Fp-Friendly 3X5 Notecards?

[cellmatrix]

I'll try to get some dg cards to check them out, thanks.

[ttakacs]

This morning I dropped in to Walgreen's and picked up some 3x5 cards. The brand is "Wexford," made in India, with some texture, dated 2013. My local Walgreen's carries lined, unlined, colored, as well as 4x6 cards. They appear to be identical to the Walmart "made in India" cards, which I purchased earlier this year. Probably similar/same as the Dollar General cards.

 

As DanF reports, avoid the CVS Caliber cards, unless they are dated 2009. I bought a pack of the 2012s and wound up throwing them away.

[KrazyIvan]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7352/10693641115_d35a88dfe6_z.jpg

fpn by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5446/8931616229_c5b2de296a_z.jpg

Very fountain pen friendly index cards found at the dollar store. by IvanRomero, on Flickr

[WilsonCQB1911]

Exacompta cards work great. Mine just arrived. No feathering and no bleed through. Only downsides are that they come in multiple colors in the pack, with white not an option, and they are graph paper gridded, not lined. Also, they are thinner than the card stock levenger cards.

[adamselene]

I have. two or three pocket briedfcases, Three agenda books with leather card slots, two letter sized, one of which zips, has more pockets, but they are noticeably tighter, and ai unzipped one with fewer, but no-hassle pockets, and an unzipped follio that takes a A4 Pad, and has 3x5 slots on the inside cover, I probally have 3 other agendas that have some provision for storing cards, but not the spread out pockets that make a card managemnent system, Plus I have numerous plastic circa insert pages that holdc cards, and. 2 leather 3 x5 circa covers that hold the cards once they are punched on the shotrt end. I even have a. flat leather tray which hold 3x5 cards in position to write, and desk sets-leather blotters, but without blotter paper) rhat have fold over ends that conceal 3 x5 and business catd slots,

 

Almost all of these luscious leather goodies were purchased back in the day when Levenger had ridiculously low clearance prices, which could be combined with 20% coupon codes, and one. could bt essentially free Circa Starter sets, as the $40 cost was compensated by a $40 giftcard.

 

my first 1500 custom imprinted Levenger cards were perfect, luckily I requested samples before reordering,

 

Besides losing Fountain Pen competence, the deal breaker was that the cards bent and crumpled as they were placed in the various stations of information flow in my Levenger lluscious leather continuum of 3x5 card tools,

 

 

I was unhappy for a couple of years, then found myself in Boston when Crane had a sale, with free personalization, and (do you see a pattern here?) i ordered a few thousands of these cards, i think i am towards the end of ny second box of 500, but not nervous at all, as my reserves are deep,

 

However, while the letterheaded cards make a great system for correspondence, I don't like using the Cranes

for my informaioion juggling through my system (they must be a dime a. card, even with the free printing )

 

 

FPN to the rescue, and I discovered the great (for me), Exacompta cards, which I order from a shop in Montreal, They have both integrity in respect to ink and physical integrity, tucking in and out of slots without mutilation oe folding or fraying edges, exemplary performance!

 

i still use drugstore, or office supply cards, for ephemeral data, that will wind up tossed in the fireplace,

 

i really searched long and card efore finding Exacompta and Crane!

 

Cheers!

[kdh1959]

Buying notecards from Wal-mart, etc is off the table. I'm restricted to what I can order in. So if I'm going to order, and possibly pay shipping (some places don't charge for shipping to DPO - like Goulet, thank you Goulet!), it might as well be worth it. I ordered some of the cards from Goulet so we'll see how that goes.

 

You know you can order stuff from Wal-mart online. I don't know if you can get office supplies online, but you don't have to go to the Wal-mart store. That is unless you have something against shopping at Wal-mart. I know some people who are violently opposed to shopping from Wal-mart (or Sam's Club, either).

 

UPDATE

 

I just checked Wal-mart's web site and they show all sorts of index cards: ruled, un-ruled, white, color, half-size, in a number of brands: Oxford, Mead, Tops, Roaring Spring, Universal

 

I don't know if any are the "distributed by Wal-mart but made in India" referred to earlier in this thread.

Edited November 13, 2013 by kdh1959

[cellmatrix]

Unfortunately I've found that there are no dollar general stores anywhere near where I live so I can't comment on the cards they sell. But there are a lot of CVS pharmacies and they still are selling the CVS (2009 dated) index cards I wrote about in links above. I've been finding them really smooth with no feathering using a wet esterbrook 9312 nib with several inks. These cards are going for a less than a penny each and so I just stocked up. I'm set for quite a while and couldn't be happier with them.

Edited November 13, 2013 by cellmatrix

[DanF]

I tried to look up the ones I have on the Walmart site, and strangely enough, they aren't listed. They don't have a brand name on the package, just say "Ruled Index Cards"Distributed by Walmart Inc. Made in India. The top card is sky blue and white, with black printing. They come in packs of 100 or 300 for the 3x5's.

 

Dan

[krz]

I found more India index cards at Big Lots, $2 for a pack of 400 I think. They seem identical to the Wal-Mart cards. I think I'll stock up.

[Bourgeoisie1]

Another vote for Dollar General cards. This was some of the best paper I have ever used. It is comparable to Clairefontaine smooth.

[mmg122]

Nock Co. (Pen case makers) sell a grid 3X5 card which is very FP friendly. They're called DotDash 3X5 Notecards. Here's a link to their website: http://nockco.com

[blINK]

Nock Co. (Pen case makers) sell a grid 3X5 card which is very FP friendly. They're called DotDash 3X5 Notecards. Here's a link to their website: http://nockco.com

+1 for the Nock Co cards. I ordered a 3 pen case from them and threw in a pack of cards to test them. I have since ordered several hundred more.

[cellmatrix]

Having recently found the dollar general cards to be quite fountain pen friendly, I am reluctant to pay so much extra for the Nock cards, however good they may be.

 

 

If you do the math, you will see that the Nock cards cost a whopping twenty four times the cost of the Dollar General cards.

 

DG: 50 cents for 100 cards or 0.5 cents per card

Nock: $6 for 50 cards or 12 cents per card

Edited August 13, 2015 by cellmatrix

[Oldtimer]

Tried Caliber cards from CVS Oxford from Walmart and DG brand from Dollar General today. Without doubt the Dollar General feathered the least and performed the best. I went back and bought 800 for $4. They are made in India but write great. Highly recommend these.

I BOUGHT A SET FROM DGeneral that come binded on a notebook with rings and that's where I log the ink fillings for around 20 pens at a time. They work well except with F and SF nibs.

[mooshi]

Having recently found the dollar general cards to be quite fountain pen friendly, I am reluctant to pay so much extra for the Nock cards, however good they may be.

 

 

If you do the math, you will see that the Nock cards cost a whopping twenty four times the cost of the Dollar General cards.

 

DG: 50 cents for 100 cards or 0.5 cents per card

Nock: $6 for 50 cards or 12 cents per card

I've found the Dollar Tree ones to work wrote well with FPs as well. I think mine were made in Indonesia.

 

A step up would be Daiso's cards in various rulings/grid for $1.50 for 100 white or 80 in colors.

[mmg122]

Having recently found the dollar general cards to be quite fountain pen friendly, I am reluctant to pay so much extra for the Nock cards, however good they may be.

 

 

If you do the math, you will see that the Nock cards cost a whopping twenty four times the cost of the Dollar General cards.

 

DG: 50 cents for 100 cards or 0.5 cents per card

Nock: $6 for 50 cards or 12 cents per card

 

I can understand why Dollar General's price is so appealing. My use of index cards is daily but limited so it is doubtful I would every buy 800 cards. Additionally I try to support small businesses who support us and are American made such as Nock rather than large corporate enterprises. Re Walmart...I wouldn't shop there if it was the only place in the world to buy pens, inks and paper. They are what I consider immoral capitalists. [stepping off my soap box now]

[cellmatrix]

I've found the Dollar Tree ones to work wrote well with FPs as well. I think mine were made in Indonesia.

 

A step up would be Daiso's cards in various rulings/grid for $1.50 for 100 white or 80 in colors.

I have a Daiso not far away and purchased some of the cards a while back. Unfortunately, I found the Daiso cards to feather quite a bit using certain inks such as pilot blue black. So I think the Dollar tree is better, at least in my opinion.

[cellmatrix]

I can understand why Dollar General's price is so appealing. My use of index cards is daily but limited so it is doubtful I would every buy 800 cards. Additionally I try to support small businesses who support us and are American made such as Nock rather than large corporate enterprises. Re Walmart...I wouldn't shop there if it was the only place in the world to buy pens, inks and paper. They are what I consider immoral capitalists. [stepping off my soap box now]

yes I can understand your logic, and agree about supporting small businesses here in the US rather than supporting the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs overseas. I known Nock makes its bags here, but I do not see any made in usa branding on the nock cards, and wonder if they purchase their paper from overseas operations and then simply print and package here in the US. Thats the way a lot of US based companies do it, they wave the flag and evoke patriotic themes, but when it comes down to it, they are using cheap overseas labor to do most of the work in making the components, and the only work done in the US is the final packaging/assembly. I believe Noodlers pens are an example of this. Perhaps Nock is doing it all here in the US, I don't know. It would be great if they did. On a positive note, I do like the grid pattern on the nock cards, its very unique and looks pretty cool.

Edited August 14, 2015 by cellmatrix

[e-beth]

From an article I intend to write for the new magazine, Index Card Connoisseur :

 

Index cards, a staple for so many fountain pen users, can vary in price and quality. Conventional wisdom is that the higher the price, the better the card, however, there are some very nice budget-friendly cards out there. India is a prime index card producing region and several companies, such as Walmart, Tops, and CVS supply good cards originating from that part of the world. Be mindful of the vintage, however, as only 2009 has been confirmed as a good year for index cards. Indonesia appears to be an up and coming index card producing region when purchased from the Dollar Tree distributor. Daiso cards are of varying quality, and depending on the ink with which you are pairing it, may prove unsatisfactory. A card testing is recommended before purchasing a large quantity.

 

If you are looking for a higher end index card, the indie brand, Nock produces a lovely card, purportedly made in the USA. Levenger, once a respected name in index cards are no longer producing the quality they once were and are probably best avoided. Crane's distributes a wonderful index card with good body, excellent for pairing with leather organizers. You may feel these are out of your budget, but they have some good sales, so wait for these and stock up! Finally, Excompta is a little friendlier on the wallet and still has an excellent body and texture and is sure to please.

[mooshi]

I have a Daiso not far away and purchased some of the cards a while back. Unfortunately, I found the Daiso cards to feather quite a bit using certain inks such as pilot blue black. So I think the Dollar tree is better, at least in my opinion.

Perhaps I got a good batch then. My cards worked with my small ink collection.

 

I do like the ruling options though.