School Supplies 2013 (Usa)

[Runnin_Ute]

There was an ad in my Sunday paper from Office Depot. Composition books, source unknown, are on sale for 0.25. The limit is 3.

Picked some up - They are Made in USA

 

It took a while to find the Made in designation....

 

Got some Made in Brazil at Office Max for a buck. You need to go through them though. I also saw at least one Vietnam, and some USA. The Made in USA "feels" pretty good, but I haven't had a chance to really try it yet.

[ajcoleman]

One of the best buys I have seen this year is at my local Kroger grocery store. They carry Top Flight "Wired" 1-subject and 3-subject notebooks. These are apparently made in the USA, though I am not sure. They feature 20-lb heavyweight paper that works great with fountain pens. I experience only very slight feathering and practically no show through. I have been very happy with them. They also feature a plastic cover, heavy cardboard back, 2 pockets, a "web resource guide" of internet tips and links geared to students, and a fairly nice wire spiral binding. Regularly $3.79, the 1-subject, 100 sheet college rule notebook is on sale for back to school at $1.79.

[mmkoenecke]

You can find the current and upcoming ad for Staples deals online:

 

http://weeklyad.staples.com/Staples/BrowseByPage?storeid=2278239&promotionviewmode=2&promotioncode=Staples-130728&listingid=0&sneakpeek=N&pagenumber=1

 

http://weeklyad.staples.com/Staples/BrowseByPage?StoreID=2278239&PromotionID=90136&PromotionViewMode=2

 

You set your particular store in the top left.

 

Happy Shopping!

 

Maggie

[ac12]

Maggie

Thanks for the link.

[ac12]

Update on my review of Composition books that are made in Brazil.

 

I ran into a rather upsetting situation with my Brazil made composition book.

This is based on the comp book that I am writing in now. I do not know how widespread this situation is.

 

Some of the pages have a difference in surface texture from one side to the other.

 

I notice this difference more with my XF and F tip pens, which are sensitive to the surface texture of the paper.

The surface of some pages seemed irritating to bad. In fact some pages felt bad enough that I switched to a M tip pen to finish writing on that page. I do admit I am getting fussy the more I learn and the more I write with my FPs.

My M tips feels some difference, but not as dramatic as the XF and F tips.

 

What is goofy is the flip side of the less than smooth side of the page is excellent. The XF and F tips flow nicely on the page. This reminds me of the old days when copy paper had a front and back side.

 

The Brazil spiral notebook that I have, on quick inspection seems to have uniform paper. So I don't expect the same problem. I will know better when I start to use it.

[Octo]

It's bad news if the comp. books from Brazil have lost quality. Perhaps they've been Walmartized. I'm still watching for some college ruled ones from Brazil at the local Wal-Mart, but so far no luck. The only other local option is Office Depot and they also don't have college ruled ones from Brazil.

 

Has anyone else noted that the spine of USA made and Brazil made comp books at Wal-Mart are shaped differently? That makes sorting through a stack much faster.

[Sailor Kenshin]

My favorite time of year...possibly.

 

I have become a HUGE fan of India comp books, but I will have to run to Wally World for those small hardbound books.

[wikeh2004]

Based on the observations of others on this thread, I went looking for composition books with Brazilian or Indian paper. I found a Norcom wide ruled comp book made in Brazil and a Bazic unruled comp book made in India for $0.50 each at Walmart. I was surprised how smooth the paper felt in both books, albeit rather thin.

 

Tried writing with some of my FPs and was pleasantly surprised. The Norcom paper was very smooth on both sides and my nibs just glided across the paper. Almost like writing on Rhodia(!) With most of my pens and inks, feathering was almost nil and there was just a hint of bleed through with some of the inks. Most of my pens are fairly wet, so this was very good performance for thin paper. The Norcom also has the FSC logo saying that it has paper from responsible sources. The cover is thinner and more flexible than the Bazic, if that makes any difference.

 

The Bazic was smooth, but a tad less smooth than the Norcom, which was almost slick. The Norcom was almost too smooth for me. I like a little feedback to help my handwriting. If I write on glass, my handwriting goes a bit out of control like a car with no traction :-). Likewise, there was hardly any feathering, and less bleedthrough than the Norcom. The paper felt like it was about the same thickness as the Norcom. I wonder if the lack of ruling on the Bazic made a difference in the paper characteristics. The Bazic has the typical thick, stiff cardboard cover found on most composition books.

 

Can't say how long the books will last. Some of the cheaper comp books we bought before have their covers coming loose from the spines or the binding tape peel back.

 

In any case, until I read about it here, I'd avoided these el cheapo brands figuring they'd bleed like a stuck pig and feather like a down bed. Thanks for enlightening me to the possibilities of these brands.

[ac12]

In a moment of curiosity and geekiness I measured the thickness of the paper that I have.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/250329-paper-thickness-weight/

 

The made in India is the thinnest of the bunch.

But it was also the smoothest of the comp books, beating out the Brazil books.

 

And as things are individual, I LIKE a SMOOTH surface to write on. This because I use F tips, and if the paper is not SMOOTH, some of my old F tips scratch and snag the paper, making for uncomfortable writing.

 

And I agree with you about the problems of thin paper in the comp and note books.

 

The worst one I found was at Walmart, the spiral bound made in Mexico 17 cent ones. While the paper was OK to write on, the ink bled through the paper, making writing on the back side almost impossible. It is the only notebook that I have with bleed through problems. So it is a notebook that I can only use one side of the sheet. Effectively doubling the price to 34 cents, still a deal. On my next trip to Walmart, I am going to see if Walmart has any Brazil notebooks in the 17 cent stack, and exchange my Mexico notebooks for the Brazil ones.

 

@Octo

As for my comment about the 2 different surfaces of the paper in the Brazil comp book, that was a sample size of 1 book. So it is not representative of all the made in Brazil comp books. However, based on what I think I know about book manufacturing, if mine has papers with 2 different surfaces, other books in the same batch will have them too. That paper came off the same huge roll. I have not checked the other Brazil comp books that I have, but I will try to check them today.

 

However, the paper in the Staples made in Brazil spiral notebooks that I have do not seem to have this 2 different surface problem. So it think the 2 different surfaces is a limited problem, not a widespread problem.

 

I have not yet checked my filler paper for surface consistency.

Edited August 8, 2013 by ac12

[JesterKat]

I accidentally ended up with a couple of USA made Norcom wide ruled comp books when I was putting together a full box of Brazilian ones, and I have to say I'm impressed. I had a small amount of feathering with a badly behaved stub nib but otherwise the paper was nice. Very smooth, but only usable on one side because the paper is so thin. They're 200 pages for 50 cents so I'm not complaining. I finally managed to get some bleed through by doodling and putting ink over ink, and one of them was Dragon's Napalm.

I admit that I got a lot of odd looks from the mothers as I sat on the floor at Walmart going through all the open boxes and all the un-opened boxes. If you can find the un-opened boxes, the country of origin is marked on one of the long sides and all the ones I opened were consistent through the box. I just had to find 2 boxes and swap out the colors - the purple books show up half as often as the other 5 colors in the 17 cent note books, and the comp books are boxed in style groups, so you have to dig a bit more if you're as choosy about color as I am.

I'm not using these for anything "important," I have a comp book in my purse for my scribbles and I have one of the 17 cent books at work for notes - I don't feel guilty filling something I bought inexpensively with doodling and handwriting practice while I'm on the phone. I wish I'd been able to find the college ruled comp books, though!

Katie

[Sailor Kenshin]

You're FORCING me to go to Walmart, lol!

[JesterKat]

Yes, well I try to avoid it myself. Went in for the paper, decided to pick up the bread, cream, and cheese we needed and somehow ended up with a full cart of other stuff from the aisles. It's insidious. My husband always says Wal-de-mart with a German W.

Katie

[Sailor Kenshin]

Oh, I don't mind the one-stop shopping element, in fact I like that part. But I have a thing about crowds.

 

;

[JesterKat]

I understand entirely - that is why I don't do the shopping alone. Actually, I rarely do any of the shopping because the nervousness tends to make me more prone to impulse buys and my sweet hubby has a hard time saying no.

I was glad, though, that I'd read about these, I have a need to feel the paper before buying. Of course, that's also why we bought a full box of each, this should last us quite a while, even with me taking some into the office.

I'm so thankful about all the tips and reviews here!

[indigoskye]

When I went to the Office Depot a few days ago, I discovered that all the comp books in the store were from Brazil. (I had come up empty at Walmart that morning and had been feeling discouraged.) No hunting through boxes of comp books at Office Depot. They had wide rule, college rule, and quad available. Only the wide rule was on sale for 50 cents (and almost gone), the rest were $1.50 and $1.99. However, since I prefer college rule, I decided it was worth the price and picked up enough to last me the year. It is far less expensive than using Rhodia for brainstorming ideas for my novels and short stories.

 

I tested one of the college rule Norcom Comp books today with a medium nib Cross Beverly pen and Waterman Encre Noire Black ink. This is a slower drying ink and it was a wet nib. Their was no feathering at all and only a tiny bit of bleed thru. The writing experience was very smooth. These are going to work out great, much nicer than the Vietnam Comp books I used last year.

[Octo]

Repeated trips to my small-town Wal-Mart never produced College ruled composition notebooks made in Brazil. Perhaps shipments are random or vary by area. Results were the same at Office Depot. Wide ruled ones abound.

 

I did break down and buy one of the 80 page notebooks without the spirals. The pages are child sized at 8 x 10.5 inches instead of standard size and perforated along the left side. The notebook lies flat when opened. There is no brand name, but the paper is made in Brazil and seems a bit thicker than that in the comp. books. The lower cover only says 1 subject/80sheets/college ruled. The notebook opens flat. The item number is 76086. Price locally is 97 cents.

 

Dollar Tree has composition notebooks for $1 which are made in India. The one I got surprised me by its compatibility with FP ink. Others here reported the same. Unfortunately only wide ruled ones again.

 

Has anyone found the small clip boards that take 4 x 6 inch cards?

[seapin]

Never realized how important where the paper was produced is. I will be sure to go to my local Walmart(s) tomorrow morning in search of the famed Brazilian paper! I gotta try this stuff out.

[pencils+pens]

Staples ran an ad last night that its Composition Books are 0.10 this week. I checked the web site this morning. The deal is for three books. It does not mention ruling or country of manufacture.

[seapin]

The trip to Walmart was a bust, but the trip to Staples proved victorious!!!

 

For the $.10 price however, you have to spend $5, and you can only get 3 notebooks at that price for every $5 you spend.