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Is it the ink? Or is it the paper? Or could you have sworn that it might not be both?

amberleadavis

By amberleadavis
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amberleadavis Pen Dust

amberleadavis

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For those of you who remember the musical Cats:

 

 

 

I had a Mungojerrie / Rujmpelteazer moment.  I couldn't tell if the problem was the ink or the paper and I couldn't have sworn that it might not be both.

 

So, it all started by me feeling well enough to write a letter and then discovering that I didn't have any paper with me.  I was forced to use the left over paper in my backpack.  The paper was the least expensive copy paper from Costco.  

 

The ink didn't feather per se:

 

large_aaa.jpg.17455a4b5646dcfe36bf7d33bf389501.jpg

 

but it did have some bleed through:

 

large_a1.jpg.cff76ab47273d121d57e1df62e76dd03.jpg

 

But when I went to write on the next page, my pen was low on ink (therefore not putting out as much ink), but I had also grabbed the copy paper from my son's printer. The difference was noticable:

 

Universal Paper from Costco:

 

large_aa.jpg.bd3c842c49d6600484a81de6cacc242f.jpg

 

Double A paper swiped from my son:

 

large_cc.jpg.ed5601fcb3ed0edbd3311eb6555b782f.jpg

 

The difference is noticeable. The pen is the same, the ink is the same ink (though maybe less ink since I was running low).  But seriously, look at the color difference, the spread and the shading.

 

 

Now, this is not a paper review.  This is an observation that paper can make all the difference in my inky experience.

 

BUT just to make sure it wasn't the ink, I inked up my MBIE and tried it on both papers.  Results in next post.

 

 

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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amberleadavis Pen Dust

amberleadavis

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Since the pen was freshly inked and blotted, I was confident that the amount of ink used was similar.  This ink was a dry ink (Bookbinders - thanks @kestrel!).

 

So, here it is on the Universal paper:

 

large_bb.jpg.c29d4bcffced8fc6b81bd0ca5d6f0885.jpg

 

With the bleed through: 

 

large_b1.jpg.d818c7df932fa506a5cece19a343714f.jpg

 

And now for the comparison:

 

Universal:

large_bbb.jpg.2f9e2edfd3fbfe3180230d7879e2e6fd.jpg

 

 

Double D

large_cccc.jpg.622ea27b7f53db174b1f1787195b59a8.jpg

 

So, it was the paper and NOT the ink (or the effect of less ink).

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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mhguda Antique

mhguda

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I have read somewhere on FPN that Double A copy paper is fairly fountain pen friendly. Your experiment seems to confirm that.

Bravo! Nice work.

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

fpn_1425200643__fpn_1425160066__super_pi

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jmccarty3 Antique

jmccarty3

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Is this the Double A 20 lb copy paper? They make a 24 lb version but it doesn't seem to be available in anything by A4 size.

Rationalizing pen and ink purchases since 1967.

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dipper Vintage

dipper

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The ink.... or the paper..... or perhaps the weather.

 

This week I started using a new pack of loose sheets of Clairefontaine 50gsm A4 paper - to make an A5 notebook.

 

That paper came to me sometime in early to mid 2022. The weather was unusually warm and dry during spring and summer in the UK this year. Opened the pack then, and tested the paper with various inks. Stored the test sheet with the pack for future reference.

 

Now, in cold and wet November, I find the paper bleeds through much worse than it did earlier in the year.

In dry conditions it showed a lot of bleed through. Only 50gsm copy paper, so not surprising, but I did find just three inks that gave acceptable results.

Now, in damp autumn, it may be useable with ballpoints only!

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amberleadavis Pen Dust

amberleadavis

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On 11/27/2022 at 3:28 PM, dipper said:

The ink.... or the paper..... or perhaps the weather.

 

This week I started using a new pack of loose sheets of Clairefontaine 50gsm A4 paper - to make an A5 notebook.

 

That paper came to me sometime in early to mid 2022. The weather was unusually warm and dry during spring and summer in the UK this year. Opened the pack then, and tested the paper with various inks. Stored the test sheet with the pack for future reference.

 

Now, in cold and wet November, I find the paper bleeds through much worse than it did earlier in the year.

In dry conditions it showed a lot of bleed through. Only 50gsm copy paper, so not surprising, but I did find just three inks that gave acceptable results.

Now, in damp autumn, it may be useable with ballpoints only!

 

 

I had to giggle. I live in a desert. We are in one of the longest droughts in last two centuries.

 

https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/southwest

 

I can guarantee, that the issue is not humidity in Las Vegas.  However, like @dipper your humidity may vary.

 

The double a paper is very nice and they'll kind I bought is copy paper. It is possible that the brand it was the Costco cheap version that I bought was not the universal version but a different brand I will acquire some of the current version and give you guys an update.

 

Please forgive any typos as I am using speech to text.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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