Newbie here... been lurking a while...

I too have reached stage 3 of the "affliction," namely the quest for the perfect paper (after starting out with a fountain pen obsession which led to an ink obsession... the classic pattern). Anyway, I mostly use writing pads at work and so I found myself trying out a whole bunch of pads over the past few weeks. I now have more paper in my house than I know what to do with.

I do like the Clairefontaine and the Rhodia pads, but found them a bit pricy for everyday office use. Lots of people have talked about the Black n' Red notebooks, so I tried one of those (spiral bound). I liked that paper too, but found it not quite as smooth as the Frenchies. Then I ordered the Black n' Red writing pad, because it was not available locally... It arrived today, and I think I may have found the perfect paper for me! The paper on this pad is very different from the notebook paper. Even the color of the lines is different (blue vs gray). What struck me the most, however, is how smooth and thick it is. I find it very VERY similar to the Rhodia paper... just not as expensive. Even my wettest pen did not bleed or feather on this paper, and nothing showed through to the other side.

I recommend giving it a try if anyone is looking for a less expensive, but not totally cheap, writing pad alternative.

Catherine

I personally use the black n' red spiral bound notebooks for classes. I like the spiral bound paper. I can find them for 4$ at rite aid, and they handle ink like a charm.

Thanks for the mini-review. I always pass by the R&B pads in the Office Depot, might have to pick one up..or get the company to buy me some for work!

I found the Red and Black pads next to the bargain composition books two fer a dollar at Rite Aid.
The Red and Black pads are 24 lb weight paper.

W

I picked up a spiral bound Black n' Red journal and am really pleased. Found it at a good price at Staples.

i like black n red immensely!!




now, that's CHEAP!!!!!

Has anyone been able to find these pads locally in the L.A. area? I had to order mine online, but would love to save shipping cost. I searched a few Rite Aid, Staples, and Office Depot stores to no avail.

i'm almost sure i saw it down in the LA area not long ago. it was one of the major stores Staples, OMax of ODepot... not sure. i was staying in the southgate area.

the pads or the notebooks? cause I have no problem finding the notebooks in all shapes and sizes everywhere, just not the pads.

Sorry, the composition books were two fer a dollar.
The Black and Red notebooks were $4.95 for 50 sheets.

W

I happened upon the hardback journals and notebooks at Target this week. I didn't see any spiral bound, but I wasn't looking very hard either.

Y'all are some DANGEROUS friends to be hanging with: dangerous for my *wallet*. Sigh. I think I'm just starting at Stage Three (the Paper Obsession) myself. I've been using some journals I bought at Costco a while ago--big honkin' spiral bound doodads, and I've a small stash of the spiffy Italian stationery (with semi-medieval foliate borders). I tend to bring cheapo spiral notebooks and (gasp! please don't banish me!) ballpoint pens to class because I really can't face some sort of Ink Incident in front of thirty pairs of eyeballs. However, this may be about to change... thanks to you *enablers of my addiction*!!!!

HK

Were you looking in the right place? For example, at my local Office Depot, the Black N reds are not kept with the regular notebooks, but a few aisles over in the "business" section, where the planners, etc, are kept.

Yes, I looked everywhere and even asked the store employees to check in the computer. They have the notebooks (spiral and hardbound and any binding you can imagine) but not the writing/legal pads. very frustrating!
Interestingly, the office depot website tells you that a certain store has the item in stock and tells you to go pick it up. But when you get to the store, and they check the inventory in their store computer, they don't have it. There must be a bug in the office depot website somewhere.
Feels like a wild goose chase

I use these for work and have had some comments from co-workers about them--it's hard to find something that holds up and looks good.

I got my most recent B&R at OfficeMax in Pasadena (on Colorado next to Vroman's Bookstore/Writing Instrument store, which is worth a trip in itself). Don't know if they still have them in stock (probably) or if other OfficeMax stores in greater LA have them (have no clue).

How much are you guys paying for these? At my local Staples the spirals are $9 and the pads are $7.

Thanks for the tip. Officemax is the only chain I have not tried yet. If the one in West LA doesn't have it, I'll check the Pasadena one. I'd really prefer not to have to pay for shipping paper. It's heavy! (and it seems silly to buy $50-$100 worth of office supplies I don't need just to get free shipping from an internet vendor!)

I haven't been able to find the pads locally yet, but found them for $4.30 per 2-pack at shoplet.com... but you have to pay shipping, so it only makes any sense if you order more than one pack at a time.

If I have time I'll swing by in the next day or two and see if they still have them--might save you a trip.

I agree that the Black 'n Red paper is great for FP, but the elastic loop thing fastened to the back cover of the plastic cover-spiral bound notebooks drive me crazy! Its nice when you are not writing, but when you open the notebook on the desk the rivits holding the elastic band onto the back cover make irritating lumps under the paper. The only solution is to fold the back cover under the front so you have only paper laying on the desk, and that just don't seem right!

John

Try the pads we've been talking about here. no elastic band... (but not a notebook).

That's what I call service!

Well, I do have an ulterior motive or two...

I saw Red & Black notebooks at Target (spiral and bound) yesterday. This is a Denver, Colorado store.

BTW, they also had Miquelruis spiral bound notebooks. Not the cool black ones, but school-type notebooks.

I checked the West LA Officemax and they told me they don't even carry the writing pads, just the notebooks (hard bound and spiral bound). How frustrating!

the notebooks are easy to find, just for some reason, nobody carries the writing pads, except for internet resellers I guess.

Don't know whether they'd have the specific product you're looking for but I just picked up a BlacknRed spiral bound notebook at my local Rite Aid. Tigard, Oregon.

As I go along searching for papers, I've discovered that it's the feel and touch that makes me pick up a sample. Smoothness and weight. I've found some Barnes and Noble notebooks (haven't bought any yet) that have the heft and the smoothness we're looking for. Those notebooks are their featured back to school brand that is made for them. They're on the big tables next to the check out line (smart) and stacked on tables for back to school displays. As with anything else, you will pay more for brand name things, but there are cubic zirconia of papers out there that won't bankrupt your wallet and perform as well as Rhodia and Clairefontaine and outperform Crane any day.

I stroke alot of pages when I window shop.

Wanda

No R&B pads in Pasadena, just the notebooks now. Which is OK for me, but not what you were looking for, I realize.

I journal using one small black n red hardbound notebook each month or so. I also use the bigger 8X10 spiral as well. I was given one of the smaller spirals by a local FPN'er at a meeting and I love it. I want to get more when I can find them.

thanks for checking. I've resigned myself to ordering them off the net. *sigh*

I did want to point out my experiences with the Black N' Red writing pads and notebooks.

I use their A5 spiral notebooks as my everyday journal. I really wanted to get the bound notebooks but the paper is totally different between the two and I prefer what comes in the spirals. I also like paper that sits flat, which the bound notebooks do not offer. The paper in the spiral notebooks is very slick (almost Clairefontaine smooth), thick, and produces a much tighter and thinner line compared to what I get from my Moleskine notebooks. What really attracts me to this line of notebooks outside of its performance is its price and availability. They are quite a bit cheaper than Clairfontaine, Rhodia, or Moleskine, and I can easily find them in a few different stores in town.

Anyway, being totally in love with their notebooks, I decided that I should also write on equally nice paper when I'm at work and ordered 6 legal pads from Amazon.com. I believe they were $3.98 per 2-pack, so the price really isn't bad at all (there is shipping though, so I had to buy a few packs and books to justify the price, haha).

The pads arrived and I brought them to work the next day. Each pad comes with 50 sheets of 24 lb yellow paper, light blue college rule lines, and a red margin (three thin lines). Upon first impression, I was....well, not very impressed. The paper really did not feel any smoother than the generic Office Depot pads than I had been using, but they were much thicker and heavier. I worried about too much toothiness and feathering. While using them over the past few weeks I have come to appreciate these pads, though. While they're not as effortless to write on as the notebooks, the end result is to my satisfaction. The lines are tighter than I was getting with the cheap pads, and there is no bleed through. I also like the fact that the thicker paper does not curl up on the bottom as easily, so as I use up a page it stays flat and nice looking.

One thing I did notice is that ink takes a little longer to dry on this paper than on other pads I have used. This is a characteristic I've noticed in the Black N' Red notebooks as well. I have smudged a couple letters, but I don't really worry about it because I use these for notes and scratch work.

Here are some final thoughts on the subject. These are a big step up from the generic el-cheapo pads that I was using previously. Maybe the white paper pads they offer would perform a bit more like the the spiral notebook paper I was used to, but they weren't available where I was looking. This is just speculation, perhaps one day I will buy the white pads and try them out. I think that folks who have used Black N' Red bound notebooks and like them will really enjoy these pads, as the paper feels more like the type that comes in the bound notebooks versus the spiral. And finally, in regards to whether or not I will be purchasing these again....I'm not sure. I like the pads, but I'm pretty sure I can get the same performance by going towards one of the higher end Docket pads that I can find on sale locally.

Here are some pictures comparing the spiral notebook and legal pad. They are just a quick note followed by a picture of the back of the sheet, to illustrate bleed through. I don't have a scanner here at work, so I just used my cheap Panasonic DMC-LC80 on my work desk under a fluorescent light and the flash from the camera. The yellow paper is the legal pad and the white paper is the notebook. Thank you for reading, this post turned out to be a lot longer than I originally expected! Time to go back to work, haha.

I have the white legal pads and have to say the paper is slicker than the spiral notebook paper and VERY different from the generic Office Depot pads. Much thicker, less feathering and NO bleed through. I found them fairly inexpensive at Shoplet.com. But, as you said, there's always that pesky shipping charge! (and paper is heavy to ship!)
Catherine

Catherine,

Thanks! I'll be sure to check out shoplet.com and get some white pads on their way to me!

Ohh, are they the ones with the top spiral, or are there traditional legal pads that I'm not seeing on the site?

Blacknred Headbound twinwire notebook

-Steve

I'm talking about these:

http://www.shoplet.com/office/db/JDKB66650.html

they show the yellow and the white ones in the picture, but the item refers to the white pad. no top spiral. just regular legal pad.

i think staples is a bit more pricey than o-max and o-depot in northern Cal!!! i found the RnB at office max for $4.99 for the 5x8'. staple had them for $6.99

this is nice!! i hadn't seen these before. thanx

you're very welcome!

aren't they great?

Nice to know these can be found at "Rite Aid" & "Target". Time to look around .
Thanks for the info.

I'm currently using a full A4 sized spiral-bound B&R, mainly because I just can't quite get on with A5 size - same goes for diaries - I use an A4 diary. I'm very pleased with my B&R - lovely to write on, no feathering, reasonably quick drying, even with a wet Sapporo with Electric DC Blue.