Recommendation For Fpn Friendly Paper From Costco/sams Club,...etc

[samasry]

I am looking for fountain pen friendly paper that you can purchase from places such as Sam's club or Costco, ...etc

As these places usually sell a box of 5 or 10 reams of paper, and the reviews really do not concentrate on how fountain pen friendly those paper are. I am trying to find if someone here has good experience with paper purchased from these places that performed well with fountain pens.

 

Thank you

[pitonyak]

What kind of paper? Is your primary interest in white printer paper? Or any kind of paper?

 

I have some pads of white lined paper from Staples and it is great with fountain pens. So, I stopped in to staples to buy some more. It turns out that they have multiple varieties. I asked a manager if it should be the same or if they happened to have any open that I could test. It turned out that he had some in his office that they were either using or that were customer returns. None of their white lined paper was as good. They had yellow ruled pads. The cheapest version had minimal feathering and did not bleed through. Not really happy that it is yellow, but, it actually works well.

 

My acid test is the pilot parallel pen with their mixable ink (the default ink for the parallel pens). With a loop, I can certainly see some feathering, but not much. I also tested some HP Multi-Purpose 24 and that worked well also. I suspect that ink jet paper might work well, but I don't have any to try. Happy to mail you a couple of sheets or to post some scans of different paper samples.

 

Need to be careful because older stock may have the same SKU as newer stock yet have different characteristics (as I saw with the Staples paper).

 

Fun fact: When I went to test some papers, I had three of my fountain pens run out of ink. It was amusing and annoying at the same time.

[pitonyak]

Side note: Staples has a printing center. When I stopped in, they let me test their different papers that they use, and NONE of them worked well. If I had found one that was fabulous, I would have grabbed a ream or two. I asked if they had a single sheet with which I could test, could even be scrap. They were very accommodating; they also were not super busy at the time. Don't think you can do that at Sams Club, however.

[samasry]

What kind of paper? Is your primary interest in white printer paper? Or any kind of paper?

 

I have some pads of white lined paper from Staples and it is great with fountain pens. So, I stopped in to staples to buy some more. It turns out that they have multiple varieties. I asked a manager if it should be the same or if they happened to have any open that I could test. It turned out that he had some in his office that they were either using or that were customer returns. None of their white lined paper was as good. They had yellow ruled pads. The cheapest version had minimal feathering and did not bleed through. Not really happy that it is yellow, but, it actually works well.

 

My acid test is the pilot parallel pen with their mixable ink (the default ink for the parallel pens). With a loop, I can certainly see some feathering, but not much. I also tested some HP Multi-Purpose 24 and that worked well also. I suspect that ink jet paper might work well, but I don't have any to try. Happy to mail you a couple of sheets or to post some scans of different paper samples.

 

Need to be careful because older stock may have the same SKU as newer stock yet have different characteristics (as I saw with the Staples paper).

 

Fun fact: When I went to test some papers, I had three of my fountain pens run out of ink. It was amusing and annoying at the same time.

 

 

Thank you for the kind reply and help. I realize now that I did not clearly specify what I am asking for. I am actually trying to find white printer paper to use with fountain pens.

 

I have good experience with some of the Staples notebooks that I use personally. However, my daughter who caught the fountain pen bug as well, does like to do her work and studies on white non-lined printer paper. She does not like notebooks.

 

I agree with you that you can not go to Sam's and ask them to try the printer paper to see if it is fountain pen friendly, and that I why I was asking if someone here, has experience with printer paper from there or other similar places that are fountain pen friendly.

 

Thanks for the kind reply and help.

Edited September 15, 2019 by salmasry

[pitonyak]

I tend towards bright white heavy Hewlett-Packard laser printer paper and those have been fine for me. I teach in the morning and should have been in bed hours ago,but tomorrow I will go through my paper to see what I do have.my mother-in-law gave me a huge stock of paper and I'm working through that before I buy what I used to have but I will check to see I've heard good things about hp32 something something.. was not sure it was clear enough to go buy some, but I can certainly test what I have and I'm also happy to send you samples of anything I have after I go through them. I know the printer paper we have at work is useless with fountain pens so I bring my own paper in.

 

it will also matter what kind of pain she likes to use if she likes fine nibs you can get away with more and if she knows he wants to use just any paper there are inks that behave much better on all sorts of papers.

 

So until tomorrow

[samasry]

She uses medium nib Pens almost for all her pens. So mainly, we are just trying to find paper with good quality in terms of feathering and bleeding. I do not think there is anymore requirement by her other than just the paper works well with fountain pen.

We have purchased some printer paper from Target and it was not very fountain pen friendly.

 

Thanks again for the help and apologies to have kept you past your sleeping time yesterday.

[DrDebG]

The HP 24lb printer paper at Costco is more fountain pen friendly than the Xerox Vitality paper.

[samasry]

The HP 24lb printer paper at Costco is more fountain pen friendly than the Xerox Vitality paper.

 

 

 

Thank you very much for the recommendation. I can find the Xerox Vitality paper on the Costco web site, but I am unable to find HP 24lb paper on Costco's site at the moment, is there another designation for that paper other than the weight, something like "premium paper" or something similar?

 

Thanks again for the help.

[WalterC]

I think the HP 24lb paper referred to is this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IDS1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

HP Printer Paper, Premium24, 8.5x11, Letter, 24lb Paper

There is also Premium 28 lb and 32 lb. There seems to have been some change in the papers and they are not quite as good as they used to be. If you see these labeled 98 bright, that is the older, better version. I just got some of the later 100 bright versions of 24 and 32lb. They are smooth, but with a little bit of feathering with some pens/inks; not bad but not quite as good as it used to be.

[pitonyak]

I ran some tests using a BAO (chinese) pen with a medium nib and a blend of Diamine ink. I then wrote using a Pilot Parallel pen. It had black ink that ran out so I inserted a green cartridge without flushing so the ink color will look odd. Next I wrote a single line with Noodler's Blue and Noodler's Black using a Lamy Gold EF Nib.

 

The ink in the Pilot Parallel pens is "mixable", very nice colors, but it will bleed and feather badly if it can. Just be clear on that. I use it as a worst case torture test.

 

Full size images are posted on smugmug in my Pens library but you need to search for them:

 

https://pitonyak.smugmug.com/Pens/i-F5Bc5hk

 

First, the HP MultiPurpose 24 lb paper. I think that this was purchased at Costco and I do not see this specific paper sold. I would use this to write letters and such, but, with the Parallel pen it almost bled through with the Pilot Parallel pen, shows on the other side, and it feathers some. Not my first choice, but the price is probably good. What I have was a gift and has 825 sheets in a ream. This is a reduced image:

 

 

Full size image: https://photos.smugmug.com/Pens/i-F5Bc5hk/0/0733fd34/X3/hp_multi_24_page-X3.jpg

 

Full size close up, see, not too bad.

 

The HP Premium Choice laserjet 32 lb paper is a dream and I know why everyone recommends this paper.

There is zero bleed through and mostly no show through. We have a winner for almost anyone I think.

 

The full size image is here: https://photos.smugmug.com/Pens/i-xDFQpm3/0/85e1c573/X3/hp_premium_32_page-X3.jpg

Reduced image:

 

Close up, no problems here:

 

 

So you are feeling crazy? How about HP Photo Paper for a Las Printer 58lb Glossy paper. Zero show through and zero feathering.

Looks like I am getting to the green ink finally starting to arrive.

 

Full size image her: https://photos.smugmug.com/Pens/i-zJQsMj4/0/e0ff2aef/X3/hp_laser_photo_58_page-X3.jpg

 

 

The close up:

 

 

If you want something fancy, HP makes a soft gloss presentation paper that is sold in a ream of 500. Full size is here:

https://photos.smugmug.com/Pens/i-FKfc9ZN/0/c70b97b7/X3/hp_soft_gloss_presentation_28_page-X3.jpg

 

This tries to bleed through, but, there is no feathering.

 

 

 

 

 

And now for the Hammermill Pastels 20 lb cream paper. I would use this to write a letter, but, the Pilot ink did bleed through. Also, I purchased this paper some years back, and I don't know if that means five or ten years so things may have changed with this paper. Regardless, it is not my first pick.

 

Full size:

https://photos.smugmug.com/Pens/i-PhDKLtf/0/d39e89fc/X4/hammermill_pastels_cream_20_page-X4.jpg

 

 

 

 

If I just wanted pads with lines, I would take the cheapest yellow pads from Staples, they work out to about a buck a pad and they are pretty good. The white are horrid and not usable with fountain pens.

 

I hope this helps.

[pitonyak]

By the way, the blue cast is related to my scanner, it is kind of old. The paper really is white except for the last one I scanned, that is cream.

[samasry]

By the way, the blue cast is related to my scanner, it is kind of old. The paper really is white except for the last one I scanned, that is cream.

 

 

This is very useful information. Thank you very much for your time and efforts, the quality of the information has really exceeded my expectations when I posted my question.

 

I will definitely go through your last post in a very careful manner. However on first glance, it seems that the 24lb and 28lb HP paper are up to the job of the day to day use for student notes and work (the high-volume part), it seems to perform really well.

 

The 32lb/58lb is probably more suitable for notes or printouts that you want to keep rather than be used as scratch paper for student work. It looks so amazing that I have to try them for sure.

 

I will go ahead and get her paper in the 24lb/28lb to get her going. Thanks a lot for the very beneficial information.

[samasry]

I think the HP 24lb paper referred to is this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IDS1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

HP Printer Paper, Premium24, 8.5x11, Letter, 24lb Paper

There is also Premium 28 lb and 32 lb. There seems to have been some change in the papers and they are not quite as good as they used to be. If you see these labeled 98 bright, that is the older, better version. I just got some of the later 100 bright versions of 24 and 32lb. They are smooth, but with a little bit of feathering with some pens/inks; not bad but not quite as good as it used to be.

 

Thank you for the information. From the replies I got today. from Pitonyak post and 5Cavaliers and yourself, it seems that the 24lb/28lb from HP is the paper that would nicely do the job. Thanks for the help

[samasry]

I ran some tests using a BAO (chinese) pen with a medium nib and a blend of Diamine ink. I then wrote using a Pilot Parallel pen. It had black ink that ran out so I inserted a green cartridge without flushing so the ink color will look odd. Next I wrote a single line with Noodler's Blue and Noodler's Black using a Lamy Gold EF Nib.

 

The ink in the Pilot Parallel pens is "mixable", very nice colors, but it will bleed and feather badly if it can. Just be clear on that. I use it as a worst case torture test.

 

Full size images are posted on smugmug in my Pens library but you need to search for them:

 

https://pitonyak.smugmug.com/Pens/i-F5Bc5hk

 

First, the HP MultiPurpose 24 lb paper. I think that this was purchased at Costco and I do not see this specific paper sold. I would use this to write letters and such, but, with the Parallel pen it almost bled through with the Pilot Parallel pen, shows on the other side, and it feathers some. Not my first choice, but the price is probably good. What I have was a gift and has 825 sheets in a ream. This is a reduced image:

 

 

Full size image: https://photos.smugmug.com/Pens/i-F5Bc5hk/0/0733fd34/X3/hp_multi_24_page-X3.jpg

 

Full size close up, see, not too bad.

 

The HP Premium Choice laserjet 32 lb paper is a dream and I know why everyone recommends this paper.

There is zero bleed through and mostly no show through. We have a winner for almost anyone I think.

 

The full size image is here: https://photos.smugmug.com/Pens/i-xDFQpm3/0/85e1c573/X3/hp_premium_32_page-X3.jpg

Reduced image:

 

Close up, no problems here:

 

 

So you are feeling crazy? How about HP Photo Paper for a Las Printer 58lb Glossy paper. Zero show through and zero feathering.

Looks like I am getting to the green ink finally starting to arrive.

 

Full size image her: https://photos.smugmug.com/Pens/i-zJQsMj4/0/e0ff2aef/X3/hp_laser_photo_58_page-X3.jpg

 

 

The close up:

 

 

If you want something fancy, HP makes a soft gloss presentation paper that is sold in a ream of 500. Full size is here:

https://photos.smugmug.com/Pens/i-FKfc9ZN/0/c70b97b7/X3/hp_soft_gloss_presentation_28_page-X3.jpg

 

This tries to bleed through, but, there is no feathering.

 

 

 

 

 

And now for the Hammermill Pastels 20 lb cream paper. I would use this to write a letter, but, the Pilot ink did bleed through. Also, I purchased this paper some years back, and I don't know if that means five or ten years so things may have changed with this paper. Regardless, it is not my first pick.

 

Full size:

https://photos.smugmug.com/Pens/i-PhDKLtf/0/d39e89fc/X4/hammermill_pastels_cream_20_page-X4.jpg

 

 

 

 

If I just wanted pads with lines, I would take the cheapest yellow pads from Staples, they work out to about a buck a pad and they are pretty good. The white are horrid and not usable with fountain pens.

 

I hope this helps.

 

 

Simply wow, thank you really for your time and efforts. This is extremely helpful. information, I appreciate it.

[pitonyak]

I think that what you should really do is find the one that suits your needs that has the best price you may find that the 32-pound paper for some silly reason it is cheaper and then that's the one you get

[pitonyak]

And if she takes notes on both sides, go for the 32.

[samasry]

I think that what you should really do is find the one that suits your needs that has the best price you may find that the 32-pound paper for some silly reason it is cheaper and then that's the one you get

 

 

Definitely, if you are aware of any deals on the 32 lb paper, I would absolutely love to go with that paper, specially if the price is reasonable.

[DrDebG]

Yes, I was talking about the HP 24lb Premium paper. It works quite well, without bleedthrough. There will be showthrough with a wider nib and wetter ink, but it won't be too bad.

 

Personally, if I was using this for note-taking, I would stick to the 24 lb. The 28 lb. paper gets really heavy in a notebook.

 

I also have the 32 lb. paper, but that is much too heavy for general writing. I do use it for personalized cards, however.

Edited September 16, 2019 by 5Cavaliers

[pitonyak]

 

 

Definitely, if you are aware of any deals on the 32 lb paper, I would absolutely love to go with that paper, specially if the price is reasonable.

 

Cheapest I know is from Amazon using Prime if you buy 6 REAMS, it is about $60.

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Premium-Choice-LaserJet-Total/dp/B00006L358?th=1

 

So, before tax, just under $10 a ream.

 

The same link includes Premium 24, which is not the paper that I marked, but, 10 reams is $90, so, $9 a ream.

 

Decision time! :-)

 

Oh, and yes, you can buy it one ream at a time for a wee bit more cost!

[samasry]

Yes, I was talking about the HP 24lb Premium paper. It works quite well, without bleedthrough. There will be showthrough with a wider nib and wetter ink, but it won't be too bad.

 

Personally, if I was using this for note-taking, I would stick to the 24 lb. The 28 lb. paper gets really heavy in a notebook.

 

I also have the 32 lb. paper, but that is much too heavy for general writing. I do use it for personalized cards, however.

 

 

Thank you 5Cavaliers for the insight and for sharing your experience with these papers. We have just tried some Epson Bright Pro paper that probably cost more than either of the 24 lb HP or the 28 lb HP and it bled through, one of the sides exhibited feathering worse than recycled paper. It behaved worse than the Target bought paper with fountain paper ink. I think I will be definitely moving to the HP line of paper for sure.

 

Thank you for the time and help