Fabriano Paper, Anyone?

[TassoBarbasso]

I finally had the chance to try Tomoe as well. I have to say that Fabriano is still better and far, far cheaper.

[Sinistral1]

I wonder if a papers performance is related to what pen/nib you're using. I use flex nibs, and every pen and ink combo I've tried on the Fabriano ped I have bleeds like crazy. But...my writing is slow and perhaps the pressure used to create the thick lines is cutting the paper. I will try some "normal" pens on it and see what happens. I also have used very wet nibs, laying down lots of ink.

[Rubicon]

I was desperate for paper one day so I went down to my local art supply shop and picked out Fabriano EcoQua (never used it before) instead of ordering my usual Rhodia/Clairefontaine paper online. To my surprise I liked it a lot. It's a bit toothy and thinner, but as my pens are outrageously smooth, the texture gave me superior control. Just about my only possible complaint is that you can see through on the other side (not bleeding though). Which is fine. The inks I use are strong and vibrant. It really doesn't interfere with reading the text. Its price makes it all the more worth it.

 

If it helps, I use either Fine nib or 0.7mm stub on this paper. I don't do calligraphy or use flex nib.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Rubicon

[dompred]

I have tried the loose leaf Fabriano multip@per A4 100gsm. It's very cheap for its quality considering I paid 7€ for 500 sheets. I haven't compared it to anything else you mentioned but it definitely is much better than the usual copy paper you can find. Every ink I have tried on it did not feather and I got a nice shading and vibrant colors. It's surface is smooth and the nib slides on it. The only case of bleed I have experienced is by using a Pilot Parallel with a lot of ink being put on the paper. On regular writing it is a very good paper (I say very good because I do not know how it compares to other good paper). I have some sheets of Clairefontaine paper on the way, when I get them I can compare the two of them and give a better answer.

 

-George

[Bookman]

I've used Fabriano EcoQua paper for a couple of years. It was love at first write. I also use Clairefontaine and Rhodia, but Fabriano EcoQua gives me a better writing experience. I think I have at least one of every kind of Fabriano EcoQua notebook available in B&M stores, but I mostly use the A4 and A5 dot gluebounds and the A5 grid wirebounds. I've found the blank Fabriano EcoQua paper to be the most resistant to show-through and bleed-through, competitive with Rhodia and Clairefontaine on this score. Unfortunately, I've only found it in staplebound notebooks. All things being equal, I'll grab a Fabriano EcoQua notebook over Clairefontaine or Rhodia every time.

[Zdenek]

From time to time I use Fabriano Classic Artist's Journal made of Fabriano Ingres 90 g/m2 paper. That's a great FP friendly paper. So you should try Ingres.

[fireofspring]

There's an art supplies store near my university in Sydney which stocks Fabriano, and I've been using their paper for several months. It's in a similar price range as Rhodia, but generally cheaper. It comes in 3 paper types/weights that I've tried: ecological paper (85 gsm Eco/EcoQua), Ego (100gsm) and Ocra (80gsm). All 3 come in different sizes, bindings, ruled/dot/blank, etc.

 

Here's the price comparison against Rhodia dotpad:

• Ocra - $6.95 AUD for 100 A4 sheets ($0.0695 AUD/sheet)
• Eco - $5.95 AUD for 90 A4 sheets ($0.0661 AUD/sheet)
• Ego - $8.95 AUD for 80 A4 sheets ($0.112 AUD/sheet)
• Rhodia - $9.95 AUD for 80 A4 sheets ($0.124 AUD/sheet)

The Ocra and the Ego both come in white, and perform comparably to Rhodia. The Eco (also marketed as Fabriano's ecological paper) is a creamy off-white, and generally rougher and more prone to bleeding and feathering.

 

I tested all 4 types of paper using the same four pens (my wettest writers).

 

1. Fabriano Ocra (80gsm)

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f391/thegrynne/FountainPenNetwork/2734D069-9CFF-4D70-BF80-02C1C83E8CC2_zpsctmxm9uv.jpg

 

2. Fabriano Ecological Paper (85gsm)http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f391/thegrynne/FountainPenNetwork/0E057CBD-15F0-4B52-A61B-F1C6921A2FD1_zpswsetcblb.jpg

 

3. Fabriano Ego (100gsm)

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f391/thegrynne/FountainPenNetwork/267B959B-71C3-402B-B6E5-CBAF231A1648_zps5rsoibri.jpg

 

4. Rhodia (80gsm)

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f391/thegrynne/FountainPenNetwork/4D720A75-1A04-48F5-8252-070B1D030EA0_zpsfjqs59qn.jpg

 

Verdict?

The Fabriano range in general is less expensive than Rhodia, although the Ego notebooks/pads are similar. For shading and sheen, I think the Ocra, Ego and Rhodia are pretty on par, and all three are resistant to feathering and bleed-through. I use and adore all three, although I have to say that some of my pens have a tendency to skip on the super-smooth Rhodia paper, and to a lesser extent on the Ego.

 

The Fabriano Eco range is a rougher, more ink-absorbent paper, and not ideal for fountain pens unless you're using a fine or fairly dry nib. It is however the cheapest of the four, and the paper grade that's widely available in the EcoQua notebooks. It's perfectly fine for everyday notetaking, and at least comparable to Leuchtturm1917, with good drying time. For the test photographed above, the Eco is the only paper that showed any bleed-through.

 

For economy and performance, I think the Fabriano Ocra (80gsm) is the standout. It's extremely smooth and shows off shading, but ink drying time is much faster than on Rhodia or the Ego.

Edited August 3, 2015 by fireofspring

[Intensity]

Bumping an old thread to share some excitement about my favorite paper so far (price/performance/quality-wise). Just got back from Rome where well-priced Fabriano paper is easy to come by--there are even dedicated "Fabriano" boutique stores! In the U.S.A. I normally get it from Blick art store on-line, but the selection of colors and formats is limited.

 

Here's my huge haul from Rome, mostly BioPrima paper and 3 Finsbury paper notebooks (the ones with laminated woven cloth covers):

 

2 Fabriano A4 purple cover blank notebooks with lavender-color BioPrima paper

4 Fabriano A4 BioPrima blank (ivory) notebooks

2 Fabriano A4 BioPrima 4mm grid (ivory) notebooks

4 Fabriano A5 BioPrima 5mm grid (ivory) notebooks

2 Fabriano A5 BioPrima blank (ivory) notebook

1 A4 glue-bound 4mm dot pad (ivory) pad (already had these in A4 and A5 sizes from Blick, but loved this intense turquoise color + 4mm dot grid vs 5mm that's available in the U.S.).

and the 3 Fabriano Finsbury dot pads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creamy Fabriano paper on top of the ultra-blue-lavender-white ClaireFontaine paper:

 

Purple BioPrima notebook with lavender paper (I also wanted a dark blue version with blue paper, but that was not in stock):

Edited October 3, 2017 by Intensity

[TMLee]

My contribution ...

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/328185-fabriano-ecoqua-glued-a5-dot-grid/?p=3930153