What computer paper?

[Emt1581]

I need to buy a case of reams for my computer and writing... that doesn't suck up a ton of ink. Also need to know what to look for in a paper whether it's weight or construction or....??  Certain reams will be great (maybe Staples?) but others like Eagle and wal-mart's cheaper reams suck up ink like crazy and results in horrible writing.  My ink is Pelican 4001 Brilliant Black if that matters.

 

Any info would be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

[tde44x]

I like HP32

[OCArt]

Ah, this is a question we'd all like the answer to. I hate the current HP32 but loved the discontinued version.

[Emt1581]

So there's no magic formula to finding something that won't absorb ink like a sponge?  

 

I'm pretty sure the Staples reams did just fine, because I used them for years without issue.  So I might try ordering a case.  At worst, it'll be a $50 mistake and I'll return them to the store.  

 

But I'd really like to understand more about why this is so tricky to figure out.

 

Thanks!

[OCArt]

Paper made from recycled sugarcane pulp, bagasse, has been better for me but this is not a sure thing. Another tip is to look for paper *not* made in USA. I've purchased inexpensive notebooks with paper made in India and Viet Nam that were very good.

[Maurizio]

18 hours ago, OCArt said:

Paper made from recycled sugarcane pulp, bagasse, has been better for me but this is not a sure thing. Another tip is to look for paper *not* made in USA. I've purchased inexpensive notebooks with paper made in India and Viet Nam that were very good.

 

I concur. I have found that paper made from sugarcane or bagasse is generally very fountain pen friendly; and this usually comes from India or Vietnam and sometimes Egypt. I have bought some excellent marbled-styled school notebooks from my local dollar store (which is now $1.25! due to inflation) which are made in India. The marbled notebooks don’t state they’re made of sugarcane, but considering how friendly to fountain pen ink they are, I’m assuming that’s what they’re made from.

 

I made an old post about some great sugarcane legal pads by an apparently defunct company called Canefields a few years ago.

 

If you search, you may still find reams of office paper made from sugarcane on sites which carry discontinued items. Staples currently carries a sugarcane-made office paper called TreeFree. It’s nice, but, it’s more than twice the price of ordinary office paper.

 

I really like sugarcane paper and wish some company would understand that there’s a big market for it if only the prices were reasonably competitive with regular paper. As a general proposition, the paper made in India seems to contain some measure of sugarcane pulp. I recently bought an inexpensive sketchbook at my local Target, marketed under the brand name UCreate, which is made in India. The paper is stated to be acid-free and has a nice slightly toothy texture, perfect for pencil sketching. It also takes pen & ink very well and I’ve used Noodler’s Black, Platinum Carbon Black, and Pilot Black on it with nice results.

 

For what it’s worth - here is my old review. 

 

[Emt1581]

Tried a ream of the HP copy & print 20 from walmart. Works perfect thus far.

 

....twice the price of the Hammermill next to it on the shelf but whatever, for now this works!  

 

Thanks for the replies!

[amberleadavis]

For me Platinum Navigator paper has been fabulous.

[Proto]

HP Premium32 paper works fabulously with most all of my pens.

[Bo Bo Olson]

 

Ink Jet paper, it is the feather champ in it is deigned to soak up ink fast..............stay far away form it....unless you have an ink jet printer....it's horrible for fountain pens.

Laser/Ink Jet is a compromise.

 

25% cotton is the max for a good clean line using 'rag' paper....50-100% is nice to write on but can lead to woolly lines. The lines will not be as clean as with 25% rag.

 

120g is too heavy and expensive for constant use in a laser printer.

 

90g/24 pounds cost twice as much as 20pound/80g.......or a couple cans of mechanically delivered cans of Coke or a cup of Starbucks coffee.

It's worth it.

 

You don't need color copy...which my grab a ream of 100g....was ....when I paid for it !!!!

I was originally after some 90g, and said why not 100g/27 pound...that will teach me to look at prices....It's great paper....but is never, ever going into my printer.

 

 

I like two toned shading ink, and 90g will let the ink stand on top of the paper that little bit longer so it dries to two toned shading.

 

Pelikan 4001 Black is a good black...I still have 2/3s of a bottle I bought some 14 years ago....it is dead boring.

I have some 90 inks, 40 papers and 90 pens....

I made a huge mistake, got the pens, got the inks....and finally got around to chasing paper.

 

Writing is 1/3 nib width & flex, 1/3 paper and 1/3 ink; & in that order.

 

I can't much help you with Stateside papers.

A decade ago the last time I was in the States, I have an assortment of Southworth papers in little 100 sheet $$$ boxes, which for a combo paper does well.....but is way too expensive for computer use..

One should buy a few boxes when every one can afford the stuff. I have some 10 different boxes. Great higher class scribbling paper.

There are a few 120g types of paper for when you want to have fun.

 

 

I came back to fountain pens some 13-14 years ago after over 50 years a captive of ball points, and ran out and grabbed the same inks I'd used as a kid, in the States, Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, and Brilliant Black..............before I knew it I had bought some Lamy Turquoise..........then there is purples....and browns.....and I saw no need for a green ink.

I got a 1/2 bottle on dead cheep sale, of the now sadly discontinued 4001 Green a lively green-green ink...............in a year I had 14, now have 19 green-greenish inks.

(I don't care for the dull green new 4001 dull green. Which don't shade.

 

Murky is a term you will eventually need to know..........How was I to know I was going to need 'murky' inks.

 

So with every three inks you buy, buy a ream of good paper and put that to the side...never in a computer..............one can buy a package of 100 sheets of classic papers instead of a full ream.

With in a few years you will have a very nice selection of papers.

 

But for computer and nice writing 90g/24lb will do just fine.

 

 

Remember this is a life time hobby, so you don't need a pick up truck for your paper.

Try a ream of this, a ream of that..........until you find what paper does you good.....Now.

Certain HP papers were raved about, same with a certain Fugi paper.........by the time I finally got around to buying some.....the management had ruined it....management are ball point users....

Thankfully I re-read before throwing my money out on ball point friendly paper.

 

Check the advise dates when you are over in the Paper sections...

What is good today.....not yesterday.

 

 

[bunnspecial]

I went on a hunt specifically a while back for the lightest acceptable paper I could find that was also economical.

 

For my own writing or messing around at my desk, I don't mind a 90gsm paper, or a 28lb or heavier paper. If I'm printing a stack of exams that I'm going to have to carry to the classroom, back to my office, and potentially home, 24lbs to me is the absolute max and 20lb is better. Going too heavy makes an already big and heavy pile of papers even bigger and heavier.

 

My work finally started buying some passable 20lb paper that I've been using, but for a while what I'd settled on HP 22lb "All in one" paper. Is it great? No. But it's close enough to a 20lb paper to make me happy, does acceptably(and can even handle small writing in small charts/tables I print sometimes) and is affordable. The last I bought was about $30 for a half case(5 reams, 2500 sheets) at Sam's Club.

 

BTW, some 🙄 here seem to think weight and quality are inherently linked. While many better quality papers are also heavier, there are some very high quality lightweight papers out there. Despite insistence that one needs 90gsm paper to see shading, I can say that the bulk of my writing is on one specific 80gsm paper and I can see shading just fine. Many high quality Japanese papers are on the lighter side, including the oft-discussed 52gsm Tomoe River that I personally like(although it's a paper that tends to bring out sheen if an ink is at all capable of it, and doesn't always show shading particularly well although it certainly can).

[Strega]

For a lighter paper, Kokuyo KB paper 64g KB-39N works well for me.  (Not my discovery - I read about it somewhere on FPN.)