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A Paperblanks Journal


Paddler

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At Christmas, 2006, I was presented with a blank journal made by Paperblanks, Hartley & Marks Publishers, Inc. 128 pages, lined. 17 X 22 cm.

 

The copyright notice inside the back cover protects the whole book. How one can copyright an empty book is beyond my ken. The intent is probably to protect the cover design and the printed matter on the rear flyleaf. Including the whole book in the copyright is likely just sloppy editing.

 

Pros:

 

The covers are plastic-coated cardboard. They look like vellum and feel like plastic. The coating does what plastic is supposed to do on a book cover: it makes it impervious to water and it takes vivid colors. The cover design is an embossed illuminated capital lifted from the Book of Kells. The detail is superb. Some parts of the design simulate inlaid mother of pearl. Other parts are colored in red, green, black, gold, yellow and brown. The rear cover has the same design reduced in size and framed in black. The linings and flyleaves are heavy paper and colored an earthy, saturated orange. The inside of the rear cover has a full-sized bellows pocket. The rear flyleaf has a paragraph describing the Book of Kells. The paragraph is printed in six languages: English, Dutch, Spanish, German, French and Italian.

 

The paper is a light yellow color that agrees with the aged vellum look of the front cover. The lines are an understated gray. The pages are very easy to look at. The texture is very smooth and feels very much like the plastic on the covers (see cons).

 

The binding is very unusual. I have never seen this type before, although it is reportedly an ancient design. Each book section (sometimes called a "signature") is made of four sheets folded in half, to make eight sheets, or sixteen pages. The sections are bound together with nylon string in such a way that, when opened at the beginning of a section, the book lies flat. The writer, therefore, never has to write toward or away from a very deep valley. The covers are bound to the book in the same way, so there is no spine in the ordinary sense.

 

Cons:

 

The paper is very unfriendly to fountain pens, dip pens and some rollerball pens. If you draw a line with a fountain pen and look right behind the nib, you will see the nib lay down a thin stripe of ink. A few millimeters behind the nib, that stripe snaps into a very thin line that almost immediately splits up into a row of tiny drops. Each drop then soaks through the paper's coating and into the paper. Large drops bleed all the way through. Some inks will stain the whole stripe and leave a row of darker dots. Others will lay down a string of dots with skips in between. My black Bic rollerball skips and bleeds, as does my blue Sanford Uniball. My blue Levenger rollerball is OK on this paper: no skips or bleeding. The paper performs well with ballpoint pens and with pencils.

 

Overall, I think this journal is a hit, maybe even a double, if you like ballpoint pens. If the manufacturer had used FP friendly paper, it would be an out-of-the-park home run.

 

Paddler

 

 

 

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

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Posted Images

I'm guessing since there's no pic, but the binding sounds like it's Coptic. One of my personal favorites and easy to do. biggrin.gif

 

It sounds beautiful. I love the images from the Book of Kells. It always seems uplifting to me - that one can produce such beauty even in the darkest of times.

 

 

"He was born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad." - Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini

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Yes, Coptic is exactly right. I was disappointed with mine too, the paper just sort of sucks up the ink and spreads. Usable, but not a pleasant writing experience

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/8703/letterminizk9.png
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Thanks for reviewing this one! I'd heard this recommended elsewhere as a Moleskine alternative, but if it doesn't take FPs, then it's off the list.

 

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QUOTE (Tricia @ Feb 28 2007, 09:00 PM)
I'm guessing since there's no pic, but the binding sounds like it's Coptic. One of my personal favorites and easy to do. biggrin.gif

It sounds beautiful. I love the images from the Book of Kells. It always seems uplifting to me - that one can produce such beauty even in the darkest of times.

I didn't put in a pic because of the copyright. Can't be making myself a target for some prevaricator who hasn't got enough to do.

 

Coptic, huh? Fantastic! I will have to find out how that is done. Many years ago, I learned how to tool leather. A book like this with tooled leather covers and good paper would be worth carrying around. If I can figure this out, Moleskine is gonna loose a customer.

 

I keep this book out where I can see it all the time. It is just that pretty.

 

Paddler

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've got all four of these journals and am just about to finish filling the first. I think the covers are some kind of coated paper rather than plastic, although I could be mistaken.

 

I'm sorry to hear about the problem with the ink not taking to the paper well. sad.gif I've written in mine exclusively with FP ink and dip pen ink, and while I wouldn't recommend the dip pen ink at all, ( headsmack.gif ) I've had better luck with the FP ink. Some very faint beading or patterning through a line occurs with some inks and some pens but not with others.

 

Diamine Royal Blue in a Waterman Kultur writes gorgeously and smoothly in mine, as does Noodler's Navy in a Duke Blue Pearl and Diamine Imperial Purple in a little cheapie Genius pen.

 

On the other hand, Noodler's Burgundy in a Duke Ruby (smooth heaven), had the itsy beady patterning through many of the lines, as does my Pelikan Royal Blue in a Pelikan M200. Noodler's Purple Martin in the same Pel also does this, although none of the beady patterning is so bad that the writing is anywhere near illegible. I had none of the soak through problem you described, and it makes me sad that you had such a bad experience with that. Ugh. sad.gif

 

As I said, though, some of my pens and ink have written beautifully in this journal, so maybe if you play around with it some, you'll hit on just the right combo. smile.gif

 

Amazon links, if anyone's interested in seeing these:

Evangeli

Iudaea

Quoniam

Generatio

 

They are every bit a beautiful as described, and the binding allows the book to lie flat while being written within, something I like but hadn't expected when I bought these. Just as handy and much prettier than spiral bound journals.

 

Very thorough review, BTW. I've not written my first yet, but would hape to do half as well when I get the courage.

 

(Edited to add the no financial affiliation with Amazon disclaimer. Just a hopelessly addicted customer.)

Edited by Lucinda
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  • 2 weeks later...

QUOTE (Paddler @ Feb 28 2007, 06:06 PM)
The paper is very unfriendly to fountain pens, dip pens and some rollerball pens. If you draw a line with a fountain pen and look right behind the nib, you will see the nib lay down a thin stripe of ink. A few millimeters behind the nib, that stripe snaps into a very thin line that almost immediately splits up into a row of tiny drops. Each drop then soaks through the paper's coating and into the paper. Large drops bleed all the way through. Some inks will stain the whole stripe and leave a row of darker dots. Others will lay down a string of dots with skips in between.

It sounds like you found the paper not absorbent enough?

I bought my first fountain pen, a $9 Parker specifically to write in my Paperblanks Handstitched journal. I don't have the problems you experienced. I find the paper ideal, it absorbs the ink without bleeding, and the paper is thick enough that the darkest line won't show through. The paper is maybe slightly less absorbent than other journals, but those I think show through too much; I like to write on both sides of the page. Maybe I am inexperienced as to what writing on true FP-friendly paper is like.

There is slight variation in absorbency from journal to journal. Also Paperblanks makes a lot of products, the paper in yours may be different.

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I carry these journals in my store, and I really love them, or wouldn’t carry them. I also use moleskins. I am a feather quill artisan meaning my work primarily revolves around creating feather quill dip pens. I have found that paperblank journals are very good with fountain pens AND dip pens, it is really more the type of ink you use rather than the paper in regards to these.

 

The pages inside are very smooth, practically non-porous grain, and of a medium weight. I'm usually a fan of leather-bound journals because they're sturdier and more aesthetically pleasing to me, but as paper-bound journals go, these are among the nicest I've seen. The smooth paper in these journals helps keep ink bleeding at bay.

 

They are copywritten due to the hand-stitched binding and they way they are created. Journal designing is a very competitive industry, believe it or not. Stealing designs is fairly common. So an artisan MUST copyright the entire creation to protect it.

 

I have no idea what the covers are made out of, and checked the manufacturer and they don’t list this info., but it is very smooth (depending upon the journal), and some of the styles are gold embossed.

 

Yes, I like them. But journal choice, like everything else, is a personal choice. I have not found many journals produced like this in the industry with any better writing paper than these, plus due to the paper weight light illustration can be done in them without too much paper warp. If you can paint in one, you can write in one. As I said, it simply depends upon the ink or medium used.

Edited by shalley

Holly Elizabeth Owens

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QUOTE (shalley @ Mar 23 2007, 04:14 PM)
The pages inside are very smooth, practically non-porous grain, and of a medium weight. ...
The smooth paper in these journals helps keep ink bleeding at bay.

I have a little background in fine arts (in the distant past), and think a key factor in determining the absorbency of paper is the size, a glue-like substance with which the paper is impregnated. Some Japanese water-color paper has very little or no size, if I remember, that makes it extremely absorbent. With paper for ink, if there was no size the ink would just blot through, too much and it would sit on the surface of the paper. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sizing

The grain of the paper, as Shalley points out, should be a factor also. I don't know much about ink, but there are different pigments and dyes with which they can be composed, some more penetrating than others. Pigments tend to sit on the surface of the paper, dyes penetrate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ink

 

This is my second contribution to this conversation. I just think Paperblanks journals are THE BEST. The Handstitched ones are the ones to get, they lie flat. I started using them about two months ago, previously I had been using spiral bound journals in the $6-$12 range. When I started using the Paperblanks my writing productivity went up by over 100%, due to the esthetic pleasure in writing in them. Lately I have been filling up about one 128 page journal every month or less. I am on my fourth one, having started in November.

 

The best source for them I have found is Amazon. They are constantly coming out with new cover designs. The last two I got have Tiffany stained glass designs, they have slightly whiter paper that seems a bit more absorbent than the first two, although I did not test that impression rigorously. One I got at Barnes and Noble for half price, because some pages were stuck together from the size, it worked just fine.

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have found the new Paperblanks journals published in November 2006, with the Tiffany Leaded glass cover designs, to be FP-friendly, compared to the older ones, most of which were published in 2001 to 2003. These newer ones have whiter paper than before, which is more absorbent. I conclude that Hartley & Marks got feedback, and changed something about the sizing of the paper. I tested five different Paperblanks journals with a Pelikan Pelikano Jr with Pelikan Brilliant Black cartridge, a Lamy Safari with Lamy black cartridge, and cheap Parker with Parker black ink cartridge. I found the following Paperblanks journals to be very fountain pen friendly:

Tiffany Autumn Vine

Tiffany Magnolia

 

When I tested my fountain pens on a journal of an older series, the Handstitched Morris, I duplicated Paddler's experience with the row of droplets sitting on top of the paper. It was a newly purchased jounal, and I have nothing better to write in, so I use a Pilot Precise Zing gel pen to write in it, which has ink that seems to penetrate the sizing better than any of the fountain pen inks I tried. I found the following Paperblanks journals to be fountain pen unfriendly:

Handstiched Morris Design for Iris

Handstiched Morris Design for Bird

Handstiched Tao Plum Blossoms in Early Spring

 

So henceforth I do not trust the Handstiched Morris series or the Handstiched Tao series, or anything by Paperblanks published prior to 2006. I place my trust for fountain pen friendly journals in the Paperblanks Tiffany Leaded Glass series. I think Fountain Pen Fiends should know this, so I will start a new topic.

 

 

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  • 4 months later...

Hi,

 

Just got my Paperblanks Book of Kells.

 

As Paddler said, the journal is a beauty to behold, but totally useless with FP.

 

Upon applying the tip of my Sheaffer Valor, I noticed exactly the same thing as Paddler described; it's like writing on plastic: not only are there beads left behind, and some of the ink goes through the (thick) paper, but the ink also becomes much lighter and watery-like. A very unpleasant experience!

 

I'm using Sheaffer's Skrip (original) but, to make sure, I tried with a calligraphy pen (don't know what ink it uses) and got exactly the same result.

 

Gel pens write great on the journal, but I think it's a pity to be using gel pens on such a beautiful piece!

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Hi,

 

Just got my Paperblanks Book of Kells.

 

As Paddler said, the journal is a beauty to behold, but totally useless with FP.

 

Upon applying the tip of my Sheaffer Valor, I noticed exactly the same thing as Paddler described; it's like writing on plastic: not only are there beads left behind, and some of the ink goes through the (thick) paper, but the ink also becomes much lighter and watery-like. A very unpleasant experience!

 

I've more or less resigned myself to mostly gel pens in Paperblanks, also.

 

I've had two, both with gridded paper. My first one actually took FP ink very nicely, though with a little bit of bleed through. The second one did exactly as described above - beaded up, then sank through to the other side. The one ink that does work OK in this one is Waterman Florida blue - it still beads a bit, but nowhere near as bad as the Noodlers or Pelikan I had tried out previously.

 

Still, they are so beautiful I couldn't resist buying another one while on holiday. I chose a blank mini sketch book, hoping it would take ink better, and it did, to the point of sinking right in and blotching. Yikes! So, that one I'll keep just for sketching. It takes the drawing ink from my Rapidograph nicely, so I'll save it for that.

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My wife has no problems with a Paperblanks using Noodlers El Lawrence ink in a Safari with a 1.1 italic nib.

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."

Oscar Wilde

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  • 3 weeks later...

I too was given a Paperblanks journal last Christmas and had not used it. Reading this thread caused me to do some checking.

 

First copyright.

 

I e-mailed the makers, Hartley and Marks as follows:

 

"The copyright notice states that 'No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publishers'. I assume that this is an error and that you are claiming copyright only for the cover design and other printed matter. Or are you trying to claim copyright over my own manuscript?"

 

They replied as follows:

 

"I can assure you that our copyright does not extend to any script which you enter in your journal. The covers are subject to copyright as are any layouts or designs which the books may have inside (eg. for diaries and address books).

As for your own manuscript, that's all yours. I hope you enjoy the book and thanks for your mail."

 

From this I gather that I can photocopy, scan, and photograph content provided I omit the cover and the printed matter.

 

Second, paper quality.

 

I include a photograph of my own results (provided the attachment process works). It is pretty dreadful but it makes the point. I found the surface perfectly acceptable, using Sheaffer Legacy and Imperial pens, and Diamine ink. There was no feathering or skipping, and the paper has a pleasant feel when I write.

 

Why should different people's results vary so much? Is it pen and ink? Unlikely, as Diamine flows freely and the pen/ink combinations I used leave a wet line. Porous papers drink it up.

 

What then? I suggest that the factories (I notice my journal was made in China) are not using a consistent paper source and quality. I have no problem with mine but clearly others have had a different experience.

 

 

 

 

post-8493-1188229478_thumb.jpg

"Once you have absolved people of the consequences of their own folly, you will have populated the world with fools." (Herbert Spenser)

 

Chris Shepheard

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Sorry about the graphic quality in the last item. next time I'll have to reduce size THEN upload.

"Once you have absolved people of the consequences of their own folly, you will have populated the world with fools." (Herbert Spenser)

 

Chris Shepheard

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I'm astonished at the paper quality variability in Paperblanks. Couple that with the ink variability, and it's a (bleep) shoot! Though I suppose, no worse than Moleskines.

 

Recently I found that I can use PR Blue Suede and Waterman Florida Blue in the book that previously refused to accept FP ink without beading. But, there was a bit of bleedthrough to the other side - it seemed to be one or the other, beading or bleedthrough (or a bit of both!)

 

I still find myself liking them and attempting to use them. The covers are just so irresistable.

Edited by limesally
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  • 1 year later...

Quick follow up - in speaking directly to Chad Haight - Vice President of Publishing & Marketing at Hartley & Marks Publishers - I was told that the Copyright exists to prevent people from copying the product. (Think knock-off Gucci bags) You may take pictures of the book for the purpose of review.

 

 

I too was given a Paperblanks journal last Christmas and had not used it. Reading this thread caused me to do some checking.

 

First copyright.

 

I e-mailed the makers, Hartley and Marks as follows:

 

"The copyright notice states that 'No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publishers'. I assume that this is an error and that you are claiming copyright only for the cover design and other printed matter. Or are you trying to claim copyright over my own manuscript?"

 

They replied as follows:

 

"I can assure you that our copyright does not extend to any script which you enter in your journal. The covers are subject to copyright as are any layouts or designs which the books may have inside (eg. for diaries and address books).

As for your own manuscript, that's all yours. I hope you enjoy the book and thanks for your mail."

 

From this I gather that I can photocopy, scan, and photograph content provided I omit the cover and the printed matter.

 

Second, paper quality.

 

I include a photograph of my own results (provided the attachment process works). It is pretty dreadful but it makes the point. I found the surface perfectly acceptable, using Sheaffer Legacy and Imperial pens, and Diamine ink. There was no feathering or skipping, and the paper has a pleasant feel when I write.

 

Why should different people's results vary so much? Is it pen and ink? Unlikely, as Diamine flows freely and the pen/ink combinations I used leave a wet line. Porous papers drink it up.

 

What then? I suggest that the factories (I notice my journal was made in China) are not using a consistent paper source and quality. I have no problem with mine but clearly others have had a different experience.

 

<span style='font-family: Georgia'><span style='font-size: 14px;'><strong class='bbc'> Stephanie "Biffybeans" Smith</strong></span><p><a href='http://www.biffybeans.com/' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>Blog: Spiritual Evolution of the Bean</a><p><a href='http://www.etsy.com/shop/biffybeans?ref=si_shop' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>Purchase Stephanie "Biffybeans" Smith's Original Art on Etsy</a>

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