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52 Vs 68 Gsm Tomoe. Anyone With Experience?


beast786

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Hi guys.

Anyone have experience of the difference between 52 and 68 gsm tomoe river paper with a broad fountain pen?

I really cant stand ghosting/showthrough in general! It doesn't bother most people it seems but it really distracts me. I have some notepads with semi thin paper (that doesn't seem as thin as tomoe) and there is show through but looking at pictures online, its even less that the tomoe 52gsm journals so the ghosting on those must be really high. I know there is 68 gsm tomoe but don't know if that small increase will make much difference...

 

Does anyone have both 52 and 68 gsm and can see the difference between the two?

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Yes! But I see you have used the search engine.

 

Something I have learned on this life journey. If one doesn't focus on something one won't see it/hear it. If one lives near a bus stop, for instance, after a while one will not hear the buses. Same with ghosting.

 

A Nanami 480 page A5 weighs a lot less than a Taroko 384 page A5, is 20% +/- slimmer and is better value. I have and enjoy both.

Edited by Karmachanic

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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Yes! But I see you have used the search engine.

 

Something I have learned on this life journey. If one doesn't focus on something one won't see it/hear it. If one lives near a bus stop, for instance, after a while one will not hear the buses. Same with ghosting.

 

A Nanami 480 page A5 weighs a lot less than a Taroko 384 page A5, is 20% +/- slimmer and is better value. I have and enjoy both.

 

Thank you for the analogy Karnachanic :) I actually lived on a very busy street so i know what you mean. In the evenings when i got back from work i wouldn't hear the buses and cars and ambulances because i was used to it. At 5am when i was asleep however when the two or the busses were parked outside my window warming their engines, getting ready to start their journey, it would always wake me up ;)

 

Anyway, i have read that the loose sheets of paper seem to be different than and of better quality than the sheets in the journals - apparently the loose sheets show through less?

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Anyway, i have read that the loose sheets of paper seem to be different than and of better quality than the sheets in the journals - apparently the loose sheets show through less?

 

A cursory examination of Amazon purchased loose leaf and Seven Seas confirms this.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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just be aware 52gsm and 68gsm do not have exactly same writing experience. 52gsm is better. 68gsm is still good, but not best in class. shading, sheen, color contrast, simply everything is better on 52gsm.

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just be aware 52gsm and 68gsm do not have exactly same writing experience. 52gsm is better. 68gsm is still good, but not best in class. shading, sheen, color contrast, simply everything is better on 52gsm.

+1,000,000

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I use a Nanami Seven Seas as well as loose-leaf 52gsm (in both cream and white) and loose-leaf 68gsm white TR paper, with a variety of nib sizes and ink applications (if you look at some of the ink reviews I've done, you'll find a lot of very wet/heavy applications of ink). My experience is that the 68gsm is slightly more textured than the 52gsm, which is noticeable while writing. The 52gsm also shows off sheen better than the 68gsm. Specifically on the subject of bleeding/ghosting/showthrough, the 68gsm is definitely more resistant to showthrough, but ordinary writing (with any sort of nib, not just broad) will still be visible on the reverse side of the sheet. In extremely wet applications (painting, ink drops, etc.) the 52gsm can begin to bleed, whereas the 68gsm has never bled for me. As for the Seven Seas notebook vs 52gsm loose-leaf, I don't think there is a noticeable difference in the amount of showthrough. There might be a bit of a difference if you examine it minutely, but as far as everyday use goes, they behave very similarly--if the showthrough on the journal bothers you, it'll probably bother you on the loose-leaf paper as well.

 

At the end of the day, if any degree of showthrough bothers you, TR might not be the ideal paper for you, as even lines from needlepoint nibs on the 68gsm paper will be visible on the other side. When I use my Seven Seas journal, I only write on one side, so showthrough is not an issue for me. To me, the enjoyable experience of writing on TR and the way it shows off ink is well worth the downside of only using the front face of each sheet. But even though many people hold TR as the gold standard for paper, it's not the only good FP paper out there, so I encourage you to find the paper that suits your preferences.

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I thought Seven Seas are made of the same exact 52g paper only custom printed (for some models) with lines and crosses and bound into smaller notebooks from original A4 sheets or larger.

 

As much as I love Tomoe River, I'm very intrigued by imitating old vellum or parchment paper, as I've been seeing a lot of medieval Italian manuscripts in the past couple years. Strathmore 400 Series tan paper looks interesting for that purpose and thick enough to hopefully not have any show through. Will be getting a joirnal soon.

Edited by Intensity

“I admit it, I'm surprised that fountain pens are a hobby. ... it's a bit like stumbling into a fork convention - when you've used a fork all your life.” 

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I thought so too, though it seems possible that the printing process could somehow affect the paper. So while I can't see any difference between the two, it seems like others can.

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Other than the inclusion of the printing, I don't see how there can possibly be any difference, since Tomoegawa makes their 52g paper to the same spec, and then companies or individuals buy that specific type in bulk and do whatever with it (such as sell plain A4 stacks or bind them into journals). I'm thinking that the plain unlined Tomoe River Seven Seas journal should be bone stock Tomoe River only bound into a journal.

“I admit it, I'm surprised that fountain pens are a hobby. ... it's a bit like stumbling into a fork convention - when you've used a fork all your life.” 

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Just to chime in, based on how you describe your preferences, I dont think Tomoe River is even the right paper for you. You should try midori as an alternative which is cheaper and will probably get you an experience you prefer. Tomoe River will always show through.

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