Whiteline Notebooks - What's Your Experience?

[Gloucesterman]

About six months ago I bought a number of pads of paper. Most of the paper was Rhodia, mainly the #16 quad ruled. I also decided to buy some "WhiteLine" paper, in A4 or letter size (not sure and too lazy to get up and check right now).

 

Meanwhile, I was finishing up the vintage accounting ledger that was using as my most recent journal book and, I decided to use the "Whitline" as my next journal book. As I usually prefer fine to extra fine nibs and different colored inks (I change color every day), I thought it would be a good choice!

 

My experience with anything approaching a medium nib or a wet ink has been less than impressive - occasionally a bit of feathering, definitely some ghosting and sometimes, if I use a medium or stub (I don't think I own a broad nib) I can pretty much count on bleed through.

 

If I wasn't about 15 pages into this book, I would probably copy my initial entries over and use another, more FPN friendly book. So I adjusted by using f/ef nibs and writing lightly... I do like the "concept" of this paper and wish it was more accommodating to my nib/ink choices.

 

Anyone else out there using this kind of paper?

 

Definitely appreciate any comments and/or shared experiences.

[overlander]

What you could do is buy some high quality laser paper and print the whitelines layout on those, if you like the scanning function of it.

[Ambien]

They were OK, I bought 5 large staplebound notebooks on sale from Amazon a while ago. The paper felt fairly textured and some nibs had issues. I admit I did like the concept more than the actual product. The gray paper is soothing to look at over bright white.

[pen2paper]

haven't purchased whitelines in quite awhile, but my initial experiences were excellent.

of course, if it is the same, your mileage may vary due to inks and nibs.

[hot cocoa]

 

My experience with anything approaching a medium nib or a wet ink has been less than impressive - occasionally a bit of feathering, definitely some ghosting and sometimes, if I use a medium or stub (I don't think I own a broad nib) I can pretty much count on bleed through.

 

 

 

 

Same here. The gray/white contrast look pulled me in, but the paper quality was consistently meh.

 

I've got some Rhodia Ice on the way (I know, not exactly the same thing) that I'm hoping has the same mildly-lined gray/white look that catches my eye just so. If the lines turn out to be just as harsh as regular Rhodia pads, then I'm stumped as to where to look next for FP-friendly gray/white paper.

[The Good Captain]

I've a Leuchtturm pocket Whitelines notebook but I haven't started it yet. Also an A5 spiral-bound one - ditto. The Whitelines site has PDF downloads for printing your own and they work well. I'm expecting the Leuchtturm one to be good with pens - all my regular ones are.

[DrRoger]

Been using a whiteline notebook A4 for meetings recently. The fine nibs work well but a medium nib can look broad & a stub, well not good at all IMO. Scanning function is good if at times capricious. Not wholly convinced of the advantage over scanning to PDF in the usual way. Just for info: pens were P51 fine, Sheaffer PFM medium, and Delta stub. Ink: Omas black in all cases.

I've tried a Rhodia ice notebook - doesn't seem to have the same issues as whitelines.

Usual disclaimers and caveats apply.

R

Edited June 19, 2014 by DrRoger

[Ambien]

 

 

Same here. The gray/white contrast look pulled me in, but the paper quality was consistently meh.

 

I've got some Rhodia Ice on the way (I know, not exactly the same thing) that I'm hoping has the same mildly-lined gray/white look that catches my eye just so. If the lines turn out to be just as harsh as regular Rhodia pads, then I'm stumped as to where to look next for FP-friendly gray/white paper.

 

Eh, I own the Rhodia Ice in 2 sizes. The gray lines are a nice change but it looks like regular Rhodia paper with a white cover. It feels slightly too smooth for some pens so YMMV.

[dmourati]

I used Whitelines A5 top wirebound notebooks for over a year at work. I used Evernote to scan my handwritten notes.

 

The performance was okay with Namiki Falcon Fine and Pilot Iroshizuku inks. There was no feathering or bleedthrough, but heavy showthrough to the reverse side of the page. It was fine for me as I only write on one side of the page. In the end, I found the Whitelines main feature was nice but I didn't rely on it as much as I had planned.

 

I'm now using Maruman Mnemosyne A5 grid notebooks which I like much better. They perform better with the ink and pen combinations I use. There is almost no showthrough unless I really start using the pen to color versus writing text. The Mnemosyne notebooks are also hard chipboard rear cover and stiff plastic front covers. They also have micro-perforated sheets. These features ultimately outweighed the Whitelines signature feature. Scanning performance is still decent with the Evernote Android App. That program does an amazing job at getting contrast just right so that your notes are legible and even text OCR'd.

 

Prior to either of those notebooks, I used the Field Notes Steno Pad. It was my favorite configuration in terms of the notebook cover, two hard chipboard pieces front and rear. They are also made in the USA which was a plus. These front and rear covers made the whole book more substantial than either the Whitelines (flimsiest) or Maruman Mnemosyne (more substantial). The paper performance was the Field Note's undoing. Heavy feathering with the inks and pens I used so Field Notes has been relegated to ballpoint duty.

 

http://www.whitelinesshop.se/public/img/user/WL80_product.jpg

 

http://static1.jetpens.com/images/a/000/011/11171.jpg

 

http://fieldnotesbrand.com/i/shop_steno.jpg

[hot cocoa]

 

I'm now using Maruman Mnemosyne A5 grid notebooks which I like much better. They perform better with the ink and pen combinations I use. There is almost no showthrough unless I really start using the pen to color versus writing text. The Mnemosyne notebooks are also hard chipboard rear cover and stiff plastic front covers. They also have micro-perforated sheets. These features ultimately outweighed the Whitelines signature feature. Scanning performance is still decent with the Evernote Android App. That program does an amazing job at getting contrast just right so that your notes are legible and even text OCR'd.

 

 

This is helpful...I've been looking for perforated, lightly-lined grid paper that's bleed-resistant and the Maruman Mnemosyne somehow flew under my radar! Too many papers, too little time to research them all.

[Notebookish]

For me... worked fine with Noodler's Bulletproof Back (as does everything), but when I switched to other inks I had a lot of see-through, spreading, and loss of shading. I second recommendation of Japanese brands like Maruman and Kokuyo.

[Tas]

I too loved the idea and bought an A4 pad but sadly found the paper too "porous" for use with loads of my inks & pens. Shame.

My Intrigue and Akkerman's No 10 however had no problem at all with it and I used the pad up with them.

 

Really easy on the eye.

[bogiesan]

I think the American marketplace has proven that whitelines is merely a gimmick for fountain pen people. I have six of thier older pokcet-sized hardbound units. I enjoyed the white theme with orange highlights and wide-spaced lines for my temporary fascination with broad and broad italic nibs. But I missed having a rear pocket. I had not particular trouble with the paper stocks and my big wet pens.

 

From reading product reviews on amazon and European sites I believe the paper stock has changed significantly over the years, perhaps declining in quality. Seems to work well for pencil and gels and rollers but not well with fountain pen inks.

[dmourati]

 

This is helpful...I've been looking for perforated, lightly-lined grid paper that's bleed-resistant and the Maruman Mnemosyne somehow flew under my radar! Too many papers, too little time to research them all.

 

 

I find researching paper/pen/ink combinations one of the best parts of the hobby. I'm always happy to share my findings with the caveat that your mileage may vary.

 

Other recommendations, not so much for the format (twin-wire bound) but for the paper itself: Clairfontaine Triomphe and Tomoe River. I have the Triomphe pads from Goulet Pens in 5x8 and 8 1/2 x 11 and the Design Y 336 notebook featuring Tomoe River lined paper. These are more for quick notes and journalling respectively. I use the Mnemosyne to take notes at work.

 

I've also recently picked up my first Doane Paper notebook with matching leather cover:

 

http://images.cdn.bigcartel.com/bigcartel/product_images/138301822/max_h-1000+max_w-1000/largecover2.jpg

 

 

Other options I've tried and ruled out for my fountain pens: Leuchtturm, Moleskine, and Field Notes pocket notebooks.

 

One more interesting link with respect to Japanese papers being some of the best:

 

Overview of Japanese Paper

[j.a.j.]

I did not really like the paper even after trying very hard. It's great concept but the paper grade they use (or used half a year ago when i tried it) felt like weirdly coated offset paper and did not take wetter pens or brush pen.

[mm1624124]

Great concept; poor execution; bad for fountain pens. I PIF'd mine; no regrets.