Rhodia Vs. Leuchtturm1917 Vs. Dingbats* Notebooks

[tisse98]

What are your opinions on the paper quality and writing experience between these three? I've only used Rhodia of the three, and was thinking of trying out one of the other two, but I can't quite decide which one.

 

From what I could gather on Amazon, Dingbats* notebooks have thicker paper (100g/m²), but I'm not a big fan of micro-perforations and they don't come in the B5 format that I've come to appreciate so much. The closest size to B5 they offer is an A5+ format which, while slightly bigger than A5, I fear it may still be a bit too small to my liking.

 

Leuchtturm1917 notebooks, on the other hand, are available in the B5 format, but they only have 60 sheets (120 pages) and thinner paper (80g/m²) than Dingbats".

 

Neither one is cheap so, decisions, decisions...

 

Can anyone weigh in on the difference in writing experience (with a fountain pen) between these three? Should I just stick with Rhodia?

 

[Inkling13]

Per the Goulets, Rhodia>Leuchtturm1917 in terms of paper quality. I can only attest to Rhodia, being the best I've tried. Very consistent book to book.

[tisse98]

Not sure if all Rhodias are of the same quality but, for this comparison, I specifically had in mind the Rhodiarama Softback notebook vs. the other two.

[tisse98]

Per the Goulets, Rhodia>Leuchtturm1917 in terms of paper quality. I can only attest to Rhodia, being the best I've tried. Very consistent book to book.

Thanks so much for your input. Although paper thickness isn't always an indication of quality, you've confirmed my suspicion about Leuchtturm1917 being of lower quality than Rhodiarama, due to the difference in gsm between the two. Not to mention it only has 120 pages... At 100 gsm, Dingbats* has the thickest paper of all. I'm quite intrigued by the history of this company and curious about how FP-friendly their paper is, but I may have to wait until they introduce the B5 format in their lineup.

[Inkling13]

Thanks so much for your input. Although paper thickness isn't always an indication of quality, you've confirmed my suspicion about Leuchtturm1917 being of lower quality than Rhodiarama, due to the difference in gsm between the two. Not to mention it only has 120 pages... At 100 gsm, Dingbats* has the thickest paper of all. I'm quite intrigued by the history of this company and curious about how FP-friendly their paper is, but I may have to wait until they introduce the B5 format in their lineup.

thickness is no indication of how quality paper is. Watercolor paper has high GSM, but performance with FP is very poor due to its high absorbency.

[tisse98]

thickness is no indication of how quality paper is. Watercolor paper has high GSM, but performance with FP is very poor due to its high absorbency.

 

I agree. May I ask why you gave Rhodia the edge over Leuchtturum1917? Did you experience any paper ghosting, feathering, or any other issues with the latter?

 

 

Edit: My apologies inkling13, I didn't read your first message carefully. I'll do some searching for the Goulets review/comparison on the two.

Edited March 4, 2018 by tisse98

[tvradio]

Nicest thing about the Dingbats notebooks is that the pages are all micro-perforated.

 

192 A5 pages (96 sheets) of hardcover-protected, 100gsm cream perforated paper - with innner pocket, bookmark, pen holder and elastic band - for $19.95 (amazon). Kinda' a great deal.

 

Same in top-bound A6 [minus pen holder) for $13.95

[tisse98]

Nicest thing about the Dingbats notebooks is that the pages are all micro-perforated.

 

192 A5 pages (96 sheets) of hardcover-protected, 100gsm cream perforated paper - with innner pocket, bookmark, pen holder and elastic band - for $19.95 (amazon). Kinda' a great deal.

 

Same in top-bound A6 [minus pen holder) for $13.95

 

Thank you tvradio, have you had the chance to test them with a FP? How does the paper take the ink?

[tvradio]

Light-to-medium ghosting with all my nibs except the Jowo B, which showed some bleed. Here are some reviews showing this:

 

http://www.pencilcaseblog.com/2017/10/re-review-dingbats-wildlife-a5-notebook.html

 

http://www.gentlemanstationer.com/blog/2016/11/23/notebook-review-dingbats-notebooks

[tisse98]

Light-to-medium ghosting with all my nibs except the Jowo B, which showed some bleed. Here are some reviews showing this:

 

http://www.pencilcaseblog.com/2017/10/re-review-dingbats-wildlife-a5-notebook.html

 

http://www.gentlemanstationer.com/blog/2016/11/23/notebook-review-dingbats-notebooks

 

Thanks for the feedback, tvradio. I'll check out those reviews as well.

[tisse98]

Light-to-medium ghosting with all my nibs except the Jowo B, which showed some bleed. Here are some reviews showing this:

 

http://www.pencilcaseblog.com/2017/10/re-review-dingbats-wildlife-a5-notebook.html

 

http://www.gentlemanstationer.com/blog/2016/11/23/notebook-review-dingbats-notebooks

 

I followed a link in one of those reviews and it took me to the company's website, where they preview some of their future notebook designs: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/850594963/dingbats-notebooks

I really like what I'm seeing there. Also, I hope they'll introduce a B5 format, which I believe will be better selling than their current A4+.

Edited March 8, 2018 by tisse98

[tvradio]

Thanks for the link. A perforated B5 notebook would be right up my alley. I actually contacted the guys at Write Notepads suggesting that, but they're more into small 'detachable' pages instead of perforated (maybe they don't have the needed machinery for it).

[bogiesan]

Rhodiarama notebooks use a different paper than Rhodia webnotebooks.

Umm, just spent a few minutes trying to prove that statement, cant find the references. Long ago when Rhodiarama was introduced, the rhodiadrive website was abuzz with critical comparisons. The webbies are IIRC made in a different factory than the ramas.

Edited March 13, 2018 by bogiesan

[tisse98]

Rhodiarama notebooks use a different paper than Rhodia webnotebooks.

Umm, just spent a few minutes trying to prove that statement, cant find the references. Long ago when Rhodiarama was introduced, the rhodiadrive website was abuzz with critical comparisons. The webbies are IIRC made in a different factory than the ramas.

 

Thank you - I have no experience with the webbies paper, but it'd be interesting to know if there's any significant difference in quality between the two.

 

Now I also wonder if there's any difference between these two and their Heritage line. I ordered a few Rhodia Heritage Raw Binding Notebooks (160 pages) several days ago, during an Amazon sale, and haven't received them yet.

I'm quite curious to find out how the heritage line's paper compares to that of the ramas.

[tisse98]

So, the Rhodia Heritage Raw Binding Notebooks arrived today, and I definitely like them more than the Rhodiaramas. Even though both have 90 gsm vellum ivory paper, I prefer the faint orange lines of the Heritage. And those lines are even less noticeable on written pages. Also, Heritage Raw Binding pages are numbered and the notebook lies perfectly flat, even more so than the Rhodiarama.

Edited March 16, 2018 by tisse98