Kokuyo Campus High Grade Mio Paper

[Neill78]

I love Kokuyo Campus Notes. For me they are the ideal notebook. They are slightly more textured than Clairefontaine and Apica which means a bit more feedback, but they are less troublesome with picky, slippery nibs. They also seem to work great with any pen and ink I throw at them.

 

The last time I was in Japan I picked up a newer product, the Kokuyo Campus high grade MIO paper. According to Kokuyo, MIO stands for "Mobile Ideal Original writing PAPER." I'm not making this up, it's written on the first page. The paper is supposed to be designed for gel pens, but is also recommended for fountain pens on the Kokuyo website. I bought a 210x148mm, 80 page model. The style is much different than the regular Kokuyo line and these will not open flat. Price was 262 yen (about $2.50) at Tokyu Hands; considering the number of sheets compared to the regular Campus line, they're not very expensive.

 

The paper is extremely thin and exceptionally smooth to the touch. So far I haven't been able to get it to bleed through, but show through is quite noticeable since the sheets are so thin. Ink dries much faster than on Clairefontaine. Needless to say I was excited to start my new journal using this notebook!

 

Unfortunately I am very disappointed so far. I've gone through roughly 20 pages, and when it's good, it's AWESOME, but when it's bad, the nib literally scrapes dryly across the page without leaving any ink. This is true for 3 Reform 1745s that I got this week. It's acted up with my Pilot 78g as well, reducing the flow of ink in patches in various places on a page (the same both front and back), and my Lamy 2000 seems to "stick" in places -- it's like there are patches of spilled syrup on the page that the nib literally sticks to. It's very difficult to move the nib across these areas. Plus, ink sometimes feathers in these areas.

 

I have a few theories:

 

1. Paper consistency: there is something wrong with the paper itself, leaving patches that do not accept ink.
2. Oil from hands: The paper DOES seem sensitive to oil from my hands, but even if I use a piece of paper as a guard there are still places that do not accept ink as well, or that make the nib feel like it's being pushed through a sticky spot.
3. Nib/ink incompatibility: My Reforms were both filled with Shaeffer Skrp and they will simply not write on certain parts of the page. Whether it's a nib problem or ink probem I don't know. My nail-like Jaguar Concept Pen filled with Pilot blue-black has no issues that I have seen so far.
4. The paper is coated: I've had two cases where a pen's flow was reduced drastically and wouldn't correct without a lot of scribbling on regular copy paper. I've had a similar (but more drastic) reaction when I tried to write on coated ink jet paper. I haven't read anything about coating on this paper, but that would explain why it feels so smooth.

 

Most likely it is a combination of factors that are causing the problem, or it could be simply that I got a bad one. I have two more but I don't really think I want to start a new to find out just yet.

 

I would happily recommend these books for gel-pen or maybe roller ball users, but I cannot yet recommend them for fountain pen use. If I can figure out the problem I will post an update.

 

Neill

[SF Susan]

I just bought some of these notebooks at Maido in three sizes: 146x87 mm (103 sheets), 210x148 mm (80 sheets), and 252x179 mm (60 sheets). It's interesting that as the notebooks get larger, the number of sheets decreases. The two larger notebooks lie flat when open, the smaller thicker one does not. Just running my finger over the papers in the store, the MIO paper feels smoother than the regular (non-MIO) Campus notebooks, but I've never tried writing on the regular ones.

 

A nice feature is that they come in two line widths: A (7 mm) and B (6 mm). I prefer the narrower B.

 

I've only written a couple of pages--just to test my pens--and didn't have any problems. All my pens wrote very smoothly but not to the point where I felt like I was skidding out of control.

 

What amazed me is that there was absolutely no bleed-through from my Levenger stub filled with PR American Blue. This pen/ink combination bled terribly in my Moleskine and Apica notebooks, and even a little on Rhodia paper. Now that I've read this post, I'm concerned that the lack of bleed-through means there is a coating on the paper.

 

Neill, if you're reading this, have you had any further thoughts about whether this paper is coated?

[Neill78]

Hi Susan,

 

I'm pretty sure the paper is not coated. But it definitely has patches where the paper is strange. I've tried nearly all my pens and they all exhibit the same problem. I've ruled out ink from my hands, as I tried writing with my hand completely covered. I wonder if there was some grease on the rollers at the factory one day or something.

 

I'd say the bad patches make up about 20% of the book. I agree, the paper is excellent in the good parts, but the one I am using now is just awful.

 

I've gone back to a regular Campus Note for now.

 

Neill

Edited January 26, 2009 by Neill78

[pen2paper]

curious to know if you tried different inks?

though it does sound like this particular notebook, (since SF S had better results), had a manufacturing glitch.

[SF Susan]

Hi Susan,

 

I'm pretty sure the paper is not coated. But it definitely has patches where the paper is strange. I've tried nearly all my pens and they all exhibit the same problem. I've ruled out ink from my hands, as I tried writing with my hand completely covered. I wonder if there was some grease on the rollers at the factory one day or something.

 

I'd say the bad patches make up about 20% of the book. I agree, the paper is excellent in the good parts, but the one I am using now is just awful.

 

I've gone back to a regular Campus Note for now.

 

Neill

Thanks for the updated information, Neill. I'm relieved that you don't think the paper is coated. I really do like the way most of my pens write in these notebooks, and I haven't had any problems with bad patches--yet. The only pens that don't work well for me in them are my extremely fine nibs (Sailor EF) which put down a finer line in these books than on any other paper I've used--too fine even for me.

 

I'll keep using the Campus Mio, but I will keep an eye out for any reduced flow in my pens.

 

[Edited for horrible grammar.]

 

 

Edited January 29, 2009 by SF Susan

[holgalee]

I like Kokuyo Campus paper too! I have the softcover one as well as the one with plastic front cover. Both take inks well, but the plastic cover one seems to have coated paper. Inks take a little longer to dry, and some even end up a little paler. I don't see the Mio paper available at the local stationery shop, but found this on the Kokuyo website: http://www.kokuyo-st.co.jp/stationery/camp...tml#contents_01. Can anyone translate this? I put it through Babel Fish and got some funky sentences that didn't make sense!

[1000km]

Kokuyo is my favourite paper by far. Thin, smooth, minimal feathering and bleed-through even with the worst-behaved inks and the wettest-writing pens. The Campus notes are good, but I prefer the loose-leaf paper.

 

 

[Neill78]

Can anyone translate this? I put it through Babel Fish and got some funky sentences that didn't make sense!

 

Here you go.

 

01: Smooth writing comfort

When note-taking, writing comfort depends on the roughness of the paper. MIO PAPER is neither too smooth nor too rough, and has the perfect texture for gel-ink ball pens.

 

02: Ink dries quickly and is difficult to smudge

Ink is absorbed and dries quickly, so you can write quickly without fear of smudging. We also recommend it for left-handers and for vertical writing.

 

03: Thin and light, but doesn't show through

20% lighter than Campus Note paper, it's easy to carry. Compared to existing thin papers, it has less show through (according to company tests)

 

04: Smooth to the touch

Many people enjoy the smooth and supple feel. Page turning is easy because the paper's got some spring to it.

 

05: Archival safe (PH neutral, virgin pulp)

Superbly resistant to light and colour change due to the use of PH neutral virgin pulp. Perfect for long storage.

Bottom of page talks about the simple, stylish design the high quality feel. Very bottom talks about the index page on P.1 (which is rare in Japanese composition books).

 

Enjoy!

 

I'd like to update my previous comments as well: The "bad" patches were fewer and fewer as I went along, so I think I must've got a bad book. Still there are some nibs that work very well and other that don't. My Reform 1745 basically won't put down any ink, and my Visconti steel nib doesn't slide on the paper well. MIO works well with wet pens (my Lamy 2000 EF is great) but drier fine nibs (like Japanese F or smaller) put down a VERY thin line.

 

This is very different paper than what you get with the regular Campus line. The covers are very hardy as well, and the pages are very thin so you get a lot of them in a small package.

 

Neill

[Neill78]

Kokuyo is my favourite paper by far. Thin, smooth, minimal feathering and bleed-through even with the worst-behaved inks and the wettest-writing pens. The Campus notes are good, but I prefer the loose-leaf paper.

 

Mine too, but the High Grade line (MIO -- and Cyo-BIO, which I haven't tried-- ) are VERY different than the Campus Notes and loose leaf.

 

Neill

[SF Susan]

Good news! JetPens is now carrying the Kokuyo Campus notebooks with the high-grade MIO paper in both the 6-mm and 7-mm line heights in a couple of different sizes.

[Neill78]

curious to know if you tried different inks?

though it does sound like this particular notebook, (since SF S had better results), had a manufacturing glitch.

 

Somehow I missed responding to this post... sorry!

The answer is yes, I've used all my inks:

Pilot BB

Iroshizuku Asa-gao

Sailor Black

Sailor Brown

Sailor Kiwaguro

Platinum BB

Herbin Lie de The

Herbin Perle Noire

Herbin Rouge Caroubier (or whatever it's called, plus another red)

Diamine Poppy Red

Noodlers Navy

Skrip Black

Skrip Blue

Skrip BB

Parker BB

Parker Washable Blue

Parker Black

 

The problems seem to be related more to the nib and paper than the ink. Some nibs, like my Visconti or my Lamy 2000 would feel very draggy. My Pilot 78g would put less ink down in places. The Reforms would not write at all in some places. My Sailor Sapporo wouldn't change very much at all.

 

But now I'm sure I had a bad book: I took my pens and drew lines across a page, and they all got a "draggy" feeling as they passed over certain areas. Some inks would feather in those places (especially wetter inks like Herbin). The opposite side of the page would have an identically-shaped patch. Then I'd go for a few pages without any problems before running into bad patches again. I haven't tried the other two I bought yet.

 

Neill

[Chiro75]

I just bought 5 of these from JetPens, so we'll see if I have the same problem, too.

[inkypete]

Campus (and Apica) runs a close second to Clairefontaine for me. They win on price though because almost everything Campus produces (available in Australia) is cheaper than Clairefontaine. Nice notebooks, good paper, excellent value. Haven't tried the new range of Campus as yet. Apica is all round great value.

Edited February 9, 2011 by inkypete

[bmorison]

Hi Pete,

 

Where in Melbourne do you buy Kokuyo campus notes and Apica notebooks ?

I haven't seen them in any of my local stationary shops.

Cheers,

Bruce

[jasoncc]

I'm not sure if it's ok to crosspost to an ad on the FPN classifieds forum, so moderators please remove this if it's not proper protocol. That said, I am selling a bunch of Kokuyo Campus notebooks and can ship to Australia.

 

Here's the link:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/186262-fs-lots-of-japanese-notebooks-very-fp-friendly/

 

Thanks for looking!

[toymachine]

It's been a number of years, are people still buying the Kokuyo High Grade? There seem to be mixed opinions above which have carried on to more recent High Grade reviews.

 

Personally, I like the the price, size, and looks, but don't love the paper. It's not smooth enough to be a Rhodia replacement for me and not ink resistant enough for my fountain pens.