Best Sugarcane Paper

[WhiteStarPens]

I've heard some good things about sugarcane paper, namely it's slight texture, lightness and top writing qualities at a thickness of only 70 or 80 gsm.

 

Would anybody be able to lead me towards some plain A5 or A4 brands? I'd prefer it to be loose leaf and white and suitable for use with Pelikan and J. Herbin inks.

 

Many thanks in advance!

[tinta]

I don't know if it's the "best", but I have been known to use Staples Sustainable Earth Bagasse, a slightly cream coloured lined pad. There is supposed to be some sugar cane content in the paper. Fountain pen friendly for both conventional dye-based or ferrogallic inks. It is lined on both sides & it's inexpensive.

[Cursive Child]

Second that.

Easily available in the US, inexpensive, and very FP friendly. Have used it for 10 years with Diamines, Noodlers, Iroshizuku, Pelikan, and even a couple of Herbin samples.

I believe it's about 80% bagasse.

 

I took a quick look at staples UK, and couldn't find it.

Edited June 12, 2020 by CursiveChild

[inkstainedruth]

I have some composition books from the Sustainable Earth line, and I like them -- but Staples no longer seems to carry them in B&M stores (at least not that I've found in the Pittsburgh area). And they were a lot more expensive than their normal composition books (especially during back to school sales, when the standard ones were under a dollar).

For printer paper, I used to like the Ology brand that was available at -- of all places -- Walgreens drug stores; but they stopped carrying it. Right now I have some (forget the brand name) that I got awhile back at Kinko's (based on the recommendation of someone in another thread) but didn't see it the last time I was in there. I like regular printer paper better for writing fiction because I tend to have all sorts of crossed out sections and arrows to stuff in the margins and underneath when I've forgotten something and such. That sort of thing is harder to do in a notebook, for some reason. for me.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Cursive Child]

You're right Ruth, they stopped carrying them in B&M stores at least a couple of years ago.

I'm afraid for them being phased out altogether. I get a corporate discount on them, so end up being quite cheap.

 

(If any of you are really keen, I can send you some - you'll need to send me the price of shipping plus the $2 I pay for each composition notebook. The spiral bound ones are like a $1.50 or so)

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks, but I already have more notebooks than I need already, and I don't really like spiral bound all that much just in general. I do have one that has banana paper, but it's sort of hairy and textured, and not all that FP friendly (I bought it to try it, and it was okay for a poetry journal but not great).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: I just looked at the Staples website, and at the moment they don't even seem to have Sustainable Earth notebooks at all at the moment....

Edited June 12, 2020 by inkstainedruth

[Paul-in-SF]

I found an A4 notebook (my size!) on Amazon, something called Canefields Eco Series Sugarcane Paper Artisan Notebook, 192 lined pages, for $6.62 plus shipping. I'm ordering one, I've never tried sugar cane paper before. One of the five reviewers mentions that it works well for fountain pens.

[Paganini]

I tried to find some sugarcane paper not too long ago, and it was tricky. The Sustainable Earth stuff seems to have been discontinued. What I did find is some paper called "TreeZero" on Amazon. It comes in reams, like copy paper, but it works well for pens. Normal inks (Waterman e.g.,) are fine on it; heavily saturated ones will smear some if handled when dry, but not as badly as they do on Tomoe River paper; I've had feathering / bleeding only with a few very wet pen / ink combos.

 

I see it on amazon.co.uk, but they only seem to sell it in 6-ream boxes for about 50 quid, which might be more than you're after...

 

It's good paper, though!

 

- N

[CatHerder]

Another possibility is Franklin-Christoph- they have sugarcane notebooks in a5 & a4, lined, dot, and graph. I havent used it but price looks reasonable

[Karmachanic]

Sugar cane goes into the factory, and bagasse, the dry fibrous waste, come out the other end. Which is why paper made from this byproduct is often referred to as bagsse paper. Using that term while searching may produce additional result.

[BaronWulfraed]

ETA: I just looked at the Staples website, and at the moment they don't even seem to have Sustainable Earth notebooks at all at the moment....

 

Apparently not all that "sustainable"

 

[Paul-in-SF]

Another possibility is Franklin-Christoph- they have sugarcane notebooks in a5 & a4, lined, dot, and graph. I havent used it but price looks reasonable

 

Those are nice-looking notebooks indeed.

 

I am a little mystified, though, by their description of their A4 size as "true A system international sizing" when it is 216 x 302 mm. ISO 216 standard is 210 x 297. It's not only that their size is slightly larger but that the ratio is not the square root of two, and smaller sizes are not exactly half the larger size, which are the basis for all the A and B paper sizes. It's as if they went out of their way to find something non-standard that they could call "true" for the sake of being obscure and esoteric.

[CatHerder]

Think youre looking at the firms-flex journal; suspect the dimensions are for the journal cover, which looks to overhang the paper a bit. Their other notebooks appear to have correct A size. Just noticed, they also sell looseleaf

[tinta]

 

Apparently not all that "sustainable"

 

Indeed! If it's been discontinued, I'm for that

[XYZZY]

 

Apparently not all that "sustainable"

 

 

Well to be fair it was called "sustainable earth", and not "sustainable business"

[A Smug Dill]

Well to be fair it was called "sustainable earth", and not "sustainable business"

 

 

The Staples business endures. The consumer's particular buying and/or writing habits, on the other hand, may not be sustainable.

[Paul-in-SF]

Think youre looking at the firms-flex journal; suspect the dimensions are for the journal cover, which looks to overhang the paper a bit. Their other notebooks appear to have correct A size. Just noticed, they also sell looseleaf

 

You're right. They talk about "true A system" sizing in one place, and where they show the measurements I didn't notice that it says "Exterior Measurements." Silly me.

[Cursive Child]

ETA: I just looked at the Staples website, and at the moment they don't even seem to have Sustainable Earth notebooks at all at the moment....

It's funny. I think they may have "rebranded" it. I had put 3 of the sustainable earth bagasse notebooks in my cart a couple of days ago. I open the web page, and the cart contents changed to "TRU-RED Premium 1 subject notebook"

 

https://www.staples.com/Sustainable-Earth-by-Staples-Wirebound-1-Subject-Notebook-9-1-2-x-6-Each-16769/product_749565

 

The URL seems to be the old one, but the product is the "TRU-RED Premium 1 subject notebook". No details about the amount of bagasse in the paper now.

 

My corporate portal says this:

Environmental Attribute 80% agricultural residue content, Eco-ID is a Staples environmental identification mark, providing assurance that this product meets specific environmental criteria. To learn more, visit EcoIDProgram.com, 80% Total recycled content

Hopefully the product is the same, and they continue it

[Paganini]

I have a TruRed notebook; I believe it's 80% sugar-cane. Unfortunately, I guess that extra 20% makes a big difference, because I can only write in it with IG inks. Regular inks behave about the same as they do with AmPad legal pads (i.e., yellow toilet paper).

 

Edit: You know, that was an overstatement. I just took out a page; in finer nibs, regular inks like LAMY black and Waterman Serenity Blue work OK. It's not great paper, but it's not as bad as AmPad!

 

- N

Edited June 13, 2020 by Paganini

[Chuck400b]

Paper made from Sugar cane and wheat straw are effectively no more.

 

treezero is about it for non wood based paper, paper...with inherent great fountain pen qualities. Canefields is still around but I’m not sure if the places selling it is just selling back stock.

 

if you are USA based, fedex/Kinkos sells Treezero by the ream, but at near $10 per.