Oxford "stone" Paper—Odd Behavior

[mhphoto]

This has always been an odd little paper. I've known for a while that it and Diamine China Blue don't get along. Whether it's coming from a super-fine nib or being slathered on thick, China Blue will fade away and be barely noticeable after about 24 hours on this paper.

 

Well, I found a new ink it likes to throw down with: J. Herbin Bleu Myosotis.

 

Here are the two inks fresh on the paper:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/834/87vbp.jpg

 

And after approximately 12 hours:

 

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/839/8j8l.jpg

 

And approximately 24 hours:

 

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/842/q9kpy.jpg

 

Weird, huh?

[rodrigaj]

Dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in 500 ml of distilled water.

Soak a piece of the paper completely.

Let dry completely.

Now try the inks. Ignore the spreading out of the inks if it occurs. You are only interested in the fading properties.

See if the fading occurs after the baking soda treatment.

 

My suspicion is that the sizing that is used on this paper is acidic (It usually is) and the paper has been treated with a basic solution to neutralize the acidic qualities of the sizing and the inks do not like that.

 

The baking soda will act as a buffer.

 

These are probably not the only inks that would be affected.

 

I would also send a sample to the manufacturer. They may be interested in this, it may be a process control issue, or they may say "don't use those inks" and brush it off (no pun intended). In either case, it will be a worthwhile discussion.

[dcwaites]

Stone paper is made of calcium carbonate on a plastic matrix. Some inks like it (it makes many inks waterproof after drying) but others don't, they wash off completely. The fading is interesting, though.

[mhphoto]

I find it to be more of a curiosity than an issue.

[JeanManuel]

I have some very odd paper too, of which is made a thick A4 notebook I bought. :S

R&K verdigri becomes blue on it, so I also suspected a PH issue. I will try the soda test and get back to you with pictures.

[rodrigaj]

The thing that is weird about the paper described by the OP is that the ink almost completely disappears. It is not unusual for inks to change hue, but to disappear is quite unusual.

 

I'm old enough to remember using bleach to eradicate ink in elementary school. We graduated to fountain pens in the 4th or 5th grade. Schaefer pens and inks. You could't erase the mistakes, so you used a tiny amount of bleach out of an eyedropper. I can't imagine parents and teachers letting kids have a small eyedropper bottle of bleach these days, but they did back then. You would then blotter up the bleach solution, let dry and you could write over the mistake with a little bit of spreading. The nuns that taught us did not mind the corrections if they were done with care.

 

In any case, the reaction the OP documented reminds me to the bleach eradication.

[JeanManuel]

About my Karisto guestbook, which I try to use as a notebook (ISBN 978-951-23-9042-7).
I suspect that this paper is made of stone... it feels oddly porous, like bad faience.

Rohrer & Klingner Verdigri becomes dark blue. The soda bath (1½h) had zero effect.

Other inks* are fine. I did not notice any fading after 8 hours.
(*=R&K scabiosa, Solferino, Morinda, Diamine Majestic Blue, Pelikan Topaz, Reynolds erasable blue)

[WirsPlm]

Interesting, thank you for posting this! I'm waiting for a stone paper notebook to arrive, I'll definitely keep an eye out for something like this happening.