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Nice Cheap Common Notebook/lined Paper


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Are you still looking around for paper? I like using the Environotes sugarcane composition books for quick note taking. It's the one with manufacturer number 77272.

 

Size-wise it's the same as the Staples bagasse composition books, but with 80 pages instead of 100, and the paper is a standard white with blue lines as opposed to the Staples cream paper with tan lines. The paper seems less absorbent and hasn't feathered yet with regular use. There's still some showthrough but less than with the Staples bagasse paper.

 

I couldn't find a place online that was selling them individually and had to buy mine in a batch through Amazon, but with free shipping it was more economical per page than the Staples notebooks -- if you don't want to get a big bundle of notebooks just to try, maybe you could try seeing if you could order it with people you know to split? I take a lot of notes by hand and they're pretty nifty.

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I find staple's to be just as bad as Norcom.

Not the stuff that I tried.

These are the hard cover composition books made in Brazil (black and white) or Egypt (green and white, blue and white, and I think red and white).

The quick test that I did with my F tip pen, shows they work well, and best of all (for me) they are relatively smooth writing.

 

The spiral bound notebooks made in Vietnam have rougher paper. In my experience, rough paper and F tip pens don't mix. I did not bother to pick up one, since they were rough to my fingers, I figured my pens won't like them.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

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I tested 3 different inexpensive ($1 each) composition books, all wide ruled

- Dollar Store, made in India

- Staples, made in Brazil

- Staples, made in Egypt

I settled on these 3 composition books, because ALL of the inexpensive (less than $5) spiral notebooks that I looked at at Office Depot, Staples and Target felt rough under my fingers. And for me, my F tip pens do NOT like rough paper.

 

For the impatient, my ranking is as follows:

#1 - Dollar Store, made in India

#2 - Staples, made in Brazil

#3 - Staples, made in Egypt

 

I used the following 3 pen/ink combinations

- Parker 51 with a F tip / Cross blue bottle ink

- Parker 75 with a F tip / Parker blue cartridge ink

- Parker 180 with a B tip /Cross blue bottle ink

The testing is bias to F tip because I am a F tip writer. I do not have a M tip pen, and only have the B tip because that is the wide side of the F/B tip on my Parker 180.

 

Note that "for me" the PRIMARY criteria is how the paper feels under a F tip pen.

This places a very high emphasis on surface smoothness.

The Dollar Store made in India comp book comes out the best here, followed by Staples-Brazil, then last Staples-Egypt.

The Dollar-India was definitely smoother than either Staples books.

I could definitely feel the slight roughness of the Staples-Brazil and Egypt under the B tip. The Staples-Egypt has the most roughness, but it was only a little bit rougher than the Staples-Brazil. IOW you could only tell the difference if you had the 2 side by side to test.

If you like a bit of feedback from the paper, your choice will be different from mine.

 

Ink line:

All 3 books look similar with the F tips.

With the B tip, the Staples-Egypt had a more definite line. I would not call it feathering, but the lines were more definite than the other 2 books, it looked like a B tip, whereas the other books the B tip was only "slightly" wider than the F tip.

If you like the wider line of the M or B tips, the Staples-Egypt would be the book for you.

 

Feathering:

There was NO feathering with any of the books. Letters were clear.

 

Bleed Through:

There was no bleed though with any of the books.

But based on the B tip, I could see that with more ink (from a wetter pen), the Staples-Egypt might bleed through.

I tested the Staples-Egypt using a Shaeffer Caligraphy pen with a F tip (approx 1.1mm) and it almost bled through.

So with a wetter pen, the Staples-Egypt might bleed though. But you will have definite shadow before you have bled through.

 

Shadowing:

There was shadowing on all 3 books. With a lamp over the books, I could see the writing on the other side.

The shadowing was not real bad, I don't think that it is very distracting.

The Dollar-India shows the least shadowing.

My guess is that the shadowing is probably due to the thin paper. I am not good at determining paper weight, but I do not think any of the books used 20 pound paper, they all felt lighter than standard 20 pound copy paper.

 

Summary:

All 3 books are acceptable for FP use.

My personal preference is for the Dollar Store-made in India composition book, because of its smoother surface.

 

I hope I did a decent job of evaluating the 3 composition books.

Edited by ac12

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

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2 updates

- Filler paper

- notebook

 

Filler paper update

I went to Staples...again, and discovered something interesting.

The COLLEGE ruled paper is made in Brazil.

The WIDE ruled paper is made in Egypt.

 

ARGGGGGG

 

As was mentioned by others, the Brazil paper is smoother than the Egypt paper. In fact it is smoother than the paper in the Brazil composition book. And it writes well with a F tip pen.

 

So, as much as I would rather have wide rule, smoothness wins.

The wide ruled Egypt paper is going back to get more college ruled Brazil paper.

 

I also went to the Dollar Store to check out their filler paper.

No indication of where it was made. Only brand is Roselle Paper Company.

BAD stuff.

Feathering wasn't too bad, but it SOAKS ink and makes a broad line. My F tip wrote like a M or B tip and it bled through. It was the only paper that I tried (so far) that bled through.

Definitely NOT FP friendly.

If I could take it back, I would. I might try to anyway.

 

 

As for the notebook.

I looked at the wire bound notebooks at Staples, and discovered something interesting.

These were the sale 50 cent wire bound, made in Viet Nam.

The other day felt the paper and rejected them because they were rough.

Today I felt the paper in several notebooks and found that some were smooth. It was seemingly on par with the Brazil filler paper (I still need to test it). Here is the confusing part. The red notebooks had smooth paper, the other colors that I checked definitely had rougher paper. What gives? I picked up a coupled of the red notebooks to check out. Update on the ink test later.

Edited by ac12

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

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I have a couple of Viet-made. Feels like Norcom notebooks, I use only an Asain EF for these notebooks.

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Every year, including last year, Walmart has a sale in late summer on composition books from Norcom, somewhere around fifty cents each. Every year, there are some books made in Brazil, you just have to look. I think they run out of American made, and have to bring in additional stock from India, Brazil, Vietnam, and Mexico. Last year, at least here, they started with all American, but after a few weeks, the others started showing up. As I said before, they can all come mixed in the same box, so you really have to check the labels on each book. The ones from Brazil have been clearly superior to the others for fountain pen use. I have not tried the Norcom India made books, but the one that I saw looked like one of the old fashioned pencil tablets, didn't look promising at all, are likely not the same as the ones from The Dollar Store mentioned earlier.

 

The Staples filler paper goes on sale at about the same time, and they use the same strategy, mixing the supply among Mexico, Brazil, and Egypt. Last year I found plenty in both college and wide lined. I'm sure that when the ale starts again this summer, the same thing will happen. You may need to be patient, and check in at different times, but you will likely find the wide lined paper From Brazil as well as college rule. Last year I bought what is probably a lifetime supply of each, because you never know what the next year will bring. Our local stores had a whole pallet of each sitting on the floor, in addition to the regular shelf spaces.

 

Dan

"Life is like an analogy" -Anon-

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Thanks Dan

I think I will just keep the one pack of Brazil college ruled filler paper, and hold out for later in the summer to see if the Brazil wide rule filler paper comes in. As I'm trying to improve my handwriting, I want the extra space of the wide ruled paper. I don't need to cram as much words on a page like I did taking notes in college

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

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Every year, including last year, Walmart has a sale in late summer on composition books from Norcom, somewhere around fifty cents each. Every year, there are some books made in Brazil, you just have to look. I think they run out of American made, and have to bring in additional stock from India, Brazil, Vietnam, and Mexico. Last year, at least here, they started with all American, but after a few weeks, the others started showing up. As I said before, they can all come mixed in the same box, so you really have to check the labels on each book. The ones from Brazil have been clearly superior to the others for fountain pen use. I have not tried the Norcom India made books, but the one that I saw looked like one of the old fashioned pencil tablets, didn't look promising at all, are likely not the same as the ones from The Dollar Store mentioned earlier.

 

The Staples filler paper goes on sale at about the same time, and they use the same strategy, mixing the supply among Mexico, Brazil, and Egypt. Last year I found plenty in both college and wide lined. I'm sure that when the ale starts again this summer, the same thing will happen. You may need to be patient, and check in at different times, but you will likely find the wide lined paper From Brazil as well as college rule. Last year I bought what is probably a lifetime supply of each, because you never know what the next year will bring. Our local stores had a whole pallet of each sitting on the floor, in addition to the regular shelf spaces.

 

Dan

True that, our Walmart a few weeks past had Norcom Wide Rule on sale for 17cents each. They are all American made, but hey, its only 17 cents, so I got a full box of them for around 5 dollars.

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I think the Brazilian ones will start showing up mid to late August, so keep eyes open.

"Life is like an analogy" -Anon-

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/DSC_0334_2.jpg

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Thanks for the tip, I'll keep an eye out. Although does it make you wonder, shouldn't a company regulate their product from place to place?

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@Cirlce

For a company like Walmart, the comp book is just a comp book. They don't care where it comes from as long as is meets the spec of the item as a comp book. The old rule is fit, function, purpose. If it is the same, then it is the same. Walmart and other companies don't care that it is or is not FP friendly, that is not one of their specs for the product. Now if it starts to bleed through with the common gel pens, then they will start to pay attention when they get a LOT of returns.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

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Update to composition books

 

#1 - Update to the Staples composition book made in Egypt.

 

I just discovered that the paper used in the composition book is NOT uniform/consistent in quality.

So far I have run into 3 different finishes on the paper in the book. From the original surface on page 1 that I used to write up my review, I ran into a page with a bit of feathering, and a few pages with a nicer smoother finish that my F tips like.

 

#2 - Update to the Dollar Store composition book made in India

 

I picked up a 2nd comp book. The paper felt rougher to my fingers than the first book. But it is a smooth writer with my F tip pen. Based on my finger test, I would have rejected this book as being too rough. But it seems that the Indian paper is proving to be a good paper in these comp books.

Edited by ac12

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

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The best filler paper I have found is Staples Heavyweight Filler Paper. It is 24 lb bond (the heaviest filler paper I could find), so it rarely bleeds through, which means I can write on the back. You only order it from their website. Shipping is free if you have a membership, which is also free.

 

Some people recommend Walgreens Penway filler paper (in stores only) because it is smooth, but I think it is only 20 lb bond, so you are still bound to get some bleed-through.

Edited by WARRZONE
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I just tested the Staples brand, 1-subject wire bound note book, wide ruled, 70 sheets, made in VIETNAM.

SKU# 10469

 

You absolutely NEED to check the notebooks in person. Some of the books had rougher feeling paper than others. And from past experience I knew that rough (not smooth) papers would give my F tip pens trouble (scratchy feel). I felt the paper in various books and picked up two of the smoothest ones, which happened to be in the red covers.

 

I used the following 3 pen/ink combinations

- Parker 51 with a F tip / Cross blue bottle ink

- Parker 75 with a F tip / Waterman blue bottle ink

- Parker 180 with a B tip /Cross blue bottle ink

The testing is bias to F tip because I am a F tip writer. The B tip is the wide side of the F/B tip on my Parker 180.

 

Note that "for me" the PRIMARY criteria is how the paper feels under a F tip pen.

This places a very high emphasis on surface smoothness.

The paper wrote smoothly, very little/no scratching, even with my 51 which tends to be scratchy on all but smooth paper. AMAZING

 

Ink Line:

The ink was well controlled, it did not spread.

 

Feathering:

There was no feathering.

 

Bleed Through:

There was no bleed through

 

Shadowing:

There was a medium amount of shadowing. The shadowing is more apparent under stronger lighting, and more so with the wetter/broader tips. I think this is lighter paper than 20# copy paper, so shadowing is to be expected from the lighter papers.

 

Other:

I check random pages in the notebook, and they all seemed to be consistent in feel.

 

Summary:

This is Excellent stuff.

But as I mentioned earlier, you absolutely NEED to check the notebooks in person. Some of the books had rougher feeling paper than others. I felt the paper in various books and picked up the smoothest ones, which happened to be in the red covers.

 

Not bad, on sale now for 50 cents each for a 70 sheet notebook.

Edited by ac12

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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The best filler paper I have found is Staples Heavyweight Filler Paper. It is 24 lb bond (the heaviest filler paper I could find), so it rarely bleeds through, which means I can write on the back. You only order it from their website. Shipping is free if you have a membership, which is also free.

 

Some people recommend Walgreens Penway filler paper (in stores only) because it is smooth, but I think it is only 20 lb bond, so you are still bound to get some bleed-through.

 

In my previous post, the paper I recommended was filler paper. I have seen some people post notebook suggestions. I thought that the op's intent was to find ruled loose leaf paper that is fountain pen friendly. If we are including notebooks as well, Black & Red is a good cheap one; I have a casebook. I dislike using wirebounds because they always get crushed in a backpack.

Edited by WARRZONE
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The OP mentions comp books and the title is "notebook/lined paper" so I figure he was looking for both notebook and filler paper.

 

Black and Red notebooks are indeed nice, but they are not cheap. Not as expensive as Clairfontain, but certainly more expensive than the general notebooks.

But finding cheap FP friendly wirebound notebooks is not easy. So far I have only found 1, and I had to FEEL each notebook to see what paper they used, as all the notebooks were made in Vietnam. So country of origin was of no help.

Edited by ac12

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

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The OP mentions comp books and the title is "notebook/lined paper" so I figure he was looking for both notebook and filler paper.

 

Black and Red notebooks are indeed nice, but they are not cheap. Not as expensive as Clairfontain, but certainly more expensive than the general notebooks.

But finding FP friendly wirebound notebooks is not easy. So far I have only found 1, and I had to FEEL each notebook to see what paper they used, as all the notebooks were made in Vietnam. So country of origin was of no help.

Agreed, I have however became comfortable writing in "cheap" paper. I just really despise the feathering, but they were only noticeable up close, like really up close.

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