Comparing Rhodia Webbie And Ciak Paperchase

[hsianloon]

So I thought I'd compare my newly purchased (for GBP 12) Ciak Paperchase and the Rhodia Webbie we all already know and love.

 

 

 

 

Firstly is the Ciak Paperchase. I believe this is the new Ciak paper which is now dubbed environmental friendly as it is acid free (personally never read much into the whole environmental issues behind acid containing paper). I was initially hesitant to get it as I had at a time held a sample of the old Ciak paper, which we would recall was slightly toothy, fibrous, but oddly had a strange charm and texture to it. I never did manage to find another copy of the old Ciaks, as much as I tried with emails to various online Ciak sellers.

 

 

So describing this paper, it not as smooth to touch as the Webbie's Clairefontaine. When I say that, the paper isn't rough like a tortoise's shell, it's just more, textured, but not to the point of say, a G Lalo Verde 100gsm paper with the embossed lines in them to guide writing.

 

Your pen will not glide as smoothly on this paper as on the Webbie. You will not have that 'I'm writing on silk.'' sensation. (Ignore the logic for a second and just concentrate on silk being smooth...) But it will not stop, get tangled in fibres, or spew blobs of precious ink. But yes it is bettter than your average paper you find at work.

 

 

Strangely, I used to hold Webbies as my gold standard, but I've found that this paper actually holds slightly better against broad pens with broad nibs.

 

 

As you can see, there is a little more bleedthrough on the Webbies, evident by the tiny dark splotches ,whereas the ink patterns are relatively consistent throughout the Ciak's.

 

The shading amount is the same. Not very well represented on this, but take my word for it.

I think it's a good alternative for people who;

1) Have been using Webbies, love them, but just want to try something new. I'm one of them. I'd actually love a journal made completely out of G Lalo Verde pages..

2) Dislike the sheen on the paper of webbies

3) Dislike the slower drying time of webbies

4) Don't need the extra pouch at the back to keep pieces of paper.

5) Like a horizontal strap.

 

It is fountain pen friendly, which for me, means it is able to tolerate broad nibbed pens with highly saturated inks. I've no qualms recommending this as a reliable alternative to the Webbie.

[Guernseytim]

I bought something similar from paperchase today - I like the leather bound journal that's 100gsm paper filled.

 

Ended up writing much more toward my doctorate today than I have for a long time.

 

Made my writing really enjoyable :-)

 

This is the version I bought - was tempted to go moleskine but this was a bit different.

 

http://www.paperchase.co.uk/blue-a6-recycled-leather-notebook.html