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A3-Sized Fp Friendly Paper


sodiumnitrate

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I'm looking for A3-sized FP friendly paper so that I can make myself stitch-bound notebooks. Right now I know of two options: A3-sized TR paper on amazon, and taking apart A4-sized Rhodia staplebound notebooks to use its paper (which is essentially A3-sized paper folded in half). They are both $12-$16 per 50 sheets.

 

Is anyone aware of a cheaper but decent quality option?

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Rhodia makes at least an A3 dot pad - don't know if they make it ruled, blank, or grid, but I've got the dot-pad version. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005IAZXWM/

 

 

Whoa, thanks! I didn't know about this. It brings down the cost almost by half. Dot is perfect :D Ordering one now.

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Whoa, thanks! I didn't know about this. It brings down the cost almost by half. Dot is perfect :D Ordering one now.

 

Glad to help. Enjoy. It's fabulous when you've got a lot you want to see all at once. (Or when you want to make an A4 notebook, I guess.) :)

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So you're wanting to end up with an A4 notebook by taking an A3 pad apart and folding the pages in half? I hate to be a buzz-kill, but I wish it were that easy for you.

 

This may be a dumb question, but I'm assuming that that one at Amazon has the grain running parallel to the long edge of the paper? Since it's a pre-made pad they have no reason to say, but it looks as if that'd be true, as the pad opens on the long side.

 

To simply fold the sheets of that pad over into A4 size, the grain should run along the short side. If you do so, DON'T get your new A4 notebook wet! Not even a little bit.

 

I might be wrong, but I don't think so.

Sorry,

^esc

 

P.S. You probably need A2. It folds lengthwise into 2x A4

I may not have been much help, but I DID bump your thread up to the top.

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So you're wanting to end up with an A4 notebook by taking an A3 pad apart and folding the pages in half? I hate to be a buzz-kill, but I wish it were that easy for you.

 

This may be a dumb question, but I'm assuming that that one at Amazon has the grain running parallel to the long edge of the paper? Since it's a pre-made pad they have no reason to say, but it looks as if that'd be true, as the pad opens on the long side.

 

To simply fold the sheets of that pad over into A4 size, the grain should run along the short side. If you do so, DON'T get your new A4 notebook wet! Not even a little bit.

 

I might be wrong, but I don't think so.

Sorry,

^esc

 

P.S. You probably need A2. It folds lengthwise into 2x A4

 

 

It's okay, I won't use it for anything too important. We'll see what the grain direction is. Thanks for the input.

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Another alternative, with much cheaper paper per sheet, is Double A paper in A3.

 

Alternatively, talk to a print shop. They get in lots of different quality papers for different classes of jobs, and can also advise you on the grain orientation problem. And does it affect FP use?

 

The advantage, and reason for the cost difference, with Tomoe River paper is that it is much thinner than 80 or 90 gsm papers, and is superb for fountain pens. Perhaps once you have your skills up, you might want to invest in the TR paper.

fpn_1412827311__pg_d_104def64.gif




“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

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Another alternative, with much cheaper paper per sheet, is Double A paper in A3.

 

Alternatively, talk to a print shop. They get in lots of different quality papers for different classes of jobs, and can also advise you on the grain orientation problem. And does it affect FP use?

 

The advantage, and reason for the cost difference, with Tomoe River paper is that it is much thinner than 80 or 90 gsm papers, and is superb for fountain pens. Perhaps once you have your skills up, you might want to invest in the TR paper.

 

 

I had heard about Double A before but never had the chance to try it. I wish stores like staples just placed an opened pack of each paper for people to try them.

 

Talking to print shops is a great idea -- I'll see if there is anything around in our small town.

 

I agree that TR paper is the best there is, the only problem is that it's a bit too thin. To get a notebook of a reasonable thickness, I have to use 70 sheets the very least. That would already bring the cost up to $21-ish. I want to make B5-sized journals, and I would feel bad cutting it up and throwing away the rest of it :) Once I feel more comfortable with bookbinding and improve my finances, I'll try it :D

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I often cut A4 paper down to B5 and keep the offcuts for scribbling on, testing a nib after adjustment, and the like. It's not wasted.

fpn_1412827311__pg_d_104def64.gif




“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

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  • 7 months later...

I have made many A4 notebooks from Double A A3 80 gsm paper folded in signatures, and they were satisfactory. Eventually I got the fifty sheets of Tomoe River A3 55gsm paper available on Amazon and I was amazed by the difference in quality. If Double A is the best cheap fountain pen friendly copy paper (and I think it is), there is a huge quality gap between copy papers and Tomoe River. It receives the ink without feathering and with minimal show through for a translucent paper. It's worth the price, no doubt, but I wish there were something in between. Something that handles fountain pen ink like Tomoe River but a little heavier, maybe 70gsm, and not blindingly white like copy papers. Does anyone know of such a paper in A3 size?

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I have made many A4 notebooks from Double A A3 80 gsm paper folded in signatures, and they were satisfactory. Eventually I got the fifty sheets of Tomoe River A3 55gsm paper available on Amazon and I was amazed by the difference in quality. If Double A is the best cheap fountain pen friendly copy paper (and I think it is), there is a huge quality gap between copy papers and Tomoe River. It receives the ink without feathering and with minimal show through for a translucent paper. It's worth the price, no doubt, but I wish there were something in between. Something that handles fountain pen ink like Tomoe River but a little heavier, maybe 70gsm, and not blindingly white like copy papers. Does anyone know of such a paper in A3 size?

 

 

I ended up buying staple-bound A4 rhodia notebooks, taking out the staples and re-binding the paper. You could also get the A3 rhodia pads, but they will have a grain direction that runs perpendicular to the spine. Note that the first strategy might require cutting the notebook down to a slightly smaller size than A4, as the sheets on the exterior of the signature will be slightly wider than those in the interior.

 

My problem with the A3 sized tomoe river paper is that if you make a notebook out of 50 sheets only, it's ridiculously thin. I would prefer at least 100 sheets, but then that's almost $40 bucks for a notebook.

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Yes, the 50 sheets of Tomoe River are thin, and the paper is fairly limp and no friend to water. These aren't problems for me, just characteristics of a very light paper. I have used a coptic stitch to bind it with sturdy covers. It works well. But I paid Amazon about $27 Australian for one book which will last me six months. Not cheap. The Rhodia and Clairefontaine papers I have in exercise books are okay but on the heavy side. I believe Clairefontaine has marketed an A3 copy paper in reams for printing. I don't know what difficulties might result from the grain direction being different in the case of the Rhodia A3 pad.

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