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Quality Paper Disappointment Question


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In my search for a natural white/ivory blank paper to use instead of bright white copy paper, I tried both Southworth and Neenah and was very disappointed. I tired the Southworth Antique laid and resume paper in 25% and 100% cotton in both the 243 and 32# weights. While the 24# was better for a FP, it still feathered and did not display shading. Likewise, a sampling of Neenah's Laid papers produced the same non-shading rough writing. Only their Classic paper was better, but it was still no different (besides color) than inexpensive copy paper. In fact, the latter was still smoother!

 

I have two questions:

 

1) What paper properties influence the shading of an ink? I know inks and nibs are variables, but what makes some paper soak the ink and others shade it?

 

2) I thought higher cotton content--and names like Southworth and Neenah--would provide exceptional paper. Why did these perform poorly?

 

 

Any thoughts?

Edited by Poetman
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paperforfountainpens.com

 

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Anything added to paper for color can interact with inks in a negative fashion. Clairefontaine has some nice paper for fountain pens that handle these issues well, but they are, of course, going to cost you a bit more.

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Laid paper has a texture to the surface. If you buy any laid paper it will not be, by definition, smooth.

 

If you want really smooth paper try Rhodia or, if I recall correctly, Clairfontaine. Tomoe River paper is also smooth.

 

This might help you with the vocabulary: http://www.southworth.com/about-paper/how-to-choose-the-right-paper/how-to-choose-finish

 

If you share the pen, nib, and ink you're using someone may be able to help you with comments upon your combination.

 

gary

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What qualities are you looking for in a paper? Is smoothness a quality that is important? If so, laid and cotton papers are certainly NOT what you are looking for. "Laid" refers to a ribbed texture on the paper. Cotton paper almost always has a "wove" or "kid finish" texture to it, similar to smooth leather, but not glassy smooth.

 

These might be considered "exceptional" in that these papers reflect an old style of making paper, when one used various wire screens to to dry and mold the paper pulp. These wires then created the various textures. Cotton papers are also exceptional in that they tend to be more durable than wood pulp based papers and can be handled a lot before breaking apart (US money is printed on 100% cotton paper). In addition, cotton paper is naturally acid-free, making it archival safe.

 

As you've noticed, cotton papers have a tendency to be quite absorbent, making a pen feel more dry. In my experience, because they absorb ink so well, cotton papers don't allow for much shading. Shading happens because some areas of the paper absorb a little more or less ink. My best shading papers are resistant wax-like papers. (Fun experiment: At the supermarket, next to the pastry case, they normally have a box of waxed papers that you're supposed to use for grabbing the pastries. Take a few of those sheets home and see how well they shade for you.)

 

As a final note, could your feathering be due to your ink/pen combination? Could it be that what you call feather is really the ink sitting on top of the texture on the paper? I have the Southworth Business 100% cotton 32lb paper in Ivory and the Neenah Classic Laid (75lb Text) in Natural. Using a Mitchell Roundhand #3 1.2mm dip pen with a fully loaded ink reservoir and Noodler's Bad Black Moccasin--which I stopped using due to its feathering on plain copy paper--I was not able to get feathering on either of those papers.

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Thank you for the replies. I tested out a medium and fine point Waterman Phileas with Noodler's El Lawrence, Black, and Waterman's cartridge black. I am not looking for something unbearably smooth, like the thick paper one finds when testing a fountain pen. I have something like that from Parker that feels around 32# and almost glossy. Moleskine paper--like Tomoe River--is amazing but far too thin for my needs. Right now, Staples 20# $3 dollar copy paper is my standard: it takes every ink/pen combination fine. I just want a natural white color, finding the bright white too harsh, and I would like a slightly thicker paper. As far as durability, I do not need something to last forever, but it should easily get me though my next 100 years.

 

Does anyone know what is in standard copy paper that allows it to perform well? Again, I thought 25% cotton Southworth paper would be fine, but it dried my pen and did not shade. Any thoughts would be very helpful.

 

 

Thanks for the feedback.

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Thanks for sharing information on your pen and ink.

 

If you are looking for an off white paper, I would suggest Mohawk's Strathmore Premium paper. It comes in a variety of colors and textures, but the ones that would probably interest you are the 24# Natural White with a Smooth finish, or the 24# Supersmooth finish in Ivory or Soft White. If you're interested in a look similar to laid paper, but with a smoother texture, there's even a Pinstripe finish in Natural and Soft White

 

It isn't commonly available in big box stores, but you can search for a local merchant through Mohawk's site (http://www.mohawkconnects.com/community/find-merchant). They should be happy to send you a Strathmore Premium sample booklet for free if you ask. The sample booklet will have examples of all the papers I mentioned above.

 

I only have the sample booklet myself, but a test using Waterman Black cartridge ink and one of my scratchier nibs on these smooth finish papers did indeed give the pen a smooth writing experience. My tests did not show feathering with either Waterman's or Noodler's Black inks. YMMV, of course.

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Thank you for the very helpful post! I tried Southworth's 25% cotton 24# business paper today, and it was fine--not as smooth as copy paper, but fine. The earlier paper I sampled from them was the 100% cotton 32# & 24# and their antique laid paper, which was 25% cotton and 24#. Those 3 variations caused my pen to dry and write unsmooth. They must make their business paper differently.

I looked in Strathmore, but there was an overwhelming amount of options, and they seemed geared more towards artists, than writers. Your recommendations make me eager to revisit them.

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Paper technology is an entire science unto itself, analogous to the manufacture of dyes or inks. There are literally thousands of papers, each with its own manufacturing process, each with its own properties. Papers can have multiple layers on the surfaces, clays, titanium dioxide, polymers, and many many others. They can be of different densities, thicknesses, etc. A 90 gram paper that is twice as thick as another 90 gram paper could be more of a sponge, absorbing the ink fast with no feathering. A highly coated paper can retard ink absorption and thus not feather.

 

My experience, the cheaper the paper the worse it bleeds through and feathers. You have to go by others' recommendations or try out different papers yourself.

 

Midori paper is extremely thin, but my Traveler's Notebook does not bleed through or feather at all with most any ink and nib (up to 1.5 mm). It is very light and thin. An old Staples spiral notebook will bleed through with almost any ink even in EF Pilot or Platinum nibs and every ink I've tried on it (maybe 30 or 30).

 

The very shiny surface of glossy papers like National Geographic have clay on their surface to provide the sheen. It also is made to take ink very well. So does a glossy calendar I have - my fountain pens write very well on it. Some paper has a polymer coating that is water repellent to some degree, fountain pens do not do well, though ball points may.

 

You cannot make blanket statements about "all cotton" or "all linen" paper, as the fibers can be used in probably hundreds or thousands of different papers, with dozens of different coatings or chemical additives, each one behaving totally differently with inks.

Eschew Sesquipedalian Obfuscation

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Moleskine and Tomoe share nothing in common. Tomoe is very thin at 52 gsm, but doesn't bleed or feather. But like Rhodia it does produce both shading and sheen. Mohawk superfine is very nice. But the comparison to Moleskine is way off/

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I use Astroparche from Wausau Papers which I bought by the ream from my local print shop. It is cream with a very nice surface and works well with flex nibs, no feathering or bleeding. For stationery I've created several letterheads which I print with an inkjet printer using the same paper.

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...

I looked in Strathmore, but there was an overwhelming amount of options, and they seemed geared more towards artists, than writers. Your recommendations make me eager to revisit them.

 

Strathmore makes a wide variety of papers. The artist papers are a separate division from their business papers. To clarify my previous post, I am suggesting their business papers, which are distributed through Mohawk.

 

Hope that helps!

Edited by AppendixC
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