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When addressing an envelope for the post, do you dare use regular fountain pen ink? I worry that even limited rain or snow exposure from a trip through the mail delivery service might obscure the address. Do you active letter writers go ahead and risk it, cover this area with a strip of clear package tape, or address the envelop with a ball point just to be safe?

Having started making envelopes from catalogue pages (thanks Jenny)I came across this rack of A6 envelopes in an upmarket art gallery. Made from old books and with double sided tape to seal them a set of 5 was £4!

Does anyone know of a brand of envelope that doesn't skimp on the glue in some way? I've been stuck with #10 and #6-3/4 envelopes that have a 1/2" strip of glue along the edge of the flap, but there are big gaps in the strips. I just now went to Office Depot for some more #10 envelopes. On the website these were said to be "fully gummed", but this time around the glue is only 1/4" wide. So, tomorrow I'll be taking this box back. Can I get some recommendations for decent quality envelopes that don't skimp on glue?

I live in the Twin Cities MN area and need to get some new envelopes. I'm currently using generic business envelopes which really suck with fountain pens at least the ones I have lol. I've had real good luck finding smaller envelopes since there seems to be more out there, however, the selection of No. 10 sizes seems to be smaller. I know I can order some online through most of the pen sites since some of those sites have good paper selections. Anyone in the Twin Cities have any suggestions? also, would love to hear in general envelope brands people like. I'm open to go to target, walmart, staples, michaels, etc... but honestly, don't want to buy some from those stores and find out they also suck with fountain pens. I figured many of you have some knowledge in this are and I would like to lean on your personal experiences.

Hello all, I often print postage labels for small packages from the US Postal Service website and as I was perusing the area where you can purchase stamps, I came upon this very nice-looking souvenir sheet called "Classics Forever". It's a sheet of six stamps commemorating US postage and "in appreciation of stamp collectors and philatelists everywhere". They feature Washington, Franklin and Lincoln in various styles as based on postage from the mid-19th century. They are very handsome stamps. The mediocre cellphone pics just don't do them justice. What really strikes me is that they are printed with the intaglio method as with the originals (and as with paper currency). It's a method not often used with your regular run-of-the-press stamps: a metal plate is engraved with an image. It is inked up and then wiped clean. This leaves ink only inside the grooves of the line. Paper is then pressed hard against the plate and the ink from the grooves is transferred to it. The method produces a fine line and a slightly textured surface as with freshly printed money. The overall effect is elegant. Artistic. They make your letters look particularly classy and old-timey. (Especially when used on C6 envelopes like those made by Clairefontaine.) You can just about see the raised surfaces on the stamps as the light reflects off of it in the following detail. Interestingly, in the last picture, you can see further evidence of the intaglio method as one peels off the stamps to see the underlying backing. It seems that the whole sheet - stamps, backing and all - were printed in this manner as reflected light reveals the embossed effect. Despite their premium look and feel, and worthiness of discerning collectors (IMHO), these six stamps are priced at the going rate (US$ 0.49 each as I write this). They are "forever" stamps and can be used as 1st-class postage despite any future fluctuations in rates. One does have to order it from the website and pay for delivery, however. It doesn't seem to be available at Post Offices, very unfortunately. Was this topic the first ever stamp review on the FPN? Regards, Rich I have no affiliation with the USPS. I have purchased these stamps as would have anyone else. (In fact, I bought two sheets: one to use and one to just keep wrapped up and perhaps frame one day!) Neither was I compensated in any way.

Curious what Fountain Pen friendly envelopes fellow pensters use when writing their pen-pals. Tell the rest of us what envelope you use, why and where you get them and what they cost. If possible, post links and pictures of the envelopes, but unused and perhaps with writing on them. Looking forward to seeing what others use when writing their pen pals and where they get them.

I wasn't super happy with any of the free envelope templates I could find online, so I made some of my own. These are all USPS legal (not too small, not too square) and can be made from US Letter or 6x9 sheets. There is a template for making a US standard A-6 envelope which will fit half folded A5, 6x9, 5.5x8.5, and other similar size writing tablet sheets, and will also fit quarter folded A4 and US Letter sheets. Other standard sized envelopes are 6-Bar (same size as A-6 but "Baronial" style, ie triangular flaps/diagonal seams), and an A-1 (the smallest USPS legal envelope) template which can be printed on a 6x9 sheet of paper. There is an envelope sized to fit half-folded sheets from "mini" legal writing pads. There are four different templates that will take quarter-fold Letter or A4 sheets and half folded A5 or 5.5x8.5 sheets; three of them will take half folded 6x9 sheets. The templates and some more instructions and description are all on this webpage. The A-6 and 6-Bar templates will also work if printed on A4 paper, if your printer driver will horizontally "center" the Letter image when printing instead of lining up one of the edges. However, I did not make any templates explicitly sized to ISO paper. I hope someone finds these useful.