Rhodia Notebooks

[N2theBreach]

I might be little slow, but In the few months that I've been here, I have picked up that Rhodia, or Clairefontaine, have a reputation as the desired notebook. The "go to" option. I ordered both a Rhodia spiral-bound lined notebook and a Webnotebook a while back and they have been truly a delight to use.

 

Now, there is a German guy in my grad program and I was looking forward to showing him what I picked up on this side of the Atlantic, thinking he might be happy to know that we can get them here in the USA. He barely gave it a glance, "Oh yeah, an ink pen school notebook." I harrumphed a bit, and noted that it wasn't just any old ink pen school notebook, it was a Rhodia, with high quality paper that is great for fountain pens.

 

"Yeah. That's what I said, they're for ink pens. There are all kinds of them in Europe. Every country has them" :blink:

 

So, I was wondering, are there other notebooks in Europe that are the equal of Rhodias? Have we Yanks just focused on the Rhodia/Clariefontaines because they are the only notebook of that type that someone imported?

 

It would be cool if there were others that could be imported to give us more choices. Maybe some of our European members can shed light on this.

Edited September 1, 2012 by N2theBreach

[Pendragon]

So, I was wondering, are there other notebooks in Europe that are the equal of Rhodias? Have we Yanks just focused on the Rhodia/Clariefontaines because they are the only notebook of that type that someone imported?

 

Or because Rhodia/Clairefontaine astroturfed the daylights out of this forum? It is not us Yanks that have a Rhodia focus, it is us Yanks on The Fountain Pen Network. Some of us anyway.

 

Even in the US, there are many different notebook brands sold. Rhodia, Leuchtturm, Moleskine, Ampad, Apica, Tsubame, Bookfactory, Stifflexible, Miquelrius, Cartesio, Piccadilly and many different store brands. That is just off the top of my head. I am leaving a great many others out. High quality notebooks are plentiful in paper and office supply stores, as well as in bookstores. This is true to an even greater degree online.

[Anne-Sophie]

I completely disagree with the alleged "astroturfing" of Rhodia/Clairefontaine.

 

There are the brands which best combine a pleasant writing experience and sustainability.

 

I own Ampad recycled notepads and other brands I have picked up in the U.S, including grocery stores.

 

In Europe, fountain pen friendly paper is found at the supermarket, especially at that time of year when it is time to stock up for the school year. Most students still write with fountain pens.

 

Fuddlestack, who lives in Alsace, France, wrote that Rhodia is also available at the supermarkets. I imagine it is also widely distributed in Europe.

 

To me, a fountain pen friendly paper has to be smooth to the touch and "firm".

 

The "firm" part has to do with sizing, unsized paper is used in blotter and hard sized paper is the most suitable fountain pen friendly paper.

 

Some printer paper have this quality.

 

The brand that can compete in the U.S with Rhodia/Clairefontain is Crane.

Crane is the maker of the U.S, very smooth banknote paper.

They also make great stationnery and writing paper and they also have sustainable practices.

 

I use either notepads or loose leaf so I am not familiar with the paper quality of notebooks. But. I have heard from many, on this forum, that Moleskine is not fountain pen friendly.

 

I have heard good things about the other brands.

 

I like very smooth paper, some may like more textured or toothy paper, it is great that there are choices available for everyone, including people on a budget.

Edited September 1, 2012 by Anne-Sophie

[Ghost Plane]

I'm having surprisingly good results with some, but not all of the post 2008 Paperblanks journals.

 

After attending a pen meet, I discovered that the people who rant about how much great paper is available in the U.S. are generally using rather dry F nibs. For those of us who paint, er, write with 3B, OBB, or even simply B nibs with wet ink, even the Leuchtherm can be unusable. For proof of that, see my photos in a current review which show the cramped lines and terminal bleedthrough that keep me from using the second page. I won't get into Moleskine being as useful to my big nibs as toilet paper due to a similar texture and absorbency.

 

Cavallini, a U.S. brand using Italian paper, gives me good results much of the time.

 

But be warned - even within the Exaclair distribution chain, there are some duds. The Exaclair Forum notebook is horrendous for my pens. :bonk:

 

So read the paper review forum to find what works well in the U.S. for you, but pay particular attention to the nibs and inks being used in the reviews. For some brands, the wrong pen and ink combo can be as fatal as pouring diesel into a high performance racing engine.

[N2theBreach]

...as pouring diesel into a high performance racing engine.

 

The visual on that... :roflmho: !

 

Thanks for the thoughts!

 

I guess the fact that a person can buy a Rhodia-quality notebook in a grocery store in Europe shows that manufacturers really do meet demand (students w/ FPs needing FP-quality paper). If we started importing other FP-quality products, whether pads, notebooks, journals, whatever, I wonder if it would put pressure on those who make/sell writing paper products in the US to wake up?

 

Nah. I think we'd have to get more people using FPs first. To bad there's not a fountain pen trade association to attract more users like the dairy association did with it's "Got Milk?" campaign.

Edited September 1, 2012 by N2theBreach

[Pendragon]

I completely disagree with the alleged "astroturfing" of Rhodia/Clairefontaine.

 

That was a non-rhetorical question, not an allegation. Astroturfing and viral marketing campaigns are nothing new, and a legitimate way to connect with enthusiasts. Hobby and special interest forums of all sorts are a great place for both marketing and discussion. It is little different than placing an ad in a magazine or on a radio talk show, only in new media style. If correctly done, the marketers are indistinguishable from regular participants and hence undetectable.

 

 

The brand that can compete in the U.S with Rhodia/Clairefontain is Crane.

Crane is the maker of the U.S, very smooth banknote paper.

They also make great stationnery and writing paper and they also have sustainable practices.

 

There are other notebook and stationery vendors who compete with Clairefontaine and Rhodia. It is far from being only Crane. Unless the assumption is being made that one's journals and writing papers must be of the same brand. If you like very smooth paper, try some of the Japanese notebooks and stationery. Typically quite smooth and very high quality, they are commonly sold in Japanese bookstores and online.

[Jake]

So, I was wondering, are there other notebooks in Europe that are the equal of Rhodias? Have we Yanks just focused on the Rhodia/Clariefontaines because they are the only notebook of that type that someone imported?

 

Or because Rhodia/Clairefontaine astroturfed the daylights out of this forum? It is not us Yanks that have a Rhodia focus, it is us Yanks on The Fountain Pen Network. Some of us anyway.

 

Even in the US, there are many different notebook brands sold. Rhodia, Leuchtturm, Moleskine, Ampad, Apica, Tsubame, Bookfactory, Stifflexible, Miquelrius, Cartesio, Piccadilly and many different store brands.

 

I've tried a wide array of notebooks and written some fairly detailed reviews, including of the Design.Y 216 and Guildhall Pocket Notebook, and I haven't found one better than the A7 Rhodia.

 

That said, I don't think the Rhodia is perfect, most notably because the lines don't extend to the edge of the page. I'm open to new notebooks, as long as they're 3.5 x 5.5 or, ideally, smaller (like, say, 2.7 x 4.9). I haven't seen a lot of those. Rhodia appears to win the price / convenience / size / quality crown.

[Pendragon]

I've tried a wide array of notebooks and written some fairly detailed reviews, including of the Design.Y 216 and Guildhall Pocket Notebook, and I haven't found one better than the A7 Rhodia.

 

That said, I don't think the Rhodia is perfect, most notably because the lines don't extend to the edge of the page. I'm open to new notebooks, as long as they're 3.5 x 5.5 or, ideally, smaller (like, say, 2.7 x 4.9). I haven't seen a lot of those. Rhodia appears to win the price / convenience / size / quality crown.

 

Although I prefer unlined paper in a notebook, that is only a very minor preference and any lining or graph paper type suits me well. I have a Rhodia Webnotebook and find it a pleasure to use. Then again, the oft-derided Molskines usually work equally well for me, as did the Leuchtturm and quite a few others. In my experience, the Apica, Tsubame and Kyokuto notebooks are the best of all. Japanese paper quality is consistently outstanding, to say the very least.

 

Which brings us N2theBreach's question in the original post. Given the plethora of great quality notebooks and stationery available, why are Rhodia products esteemed over all other brands here? The Rhodia products are very good, but there are a number of notebooks that work equally well with fountain pens. Ditto for the Clairefontaine stationery brands.

[NateB]

Astroturfing and viral marketing campaigns are nothing new, and a legitimate way to connect with enthusiasts.

 

Astroturfing carries a negative connotation and implies some level of deceit.

[Pendragon]

Astroturfing and viral marketing campaigns are nothing new, and a legitimate way to connect with enthusiasts.

 

Astroturfing carries a negative connotation and implies some level of deceit.

 

It is relatively easy to deceive people if they accept what they read without question. Advertisers were putting an incredible spin on things long before the Internet ever existed. Whether or not folks these methods acceptable, they are employed by many marketing firms. And why not? They are in business to produce results. An individual or small group of enthusiasts can do the same thing, often motivated by simple fanboyism. Is that also a negative undertaking?

 

Moleskine is particularly adept at extolling their virtues, going from Modo & Modo to Syntegra/Moleskine, and now going public. Their use of the web to turn a moleskine into Moleskine was brilliant.

 

Regardless of whether you feel the above is ethical, it exists and is something of which to be aware.

[dst207]

I use full-sized (8.5 x 11ish) hardback journals a lot. I used to use Semikolon until they changed the line spacing. Now I use Rhodia hardcover journals. The paper on the Rhodias is smoother and perhaps a little denser. I am always on the lookout for alternatives but there are not a lot of hardcover journals.

[Ritaloretta1]

i just purchased the rhodia pads, full size. very smooth paper,

so is the dockers gold from office depot. the difference being

that there is less bleed through on the rhodia. i am using a medium

and broad nib pens, montblanc. the rhodia is more expensive but

can be found online at sale prices. so far so good.