Fountain Pen Happy Papers in Australia

January 16, 2008

I have been trying to find Australian supplies of paper that are fountain-pen happy. It has been difficult. What I have found falls into several categories -

1. Cheap Asian Pad Paper

Usually found in `Warehouse' type stores that get their product from S.E. Asia. This paper is thin, 50-55 gsm, and varies from smooth to rough. It generally takes FP ink reasonably well, but as it tends to bleed through, you can only write on one side. The brands available tend to vary from month to month, so if you find a stock you like, buy LOTS of it.

2. Fluoro Chinese Pad Paper

This is 80 gsm Fluoro paper that is sold by Officeworks and Big W. It used to be made in Australia and New Zealand, but recent stocks come from China. The Chinese product is smoother, more pleasant to write on, and comes in more vivid (some would say violent) colours than the locally made stock.

The rougher Australian stock is good for breaking in a cheap Chinese nib.

3. English Pukka Pad stock

This is a range of 80 gsm Notebooks in various sizes from A6 up to A4. The paper is smooth, and a pleasure to write on with almost any pen. Some inks, like Parker Quink Blue-Black and Private Reserve Lake Placid Blue will bleed through. Others, including Parker Quink Permanent Blue and Sheaffer Skrip Blue-Black, don't. Those inks that bleed show a touch of feathering, while those that don't bleed don't feather.

4. Copy Paper

You can make your own stationery by using copy paper. You can print lines on it and bind it into pads or notebooks. I have tried a number of different products, both ordinary and premium, and have settled on two.

The first is HP Everyday Paper. It takes ink nicely, and has a lightly textured (but not quite rough) surface. This means that while it is reasonably smooth with most pens, it will `start' your more reluctant pens.

The other is HP Colour Laser Paper, which may be known in the US as HP Premium Choice LaserJet Paper. It is a 120 gsm paper, very dense and very smooth. It is a delight to write on, but it is so smooth that some pens may not `start' on it.

5. Visual Art Diary

I started using a Windsor & Newton Visual Diary to keep colour swatches of inks. Its acid-free makeup meant that the paper would not contribute to any colour change in the inks. However, it is much too rough to write on for ordinary purposes. But, with the beginning of the new school year, all sorts of new products are appearing. I found two which are excellent to write on.

The first is a Quill brand A4 Visual Art Diary, 110 gsm acid-free cartridge paper. This is distributed through newsagents. I found mine at a Newspower newsagency.

The second is a Hunter Studio A4 Visual Art Diary with 100 gsm acid-free paper. This one is a little smoother than the Quill product, and nicer to write on. I found mine in my local `Warehouse' store, in amongst the `Back to School' supplies.

Of course, there are other paper products available in Australia. The ones mentioned here are just the ones I have found and been able to test. The Tudor brand products all seem to be made here, and people have said they work well.

inkypete mentioned kikki.K. They currently are running a New Years Sale. Worth checking out if you're in oz.

January 16, 2008

Good summary - thanks.

Do you have a source for Pukka other than Big W? Pukka are great value but my local Big W seems to be reducing the range. I did email Big W to ask about the future of the range but typically for the larger department stoes they have not replied.

The Kikki-K Spektrum notebooks are half price at the moment and I do like them although the paper in this latest lot tends to take on similar inconsistencies to Moleskin so be careful.

I still tend to buy Clairefontaine and Rhodia online using Pendemonium and really love them - for me they are the ultimate. You just have to pretend that you didn't pay the delivery cost.

I have tried the fluro pads from Officeworks and they are nice but the colours don't always suit what I am doing.

I have found a local source for Campus and they are excellent and well priced - typical quality Japanese paper product. The notebooks are very good value. http://www.myofficesupplies.com.au Just type Campus in their search.

Let's make sure we share any local finds because we don't have the luxury of brand choice that others do so any local gems should be shared.

January 16, 2008

Good summary - thanks.

Do you have a source for Pukka other than Big W? Pukka are great value but my local Big W seems to be reducing the range. I did email Big W to ask about the future of the range but typically for the larger department stoes they have not replied.

Not yet. I am surprised that because Woolworths own both chains, the Pukka Pad products aren't in both. The Chinese Fluoro pads are in both.

I have found a local source for Campus and they are excellent and well priced - typical quality Japanese paper product. The notebooks are very good value. http://www.myofficesupplies.com.au Just type Campus in their search.

I bought a couple from them. They are also supposed to be distributed by Kinokuniya, which I will check out next time I am in the Sydney CBD. Haven't been back to Annandale yet, either to see Paper Magnolia.

Let's make sure we share any local finds because we don't have the luxury of brand choice that others do so any local gems should be shared.

Yes, don't forget to checkout the Hunter Studio visual diaries if you have a 'Warehouse' store local.

January 17, 2008

Is "the Black n' Red" brand available in Oz? It's a British brand of notebooks, journals and writing pads. The paper is very good for fountain pen writing. They sell international sizes (A4, etc.) in the UK, and they sell both international-sized and American-sized products here in the USA. The notebooks and journals are reasonably priced here (among competing, physically sturdy products). The writing pads look spiffy and spendy.

January 17, 2008

Is "the Black n' Red" brand available in Oz? It's a British brand of notebooks, journals and writing pads. The paper is very good for fountain pen writing. They sell international sizes (A4, etc.) in the UK, and they sell both international-sized and American-sized products here in the USA. The notebooks and journals are reasonably priced here (among competing, physically sturdy products). The writing pads look spiffy and spendy.

The black and red range is not available here that I can locate.

January 17, 2008

No, I haven't seen Black n' Red either...

On a side note for AU folk, please also see this thread, which has additional information regarding commonly found paper products here in AU. (I try to make an update to my list every few months.)

Last year I ordered a sample swatch / booklet from Tecno Papers in NSW, and was pleased to find they had a number of decent "Professional" paper options that are FP friendly (they also carry some expensive Southworth). The Tecno Professional papers are not cheap at around ~$14 for 50 sheets of A4, but if you consider that an A5 pad of Crown Mill sells for $12 here, it's not too bad. I have also been meaning to have a better look at the Edwards Dunlop range, as they have many interesting papers.

Pete, what happened to The Paper House brands? A local stationery store here gave me a heap of their old catalogues - they feature brands like Chaucer, Origin VIII, Lawson and Saxton. The samples are lovely.

January 17, 2008

No, I haven't seen Black n' Red either...

On a side note for AU folk, please also see this thread, which has additional information regarding commonly found paper products here in AU. (I try to make an update to my list every few months.)

Last year I ordered a sample swatch / booklet from Tecno Papers in NSW, and was pleased to find they had a number of decent "Professional" paper options that are FP friendly (they also carry some expensive Southworth). The Tecno Professional papers are not cheap at around ~$14 for 50 sheets of A4, but if you consider that an A5 pad of Crown Mill sells for $12 here, it's not too bad. I have also been meaning to have a better look at the Edwards Dunlop range, as they have many interesting papers.

Pete, what happened to The Paper House brands? A local stationery store here gave me a heap of their old catalogues - they feature brands like Chaucer, Origin VIII, Lawson and Saxton. The samples are lovely.

The Paper House (formerly Wiggins Teape) was bought out by Dalton Paper who still exist.

When I was a paper merchant it was like heaven. I found many quality imported off set papers were perfect for fountain pen, often nondescript brands that we imported cheaply as printing grades. Wish I had of kept a few hundred reams now.

January 18, 2008

A number of the commonly available Spirax and Tudor products (but not all of them) are nicely fountain pen friendly.

There's a 90gsm OfficeOne (I think) "Executive writing pad" in KMart that is okay but not ideal.

Inkypete, thanks for the heads-up on the Campus notebooks, I'll be in Melbourne on Monday so I'll probably wander into MyOffice and have a look.

Ran across Pepe's Paperie (stores in Sydney and Canberra) while looking for an Australian retailer of J.Herbin inks.

Has anyone tried Ciak notebooks, which I think Pen City (Melbourne) and others also stock? Or Mandarin Square?

Regards, Myles.

January 18, 2008

A number of the commonly available Spirax and Tudor products (but not all of them) are nicely fountain pen friendly.

There's a 90gsm OfficeOne (I think) "Executive writing pad" in KMart that is okay but not ideal.

Inkypete, thanks for the heads-up on the Campus notebooks, I'll be in Melbourne on Monday so I'll probably wander into MyOffice and have a look.

Ran across Pepe's Paperie (stores in Sydney and Canberra) while looking for an Australian retailer of J.Herbin inks.
Has anyone tried Ciak notebooks, which I think Pen City (Melbourne) and others also stock? Or Mandarin Square?

Regards, Myles.

Ciak are OK but the style doesn't suit me. Haven't seen Mandarin Square before. The Campus notebooks are very inexpensive but excellent paper. They also have ring binders and very affordable loose leaf (binders aren't cheap) and they can be a good option. Would have been better if the refills were micro perfed.

I'm a disappointed Moleskin user and have now stopped buying them - too many variances in the paper.

Have a look at Pendemonium - www.pendemonium.com - and think about buying Clairefontaine or Rhodia. Just have to pretend the freight component didn't happen but if you order a reasonable supply the freight overall isn't so bad. You get your delivery in about 5 to 7 days. I love both brands. If you want a sample of each message me and I will see what I can do from my small stock.

Edited January 18, 2008 by inkypete

January 24, 2008

There's a 90gsm OfficeOne (I think) "Executive writing pad" in KMart that is okay but not ideal.

I'd like to withdraw my recommendation for this one. It worked well for Noodler's Black and Aircorp Blue-Black which I was using at the time, but feathered badly when I tried some other inks (Noodler's and Sheaffer), although the surface is okay to write on and there is no bleed-through.

The Campus notebooks are very inexpensive but excellent paper. They also have ring binders and very affordable loose leaf (binders aren't cheap) and they can be a good option. Would have been better if the refills were micro perfed.

Having had a chance to try these out with about 8 inks last night I'd like to confirm everything inkypete said about them. No feathering at all on any of the inks I've tried, no bleed-through. Might have to get one of the guillotines/paper cutters coming out in Aldi today as an alternative to micro-perforations on the pages.

The refills have a range of pale pastel colours is you want to write on, for example, cream (pale yellow), pale pink or pale green coloured paper.

Interesting hole pattern in the refills allow them to be inserted in either their own multi-ring binders or a standard 2-ring binder.

Regards, Myles.

January 24, 2008

There's a 90gsm OfficeOne (I think) "Executive writing pad" in KMart that is okay but not ideal.
I'd like to withdraw my recommendation for this one. It worked well for Noodler's Black and Aircorp Blue-Black which I was using at the time, but feathered badly when I tried some other inks (Noodler's and Sheaffer), although the surface is okay to write on and there is no bleed-through.

The Campus notebooks are very inexpensive but excellent paper. They also have ring binders and very affordable loose leaf (binders aren't cheap) and they can be a good option. Would have been better if the refills were micro perfed.

Having had a chance to try these out with about 8 inks last night I'd like to confirm everything inkypete said about them. No feathering at all on any of the inks I've tried, no bleed-through. Might have to get one of the guillotines/paper cutters coming out in Aldi today as an alternative to micro-perforations on the pages.

The refills have a range of pale pastel colours is you want to write on, for example, cream (pale yellow), pale pink or pale green coloured paper.
Interesting hole pattern in the refills allow them to be inserted in either their own multi-ring binders or a standard 2-ring binder.

Regards, Myles.

Only just realised they had a standard two hole punch as well amongst the others.