Which papers to try out

[invisuu]

Which paper would you recommend to try out, apart from Rhodia, Clairefontaine and tomoe river? I'm looking for some fountain pen friendly paper to try out. Thanks.

[A Smug Dill]

8 minutes ago, invisuu said:

Which paper would you recommend to try out,

 

That depends on the particular purpose and/or use case(s) you have in mind.

 

For journalling — and most likely writing on both sides of every page — Leuchtturm1917, Paperblanks (with at least three different paper weights for its journals, so the brand uses at least three different types of paper) and Peter Pauper Press (which uses at least two different types of paper, but most likely more) are all brands that have a significant presence in ‘Western’ markets. Start with the brand you're most likely to buy in multiples if you find its paper acceptable after a round of testing.

 

For general notebooks that you may not intend to keep for posterity and line them up on your bookcase (or box them up for archival purposes) neatly, brands well known to the fountain pen hobbyist community include Maruman, Apica, Kokuyo Campus, Midori, etc. (I think Midori MD notebooks can well be used for journalling, too, on account of its form factor.) I've found some cheap Muji 60-page notebooks to be very fountain pen friendly, but there then are also some Muji notebooks that aren't (notwithstanding stating on the retail packaging that they are resistant to bleed-through, when I've proven to store staff that the paper isn't).

 

I recently bought over 5,000 A5 pages of Studio Milligram 80gsm Taiwanese-milled maple paper with uncoated surface at awfully cheap prices. I think the paper is pretty fountain pen friendly, apt to shown sheen and not particularly prone to exhibit feathering and bleed-through, although I don't think it's very good at preventing show-through (in spite of being 80gsm). That's my scribble/doodling paper, and most likely will become my main ink testing/review paper.

[Karmachanic]

Try as many as you can to find the ones that suit you. You may find some inspiration here.

 

[invisuu]

Thank you for the answers.  Karmachanic, your link would be pretty much PERFECT, if it were available in Europe...shipping from US is so expensive + the import fees are enormous...

[Karmachanic]

True, but the site gives a good overview of fountain pen friendly paper. Some of which you should be able to find in Euroland.

[Temenos]

I really recommend a notebook with Cosmo Air Light paper. I do believe Taroko Design does it. I've tried all papers in the market - and I mean ALL (including unusual mediums that isn't usually classified as paper) - and nothing really compares to Cosmo Air Light for FPs.

[invisuu]

Thanks, that's high praise! 75gsm, is this it? https://www.etsy.com/listing/951312113/cosmo-air-light-75gsm-travelers-notebook?ref=shop_home_active_5&crt=1
 

right now they seem to ship only to Netherlands, France, and Germany within EU, which is bizzare since the postage within EU works fine, 2 days from Germany to me. 😐

[Karmachanic]

The link above is to a provider in Taiwan. My understanding is that currently there is no shipment out of Taiwan

 

This from Japan

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/875543480/cosmo-air-light-paper-notebook-journal?ref=sold_out-2&bes=1&variation0=1705309863

 

Singapore

https://musu.bi/shop/tomo-system/folio-notebooks-a5/cosmo-air-light-83

 

US

https://www.jetpens.com/Yamamoto-Cosmo-Note-Notebooks/ct/6173

https://shigureinks.com/products/yamamoto-paper-cosmo-air-light-75g-a4-50-sheets

 

to add: My understanding is that it is distibuted by Yamamoto in Japan.

 

 

 

 

[invisuu]

This seriously looks fantastic. Thanks so much! I'm looking into toying around with some new paper, so I'll be ordering all of the suggestions that I can get and play around a bit. 

[Preserved_Killick]

I've really enjoyed the A4 "bank paper", branded as Yamamoto, that I purchased from Shigure Inks last month.  It's very unique, and draws out great sheen and shading from inks.  I also purchased a Cosmo Air Light notebook from Shigure Inks -- it's also unique.  Though I prefer the bank paper.

 

Clairefonatine's 90gsm paper is still the gold standard for me.  Other papers sheen and shade a better, but the smoothness, and the fact it's pretty widely available, makes it my top pick.

[alkman]

I just ordered some Fritz Schimpf paper to test (shipping from Europe is steep, but often worthwhile); the store is located in Tubingen. 

 

I am a big fan of Fabriano's more niche offerings such as Minerva and Florentia which can sometimes be found in smaller, less expensive quantities in their boutiques.

 

For general writing I also recommend Gohrsmuhle which is a nice paper in a range of weights.

 

From Finland, Tervakoski 2 is also very nice, but a bit difficult to find...I got some from a copy shop in Turku FWIW

[invisuu]

Thanks! I can already tell you Fritz Schimpfs paper is great. Not overly smooth or waxed, but not too toothy either. It handled my inks perfectly. 

[Zdenek]

Conqueror 100 gms; laid watermarked paper in several colours, envelopes of the same colours are available too. Fabriano Ingres 90 gms. 

[alkman]

I would also add Smythson, Basildon Bond, and Three Candles, all from the UK. All are very FP friendly and range in price.

[flatline]

Whenever I'm at Barnes & Nobel, I try to pick up the Piccadilly A5 journal that they sell for $6-$7. I find the paper to have just enough texture that it works well with my pencils but not enough that it bothers me with my fountain pens. The paper doesn't feather or bleed through and there is just a tiny bit of ghosting so you can use both sides even with ink.

 

My only complaint is that the paper is slightly yellow rather than white.

 

But to have a n A5 journal with 200+ pages (counting both sides) that works well with everything for $6-$7 seems like a tremendous deal.

 

--flatline