Tomoe Schmomoe, Give Me Iroful!

[LizEF]

(Yes, this is the same thing I posted on r/fountainpens, just had to share - way too excited about this paper.)

 

I like Tomoe River paper (both 52gsm and 68gsm). But I just tried Iroful paper by Sakae TP, and HOLY PAPER, BATMAN!! One sheet, one letter (which is why I'm not posting a picture), 5 inks, and I'm blown away. This should be every fountain pen user's favorite paper!

 

• Colors pop
• Sheen is amazing - better than the current 52gsm TR
• Shading is incredible - way better than the current 52gsm TR
• Dry times are reasonable (but I'm not picky here)
• I have not tried a glitter ink, but I can't see why they'd be any less impressive

 

It might be more expensive (depending on source - I got mine from JetPens, who have good prices on it), but it's worth every single penny. Go get some! If someone were to start making hardbound journals with this stuff, I'd buy at least 20 of them. When I run out of other papers (which isn't going to happen any time soon, sadly) I'll be buying this stuff - maybe even before then. In the meantime, this will become my default letter-writing paper.

 

Do yourself a favor, get some Iroful!

[arcfide]

With a recommendation like that, now I have to try some! How is the glide on the page? Is it waxy or chalky or feedbacky or something else? How does it compare to the pop of Graphilo? 

[Misfit]

Hmm, I have both. I suppose I should try a side by side comparison. I will say, for now, I’m still happier with Tomoe paper. 
 

I bought dotted Iroful, not realizing it was dotted on one side only, though it is on the label. I wish I’d bought plain because the spacing is under 6mm, and I am challenged to write that small. I tried, and managed four lines before I had to use every other line to write letters. 

[Penguincollector]

  I love Iroful, it is marvelous for sheen and shimmer. Here’s a  page of shimmer ink writing samples and couple of  close ups on Lamy Petrol and Parker Quink Washable Blue by Luxor showing sheen:

 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, arcfide said:

With a recommendation like that, now I have to try some! How is the glide on the page? Is it waxy or chalky or feedbacky or something else? How does it compare to the pop of Graphilo? 

I've never tried Graphilo.  Of the papers I've tried, I'd say it's closest to Cosmo Air Light.  Keep in mind that I only use finer nibs and I've only written one page of this stuff so far - it's just that I was so excited I had to come shout to the world.  The nibs and inks I used were:

• Pilot Penmanship EF (in my Prera) with (SPOILER) Rohrer & Klingner Königsblau
• Pilot Kakuno EF with diluted Pilot Mixable Colour Turquoise
• Meister by Point Slim Liner, M with Monteverde Moonstone
• Nemosine Fission 0.8mm stub with Robert Oster Bronze
• PenBBS 469 F with Sailor Souboku

The stub is quite wet, the PenBBS F is fude like and writes as fat as a Pelikan F.  The Meister M is a Japanese M and is new to me as of last Saturday.  It was the only one that felt a little draggy (that I noticed).  I'm still trying to figure out if this pen has baby's bottom or if it's just that it likes to rotate in my hand (which it does) - and this ink likes to hang out in the back of this converter, so that complicates diagnosis.

 

Other than that pen, I really didn't notice anything distinctive about the writing feel beyond it feeling smooth...  To my fingers, it feels smoother than Cosmo Air Light.

 

Amazon and JetPens have the best prices that I've seen.  Vanness (sorry guys) have crazy high prices for the same stuff.  Those are the only places I've looked at prices.  FWIW.

[LizEF]

58 minutes ago, Misfit said:

Hmm, I have both. I suppose I should try a side by side comparison. I will say, for now, I’m still happier with Tomoe paper. 

I don't know if adding the dots changes how the paper feels / displays inks.  But either way, paper preference is as valid as every other preference, so I can't find any fault with preferring TR.  I've always liked the 68gsm.  I'm just excited by how the color pops and shading is amplified on this Iroful - I'm mad about shading.

 

Oh, some folk over on reddit did talk about drag - I suspect they have super smooth large nibs, which in my experience amplify drag (for some reason I don't know).

[LizEF]

32 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

I love Iroful, it is marvelous for sheen and shimmer. Here’s a  page of shimmer ink writing samples and couple of  close ups on Lamy Petrol and Parker Quink Washable Blue by Luxor showing sheen:

Thanks, @Penguincollector!  It's the shading that does it for me, that and how the color seems to pop.  Sheen's nice, but I wouldn't be upset if it didn't do that so well.  Anywho, time will tell if I'm still as excited after writing a few more letters.

[Penguincollector]

  Here’s a page with a few shaders for you, Liz!

[LizEF]

20 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

  Here’s a page with a few shaders for you, Liz!

Gorgeous!  Thanks!

[Misfit]

I’m willing to give Iroful a chance since I love shading inks. When I’m ready, I’ll try a side by side effort. But, I’ve started cleaning pens, which is a breakthrough, so I best see that through for the time being. 

[Particular_Song3539]

@Misfit Iroful does amazing with good shading inks too. Iroful is quite thicker than Tomoe River. I think roughly x 2. The difference between using Iroful or Tomoe River notebook/insert is huge when you use darker ink and lots of different colorful inks. I was often annoyed with the thinness of Tomoe River in that scenario .

[yazeh]

I just wanted to added my impressions about this paper. 

If anyone likes shading/ sheening, this is the paper to use. It revives, reinvents most inks (with some loud/flashy inks, it doesn't work) 

I review a lot pigment inks, and I've noticed that while they look ok (read flat) on Rhodia , on Iroful these inks sings. It also can exaggerate shading, and under some artificial lights, especially powerful led lights ( I have one in my desk lamp) inks can become chameleons, which can be distracting, especially if you're visual   

On the downside, this paper is sensitive to hand oils, so it's best to use another paper to avoid touching the paper directly. And then if you don't like shading or extreme shading then this is not for you. 

Just to give you an example, I was reviewing a sort of a medium, sort of ok/ boring orange pigment ink, which I'll post in a couple of weeks. On Rhodia/ Midori / Tomoe River it's just your basic palish orange. On Iroful it's a 70s disco party    I got nuances of silver, peach, orange, yellow/ orange and red under artificial led light.  Disco ball baby  

 

[LizEF]

20 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I just wanted to added my impressions about this paper. 

Great mini-review, @yazeh!

[yazeh]

15 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Great mini-review, @yazeh!

 

[Stompie]

Well, after such reviews - for some reson this is the first time I have seen this thread - I have put this paper down on my Christmas list! Available from Amazon UK

[Sailor Kenshin]

Stop tempting me.  Everyone!

[yazeh]

@Sailor Kenshin if Canada post wasn't on strike, I would have sent you a couple of pages

I think it's best to see, so I decided to post some comparison photos to show off the differences:

Ink is Octopus Write & Draw, Orange Monkey a pigment, waterproof/ light fast ink. 

Iroful/ Rhodia - Day light (overcast late fall)

Note how Iroful widens the lines and how shading becomes dramatic, and how Rhodia look flat

Iroful/ Rhodia - Artificial led light white (daylight power) - This photo is taken during an overcast fall day.  The light is not on the paper

Note how Iroful becomes dramatic. 

 

Iroful artificial light night time. Note ink is dry and if I change angles it would look like above: 

Shading is violent. It reminds me of iridescent gems  

[knarflj]

Does anyone sell a notebook with this paper?  

[LizEF]

4 minutes ago, knarflj said:

Does anyone sell a notebook with this paper?  

I've found paper-cover notebooks on Amazon and JetPens (same design, check both for pricing - it varies on Amazon).  I haven't seen any other notebook than what these offer.

[mhguda]

You can check Jetpens and The paper mind, where I've found some previously.