Of Paper and Going Green

[Lucky Cynic]

Hello there guys. I am still relatively new around here as I am relatively new to fountain pens. I have had my Lamy Safari for about a week now and I am quite pleased with it's performance. I thought the ink would surely bleed through but I am safely using both sides of a sheet of typical notebook paper in my journal without any (noticeable) bleeding. Personally, I use this pen (my only one at the moment) to take notes in class and just have handy on my body. Now I don't usually have to take really lengthy notes or have any sort of special sort of needs, but I am in the process (or quest I should say) of going green. I understand that there really is no winners when it comes to going green and paper because merely existing and using these things harms the environment at least in some way or another but I am looking to make responsible, sensible, economical, and all around good choices for when it comes to having to choose my ensemble of fountain pen accessories.

 

I don't know really what to look for in paper, but what I would like to get out of a product is in some manner helping with natural reforestation to offset the tree that was cut down for this sheet, or something that is made up of recycled paper (which as I understand it, may or may not be a good thing for a fountain pen), or just something that works nicely. I went to an office supply store and found some interesting choices for paper. Mostly the avoidance of bleaching the paper seems to be a nice little hallmark I notice- giving the paper a nice sort of natural hue. Another item I noticed was cotton paper which had a great texture but I noted that none of these were in spiral notebook form, which I am rather fond of.

 

So where do you guys think I should get started?

 

Oh! And a quick last question: typically how well do some of these papers do in a computer printer? Sometimes I may need to run something off that is not important to look it's finest, so a greener option for printing off papers and quick assignments would be great to have.

 

EDIT: Oh, and just to pass this along, for those of you who find yourselves like minded with me, there is a handy font that you can download for free called Ecofont. It has tiny holes and uses less ink so your printer cartridges go even further! http://www.ecofont.eu/ecofont_en.html

Edited August 28, 2009 by Lucky Cynic

[GreenVelvet]

Crane's paper is cotton.

http://www.crane.com/greensince1801/

 

I use a lot of vintage papers; I suppose you could look at it as a form of recycling, since it was made years ago and no one has used it. And I'm not buying new.

 

Good luck.

[dashreeve]

I use Crane a lot, it's usually very good. There is also the Staples Eco Paper made from sugarcane waste.

[Ave]

As Green Velvet stated using vintage or previously owned paper is the greenest (most environmentally friendly) option. It fits the first two R's reduce and reuse. Also remember to write on both sides whenever possible. Some paper just bleeds too much. I have had good luck finding pre-owned stationery and blank books for journals :

 

1) by letting friends and family know that I'm interested in writing letters. My one grandmother gave me an entire box of envelopes when she moved to an assisted living facility over 20 years ago. I'm just using up the last of them. Elementary school teachers often have a surplus as it is a popular gift. My mother-in-law often gives me her overflow since as she says, "you're the one who writes".

 

2) at garage sales, local thrift shop (my even sells greeting cards), consignment sales, and estate sales. At one estate sale, I bought a large box of stationery for $1.00)

 

3) resale shops such as Tuesday Morning (They sell items that did not sell at regular stores or that are slightly damaged).

 

4) cut the front flap off cards you receive. You can either use them as European one sided cards or cut them to size and use as postcards.

 

5) my best friend takes all the return envelopes that she and her family receive and don't use, puts black mailing stickers over the address and barcodes and uses them for her correspondence. Great for paying bills to people like the local curbside recycling company that is too small for online billing.

 

If you just want paper for taking notes try the recycle bins near photocopies at university libraries or your local church/synagogue. Our church gives papter that has only been printed on one side to families with small children to use for drawing. The families can then recycle it later.

 

If you have a specific need, such as notebook paper use FSC (Forest Stewardship Certified) recycled papers. Greenpeace has a guide for buying recycled toliet paper by brand and may have one for paper.

 

Also if you are talented with your hands and like do it yourself projects, you can make your own paper from onion skins, small strings, etc.

 

Over time, you will become able to tell what papers are fountain pen friendly and which pens work on which types of paper. When buying from thrift stores beware of textured papers (I think it was called linen finish), super glossy or waxy finished greeting cards (some one gave me a set with a slightly waxy finish that was difficult to write on even with a ballpoint pen), some recycled textured paper. I have some beautiful handmade paper that has a slightly fuzzy finish -- horrible for most of my fountain pens (lint gets caught in the nib) but my good old Sheaffer cartridge/school pens and low end Reform pens write on it without too much frustration.

 

 

 

 

[all my hues]

Staples eco-friendly bagasse sugarcane paper comes to mind, as does O'bon notebooks, also made with sugarcane waste

[StyloBug33]

I would also recommend the Staples Eco-Easy paper made from sugarcane waste. It is wonderful to write on and made from something that was going to be thrown away anyway. This seems similar to using vintage paper, but you get new paper.

 

I have also found some new notebooks that I have been enjoying. I was waiting to see if someone else was going to review them, but I may try to do that this weekend. You can see them at: ecosystemlife.com

 

They are similar to Moleskine, but totally environmentally friendly and much nicer to write on. They lie flat when open, have the little pocket in the back, the ribbon marker and the elastic band around them. And again, the paper is friendly to fountain pens.

[StephY]

In addition to Staples bagasse, check out Whitelines. The products are labeled with their carbon footprint (amount of CO2 emitted during production and transportation). A bit gimicky, sure, but at least they are paying some attention. Click here for their website for environmental information.

[Deirdre]

Additionally, myndology.com has some eco-friendly notebooks. They've been given the biffybeans seal of approval.

[Lucky Cynic]

Additionally, myndology.com has some eco-friendly notebooks. They've been given the biffybeans seal of approval.

 

Hey there guys, I bumped into some Crane Envelopes and Crane Cotton paper at a thrift store there. They were kind of expensive because they were the BIG packages of both and I don't think I need 500 envelopes and the cotton paper was a bit too thick for me too write just plain notes off of.

 

I think I will just continue to shop around and take a stroll around Staples to see how their paper is. If you guys have other suggestions, please keep them coming.

[lovemy51]

i waiting for this to be available in mid september: http://www.ecopaper.com/bagasse-sugar-paper-500-sheet-ream

 

8 1/2 x 11, 22lb paper. if it's FP friendly like the stuff i've been getting at staples, this is a winner!!!

[Lucky Cynic]

Staples eco-friendly bagasse sugarcane paper comes to mind.

I went ahead and stopped by my local Staples and found some of these guys on sale. I don't really have need of loose leaf paper so I opted out of getting those, but I went ahead and picked up a composition book for just a dollar, and a few other journals and spiral notebooks. It all came up to be about $11. Not bad!

 

I will give this paper a shot for a while and ride it out. This ought to be enough to get me started. Thanks guys!

[tfwall]

As Green Velvet stated using vintage or previously owned paper is the greenest (most environmentally friendly) option. It fits the first two R's reduce and reuse. Also remember to write on both sides whenever possible.

 

Also you could revive the custom of "crossing" the writing. It was done primarily by tradesmens wives to conserve precious paper and save on postage costs. You write your letter as usual, then when you reach the bottom of the page, turn the page 90 degrees and continue writing. By doing this on both the obverse and reverse of the page you could get 4 pages of text onto one sheet of paper. Doing this, I think you'll find it rare to need more than one sheet of paper for a letter.

 

You might also consider shifting all your correspondence to electronic. As long as neither you nor the recipient prints the messages, you are saving a great deal of paper. If you do decide to print it, shrink the font down to the minimum that you can stand.

Edited August 31, 2009 by Chemyst

[Blade Runner]

Crane's is cotton made from recycled cotton rag. Not one tree was cut down to make it.

As to its thickness, I love the 32lb kid finish, but they also sell 24 and 28lb paper if you want a thinner sheet.

[Lucky Cynic]

Crane's is cotton made from recycled cotton rag. Not one tree was cut down to make it.

As to its thickness, I love the 32lb kid finish, but they also sell 24 and 28lb paper if you want a thinner sheet.

I just found that it was next to tag board in thickness! Like whoah, how can I print on this or fold it... >_>;

 

Oh and I have heard of crossing before hehe, it sounds like a nifty concept but I am not quite that hungry for paper and much of my paper consumption relies around taking notes in class and have a lot of charts and stuff sprinkled about. I don't think it would be very flexible at all.

[Nellie]

I love memo recycling pads - VERY fountain pen friendly (memo link)- and their recycled printer paper, too. Yet I realise that they'd probably be very hard to get in the US. Maybe you could find Greenpeace recycling pads somewhere?

 

[GreenVelvet]

You might also consider shifting all your correspondence to electronic.

 

This from a fountain pen user!

 

Agreed, my business needs are as much electronic as possible, but writing letters on paper is the most steady action my pens see.