HP Premium 32 Micro-Review

[Horseflesh]

I've been looking for a cheap loose-leaf paper that is good for fountain pens, and a lot of people recommended HP Premium 32. Some people have also said that it used to be better than it is today. Here's a quick look at a sample bought in October 2023. 

 

The paper is very bright white, very smooth, and feels heavy -- it absolutely feels "premium" compared to normal copy paper. It feels nice enough that I would feel bad printing a throwaway item on it. And perhaps I should, at about 4 cents a page. This paper is certainly cheaper than specialty paper, but it's expensive for copy paper. 

 

With fountain pen ink, performance varies a lot. I think the bottom line is that you may find inks you like that do well on this paper, but you'll also find inks you like that are unusable due to feathering.

 

With some inks, shading is actually quite good. 

 

 

 

Other inks had pretty bad feathering and the shading was muted or not present. 

 

No sheening inks showed any sheen at all -- not a surprise, I guess. 

 

Here are some more samples. 

 

One note, I screwed up and wrote Pilot Green when I meant Platinum. It's the ink cart in a green Preppy. 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Horseflesh
fixing an error

[LizEF]

Thank you, @Horseflesh!  I'm intending to do a review of the 24lb premium paper as soon as I finish my "winterizing".  Community claims that the HP replacements were far, far worse than their predecessors kept me from even trying the replacements.  That was a mistake.  The 24lb is almost, but not quite, as good as the old 24lb version.  Good enough that I'll stop looking and just buy a case of the 24lb paper and quit worrying about the fact that I'm on my last ream.  But I do need to do more testing with more inks and more nibs before I can say just how different the two are.  Right now, all I can say is that the new version is pretty good, but not as good as the old.

 

NOTE: Except for the occasional stub, I don't use any nib larger than a Pelikan F nib.  So those who use flex nibs (which are hard on all paper) or double broad firehoses will likely want thicker and/or different paper.  Anywho, I'll get to it, just not this month.

[txomsy]

Thanks, I haven't used it much, and tend not to be methodical recording my experiences, so these reminders and reviews are most welcome.

[Bo Bo Olson]

9 hours ago, LizEF said:

The 24lb is almost, but not quite, as good as the old 24lb version.  Good enough that I'll stop looking

I'll then price check it on amazon or have my computer guy order some, so he makes a few cents.

A few months ago I started a post asking about 24 pound/80g, HP and Navigator with no reply.

.............

Just yesterday, I was digging into my four inch box of assorted papers that were mailed to me, and I ran into some HP 32 pound premium .

I have the distinct feeling this must be the 'new stuff' in a sheet of Southworth Parchment 24pound/90g, even though rougher gave me better shading and a cleaner line ...dig out the 1 1/2 thick honking big magnifying glass. HP 32 has slight woolly line with a couple of inks from my 7 gray ink and paper test and slight feathering with another....That did need the big magnifying glass to see that clearly .

...................

I don't know why I have my little gray box of index cars to show the ink color in a pen. So 4 are WTH inks.

.................

Howsoever I'm OCD/AR on feathering. This is my system of clean line vs woolly or feathering.

 

BEF....bare eyed feathering/woolly line....seen while sitting.... 

 

NEF....near eye feathering or woolly line....seen while looking at it near my eye. Looks just about OK while sitting. There are many like that. When one takes a close look, it shows feathering/woolly line. No clean smooth line.

 

With a Big Honking Magnifying glass.1 1/2 inch by 3 x 4 inches or 2.7 by 7 1/2 x 10cm. (No you can't use your 10X loupe...everything has a woolly line under that.)

 

Mag F...what I'd consider a descent ink....if I like the tone, I will buy it again. Feathering/woolly line can be seen under magnification only.

 

NoMAG F.......great ink ...buy more...buy stockin the company. No feathering/woolly line at all, even when looking through the big, thick magnifying glass.

............

There is a difference between a clean line, an almost clean line, and slightly woolly.

Three of the inks were the same, The other 8 pens were with different inks..

Kon-piki in a Geha725 semi-flex F was the only clean line. Some were nearly clean, others slightly woolly, except for one ink that was woolly.

It is not a paper I'd put on my wish list............

My nibs are stub or tear drop, so will lay a clean line. They are not double ball, which does not lay a clean line. If one don't stick one's nose close to the paper it will do....but one will always know, it's not  yesterdays dream.

..........

Horsefresh,

I was glad to get a look at Lamy Crystal Topas, in I'll be inking a Parker 75 Thuya I'll be getting in the morning. My dip and not load, was darker and shaded more.

Will comment on that in the morning.

The Pilot Green..to me looked like the Green-Green inks, R&K Verdura, MB Irish Green or the discontinued Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Green.

I really liked that MV Fireopal......................added to and moved up my wishlist.....wish is such a big word.

 

 

[LizEF]

36 minutes ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

I'll then price check it on amazon or have my computer guy order some, so he makes a few cents.

A few months ago I started a post asking about 24 pound/80g, HP and Navigator with no reply.

Yeah, back then I was still believing all the folks who said the new HP formulation was hideous for FPs.

[Bo Bo Olson]

By the time I stopped bumping on the log...A fool and his money don't buy paper.

They had changed the formula.....same with the good Fugi paper.

 

I had desent no name or lower level 90g paper.....before convid, and the great inflation, regular copy paper cost €3.80-4.00.....and 90g, €6+..............

I am so old fashioned....and don't like paying the postage, but I just saw some Mondi, color copy 100g for 'only' €16, 90g for €8.50 on Amazon. If it shades then that is not too expensive to put in the printer.

Mondi Laser paper for 9.25.....I've been looking for love in all the wrong places...

 

[Horseflesh]

Glad this was of some interest to y'all. 

 

@Bo Bo Olson --

 

I'm with you, feathering is intolerable! 

 

Topaz is nice enough but I have only used it in a <F> nib so far, so I'm probably missing out on some aspects. 

 

Pilot Green is the stuff that came in a Preppy. It's pretty decent and on slightly better paper has much more pleasing shading. I don't have a lot of green inks yet but it is very close to FPR's "Green with Envy." I like the latter a bit better because it's slightly more vibrant but Pilot Green ain't bad. 

 

MV Fire Opal is very nice and seems to perform well even on cheaper papers, even showing some shading. You need the right pen though because if it goes down too wet it really clobbers the shading. 

[LizEF]

23 minutes ago, Horseflesh said:

Pilot Green is the stuff that came in a Preppy.

Preppies are Platinum, so I'm guessing it was a Platinum Green cartridge.

[Horseflesh]

Ugh yes @LizEF brain spasm!

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, Horseflesh said:

Ugh yes @LizEF brain spasm!

  Understandable.

[senzen]

Always useful; it was my go to paper for a long while as Clairefontaine and Rhodia were way too expensive or just plain unavailable. Beyond smoothness I appreciated its colour rendition, I have no interest in sheen and shading detracts to my eyes from the legibility of my handwriting. Recently I went for Kokuyo 64 instead, which also shows colours in a nice light, is much thinner but much less smooth.

 

I never had any feathering with HP 32, so much so I would suspect my pen would have water in it.

[Bo Bo Olson]

A woolly line is feathering's little brother. Only one ink I used could be accused of feathering, the rest was slight woolly lines, which if one don't go AR on it, and sits up and don't put it to the nose, would do, but as I said, one knows....woolly line is almost there.

 

Could be this was the 'good' old paper....don't know.