Cats
http://www.darkhorse.com/Products/11-866/D...hags-Supersonic

Also, generally better for FPs, I like some of the stationery from Victorian Trading Company:
http://www.victorianpapers.com/store/catal...2c/i479204.html
Also their notecards are good for FP writing on the inside and come with envelopes with a lovely die-cut flap.

For the finer stuff, can't beat Kartos Florentia (also seen in my avatar):
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/florentineshop/florentia.html

Excellent paper for FPs and satisfying my slightly weird edge, the Edward Gorey stationery set from Pomegranate is great:
http://pomegranate.stores.yahoo.net/w003.html

I'm a big fan of the 16 sparrows items, including Letter Writers Alliance set:
http://16sparrows.com/shop/Letter-Writers-Alliance.html
http://16sparrows.com/shop/RSVP.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenvelvet/2...57605397575815/

And finally, all the varied stuff I find on eBay!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenvelvet/2...57605397575815/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/donovan_beeson/2632017379/ (Not my photo, but a photo of one of my letters!)

5. Smoothness and dryability. Do you like a fast or slow drying paper? Do you like texture or smoothness when you write?

Again, depends on my mood. I like a variety of options in my arsenal.

I love sharing my finds and checking in on others' finds and preferences, thanks to all for reading and sharing.

Fahrney's on F Street NW, between 13th and 14th Streets has lots of Rhodia paper. Politics and Prose on the 5000 block of Connecticut Ave NW has the smaller size tablets, but not the larger sizes.

So.... Rocket Jones.... what kind of paper do YOU like to use?