Tomoe River 68G/m2 Notebooks

[mke]

I always wondered why there are so few (if any) notebooks with 68g/m2 Tomoe River paper.

The general explanation favoured the reason that the notebook producers want to make thinner notebooks.

Yesterday, I went to the trade fair ISOT in Japan - LINK.

 

A notebook producer told me the real reason.

Tomoe River 52g/m2 is always in stock and you can buy the amount you need.

Tomoe River 68g/m2 is order-produced and you have to buy a production lot - a lot of paper apparently, more than the average notebook producer can afford.

 

That is very unfortunate.

 

Perhaps some notebook producer should join together and make a group buy?

Or some pen/paper shops should make a special order notebook group buy with a notebook?

[silverlifter]

Really? Then why would a maker like Taroko offer 68gsm TR paper products? They are strictly an etsy operation from what I can tell, and that doesn't suggest volume purchasing...

[mke]

Nobody said, it is impossible. They have either bought a whole production lot from the maker of Tomoe River or they found one who resells smaller quantities. I know one at Rakuten who sells packs of 4000 sheets.

 

But I trust that person who told me the information. He is the maker of a well-known Tomoe-River notebook. I know which one but the person who told me, the owner of that company, asked me not to reveal his or his company's name.

Edited June 30, 2019 by mke

[miel]

For 68gsm TR notebooks I can recommend the etsy-shop GoodInkPressions https://www.etsy.com/de/shop/GoodINKPressions

 

I doubt that her business is that big that she can buy a production lot.

[mke]

Apparently some people don't read postings.

 

"Nobody said, it is impossible. ...or they found one (intermediate seller who buys a production lot and) who resells smaller quantities."

 

Btw., the second shop is temporarily closed.

[inkypete]

Sometimes a merchant will buy the production minimum and then onsell through 'the trade'. That would suit small makers like etsy folk. Has anyone tried the 68gsm - does it have the same properties as the 52gsm?

[miel]

I always wondered why there are so few (if any) notebooks with 68g/m2 Tomoe River paper.

 

 

Apparently some people don't read postings.

 

"Nobody said, it is impossible. ...or they found one (intermediate seller who buys a production lot and) who resells smaller quantities."

 

Btw., the second shop is temporarily closed.

 

I just received a delivery from the second shop. As we have end of June, there are people in Europe who just go on holiday ;-)

 

And - apparently - I did read your posting. You wrote (first Quote in my post) "if any" and this in my humble opinion is not true. There are "any".

 

But thank you for the nice reply on my posting!

 

Edited June 30, 2019 by miel

[Karmachanic]

For the curious. A few purveyors of 68gsm TR notebooks.

 

Taroko

Good Inkpressions

GLP Creations

Goulet

Elemental Iodine

Hippo Noto

Endless

SakaeTP

Bond Travel Gear

[jamwrite]

Has anyone tried the 68gsm - does it have the same properties as the 52gsm?

 

I've got a handful of 68gsm notebooks, and I discovered that I prefer 52gsm for a few reasons. Initially I thought I'd love 68gsm more, so I went on a search for notebooks with it (and even had some custom notebooks made on Etsy with it) but after using 68gsm, it just doesn't give me enough of a benefit. The show-through is slightly better of course, but 52gsm really performs well enough for me, and for some reason, it just feels slightly better to the touch. Not sure why. But they are definitely both great.

 

However, more importantly, I haven't found a notebook design with 68gsm that is as good for me as a 52gsm Nanami or Hobonichi (i.e. any of the Nanami Cafe Note grid notebooks or the new Hobonichi "plain notebook" in A5 and A6 are perfect examples of what I like). I'm very picky about the grid I use, and so far I have NOT found a 68gsm notebook with a small Hobonichi-like grid at 3.7 or 4mm. Taroko and The Paper Cuts both make a really nice 68gsm 5mm dot notebook, for example, but not quite what I prefer.

 

So in the end it comes down to the format/design I want to use. If Nanami made a 68gsm grid notebook I'd buy it in a heartbeat. But I still might gravitate back to 52gsm since it's just kind of magical to me.

 

And BTW, the Stalogy notebooks have a lovely paper similar to Tomoe River worth trying out. It's not the same of course, but it reminds me a little more of the 68gsm Tomoe River. And their A5 has a great 4mm grid.

[Karmachanic]

And BTW, the Stalogy notebooks have a lovely paper similar to Tomoe River worth trying out. It's not the same of course, but it reminds me a little more of the 68gsm Tomoe River. And their A5 has a great 4mm grid.

 

Which I have turned to since the demise of the Nanami Crossfield, along with Taroko.

[jamwrite]

 

Which I have turned to since the demise of the Nanami Crossfield, along with Taroko.

 

Yes, as has been mentioned here in the forum before, Nanami products have a tendency to disappear and either never come back... or come back a while later in a slightly altered form. It's puzzled me some times that Dave @ Nanami doesn't take advantage of the clear business opportunity here and keep things in stock. But it's probably just a small hobby for him and I've accepted that the scarcity is part of the charm. In any case, as has also been mentioned in the forum and as I'm sure you know, it's always good to stock up on your favorite Nanami notebooks before they disappear. I've been hit with this more than once. Reminds me I better put in yet another order for my current favorites!

 

As for the A5 size of Stalogy, I don't know what I'd do without it to fill the gap when I'm missing Nanami. Nanami stock is so unpredictable (my favorite A5 is the Nanami Studio Note which is now out of stock with no news as to when it might come back), and now there's the similar but thinner Hobonichi Plain Notebook (which isn't plain, it's actually grid), and even Hobonichi can't seem to keep that one in stock! The Hobonichi Plain Notebook has sold out twice so far and it was just introduced. It's not quite as good as the Nanami IMO, but still very good.

 

There's clearly a demand here and I've almost been tempted to go into business myself so I never run out of what I love. But the Stalogy notebooks, fortunately, are also excellent and I haven't run into stock problems with them so far... they're just not as good IMO as the Nanami.

 

Taroko is also good of course, but they don't do the style of grid I like, so I only have bought a couple of those.

 

Anyway, the sage wisdom with Nanami is, "Stock up early, stock up often" on the notebooks you love.

[Frozenoak]

 

Anyway, the sage wisdom with Nanami is, "Stock up early, stock up often" on the notebooks you love.

 

 

Too true, I like to buy 4 or 5 of the Writer at a time and start shopping again when I get down to 2 or 3. If he removed the second ring from the Micro Dot I'd be doing the same with that journal. I don't understand that second ring.

[mke]

On the 2nd International PenShow last week-end , I received the same answer as in my original post - from another seller.

Anyway, perhaps the situation will get better due to the maker's start of producing 68g/m2 notebooks themselves.

[celf03]

I always wondered why there are so few (if any) notebooks with 68g/m2 Tomoe River paper.

The general explanation favoured the reason that the notebook producers want to make thinner notebooks.

Yesterday, I went to the trade fair ISOT in Japan - LINK.

 

A notebook producer told me the real reason.

Tomoe River 52g/m2 is always in stock and you can buy the amount you need.

Tomoe River 68g/m2 is order-produced and you have to buy a production lot - a lot of paper apparently, more than the average notebook producer can afford.

 

That is very unfortunate.

 

Perhaps some notebook producer should join together and make a group buy?

Or some pen/paper shops should make a special order notebook group buy with a notebook?

 

Hi mke,

 

I'm also a fan and recently started a small company making notebooks with Tomoe River 68 gsm called Lochby. I've always preferred it over the thinner 52 gsm. I started making these because I also had a hard time finding it in the marketplace. We do Dot Grid, Ruled, and Plain refills.

 

You're right that it's harder to find the 68 gsm over 52 gsm from a supply standpoint, but that may change over time.

[DrDebG]

Thank you mke for your post.

 

I am a huge Tomoe River paper fan. I use mostly 52 g/m2 TR. I have tried the 68g/m2 TR before in a small journal. It seemed quite nice. So recently I started using one of the Bond Travel Gear journals for my regular journal. I must say that I am not impressed. It seems more like a cross between Tomoe River paper and Clairfontaine paper. I will likely go back to the 52 gsm paper. Yes, the 68 gsm has less show through, but I noticed a bit more smudging and seemingly slower dry times than 52 gsm. - which are already slow. I think I really prefer the Nanami journals mainly because of the number of pages. Also, I just prefer the way the ink looks on the 52 gsm.

 

I am glad, however, to see the number of TR journal producers are increasing!

[DonLeone]

I know some people who make a notebooks in small/retailer amounts. They don't buy the big lot. They just take the usual packs of 100 loose leafs and turn those into notebooks. This leads to expensive books that I don't bother buying.

Edited October 8, 2019 by DonLeone

[BDarchitect]

I have just received a couple of Lochby booklets along with one of their cases- all terrific. The A5 size booklets, as celf03 noted above, use Tomoe River 68 gsm paper. He has printed a 6mm ruling on the pages, which also feature numbered lines (1-32) down the inner edge of each page, and 6mm tick marks across the top, bottom, and 12th and 24th rows to allow for more subdividing if desired. The lining ink is a light, unobtrusive blue/grey. The booklets have 36 sheets, 72 pages, with a brown card stock cover bound to the paper in a single sewn signature. The dot grid version is 5mm spacing. Also available blank. Paper is white but not super bright. An absolute joy to write on and even my inks that can be bleeders, like the permanent or archival ones, don't show through.

 

Along with the booklets, the oiled cotton canvas case is also very well made and worth considering; they are all very reasonably priced, I thought. Several online reviews have been posted recently, all very positive.

[countrydirt]

I just received a Taroko Enigma A5 with the 68 gsm paper and Taroko put in a couple of pocket notebooks with the 68 gsm papers. I don't see the pocket sizes on their website but they do have at least the pocket size for promo purposes.

Edited October 22, 2019 by countrydirt

[DrDebG]

FYI, earlier this week I got an email from Chris the president of Bond Travel. Bond Travel and Lochby are the same retailer. Bond is going away and it will be Lochby only.

[OCArt]

Thanks for this info, I really hope they bring out a version of the Travel Gear Journal!

FYI, earlier this week I got an email from Chris the president of Bond Travel. Bond Travel and Lochby are the same retailer. Bond is going away and it will be Lochby only.