Realization When Signing Holiday Cards

[cat]

As I was signing holiday cards and envelopes with my fountain pen and exciting ink, I realized the appearance of the ink on these low quality "papers" does not look good. If most business documents that require signatures/handwriting use similarly low quality paper, it's sad that the full potential of the ink doesn't appear. This means most people will not be able to see how good your fancy ink can look with your dandy fountain pen. This completely ruined my holiday cheer.

[Zookie]

Sign your cards and address the envelopes with a good quality rollerball pen, then add a nice handwritten note on good paper with your fountain pen to personalize it.

I've done it like that for a long time, and folks seem to like them. I even get compliments on my penmanship

[cat]

That's a good idea for the cards/envelopes, but what about office documents? What kind of paper do you use for the hand-written notes?

[Chrissy]

Use some nice handwriting paper that is FP friendly.

[Donald2]

Made in China paper does that.

[cat]

I have good Clairfontaine Triomphe paper, but it has lines which cheapens the look and although it's white, I feel it could stand to be whiter. What is the most white paper?

[Chrissy]

I also have good Clairefontaine Triomphe paper, but I bought mine as white unlined in an A4 sized pad. So you can get it in unlined.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I like ivory and creme papers........so I can't help you with whiter than white.

 

Depending on your position in the office, how much time you have....but you could open the printer, stick in some real good paper 90g or + laser paper, print out and sign; then the inks will dance.

 

A ream of 90g laser paper costs twice as much as a ream of the normal cheap 80g.....but you don't have to leave the paper for other's uses, so it should last a while.

 

Could try and talk the boss into good paper for final documents....especially if you can show the difference.

Might have to get him/her an inexpensive give away fountain pen, so he can enjoy flair himself....remember to give him some good ink.

 

So your next thread is what pen to give the Boss to get him hooked on fountain pens.

Edited December 14, 2017 by Bo Bo Olson

[chromantic]

While a lot of it can be laid to paper, some inks do perform better on cheaper paper than others though, even there, inks that might look decent on 20 lb. will still look bad on 16 lb. I've tried a lot of inks that look great on good paper but bad on the stuff at work and this has become one consideration in deciding whether to keep inks or pass them along.

 

For saturated inks, Sailors are generally pretty good at looking good (and performing well) on lesser papers; Yama-dori is probably the acme in that regard. Simpler, less complex inks - Skrip, Waterman, etc. - can retain more of their character on cheap paper; Skrip Turquoise and GvFC Deep Sea Green, for example, both look great and shade nicely. It's just trial and error finding ones that work.

[MHBru]

Since i work out of my home i have a little more control over the paper i use. I write note cards to customers ever day. I went out of my way to find cards that were fountain pen friendly but had less choice about envelopes. They get addressed in ball point and it doesn't detract from what's inside. Btw if you are ever looking for custom not cards i can fully recommend moo.com.

Edited December 14, 2017 by MHBru

[SamLowry]

This is a fair bit of effort, but I have done this before. Spray the area where you want to sign or write on the card with a "workable fixative" spray from an art supply store. Let it dry thoroughly (which shouldn't take too long, as the solvents in these fixative sprays are very volatile). That should dramatically improve the ability to write on this paper with a fountain pen. And of course, experiment first on a card or two you can afford to waste. There are many brands of spray fixative on the market, and I can't really vouch for which ones work the best with fountain pen - maybe someone else has a post about this. Two common brands at art supply stores are Krylon and Grumbacher, but there are several others.

 

 

 

[txomsy]

Nice trick that of the fixative.

 

Another possibility is to choose inks that look good on cheap paper. This won't let you use your favorite ink, but you may find a new favorite that behaves.

[MoriartyR]

I use a pen with a finer nib, and use an ink that behaves better on poor paper. It isn’t just about the ink feathering, but also that some cards are a little glossy and the ink may not dry well so it smudges or transfers when you close the card. Best to do a test before writing a whole bunch of cards, then you know if it is ok, or if you have to let the cards sit open longer so the ink can dry.

[A Smug Dill]

As I was signing holiday cards and envelopes with my fountain pen and exciting ink, I realized the appearance of the ink on these low quality "papers" does not look good.

The place cards — which doubled as thank-you cards — I used at my wedding wasn't exactly printed on low-quality card stock (and it was 'pearlised' and all that), but I tested in excess of forty different inks to find one that 1.didn't feather excessively, and 2.didn't result in something horrid colour.

 

If most business documents that require signatures/handwriting use similarly low quality paper, it's sad that the full potential of the ink doesn't appear. This means most people will not be able to see how good your fancy ink can look with your dandy fountain pen.

Personally, the last thing I'd care about when signing business/official documents, or filling in forms by hand, would be whether my autograph and/or the text would exhibit noticeable shading and sheen for whoever needs to sight or read the paperwork. I used Sailor seiboku to sign my marriage certificate for the ink's waterproofness and permanence (which turned out to be a wise decision, too, considering the celebrant almost ruined it by carelessly placing it face-down on a damp rock surface in the cave), but I must say neither my wife nor I looked more closely at the certificate after the event to check whether shading and sheen can be seen.