Good Thin paper

[jamesbest77]

Hi all,

 

I have a specific requirement for paper in mind and after a long time googling and searching this forum, I am hoping as a last chance that this community's collective knowledge will be able to help.

 

I have a short story to write of about 10-12 pages. I will be writing one side per sheet, and intend to post the story by mail, so the 10-12 sheets must be able to fit in a standard envelope when folded (standard letter c-fold). The problem is, folding 10 pages of normal paper in a c-fold doesnt work too well. It loses some elegance since the envelope becomes quite bulky and the paper arrangment is unattractive.

 

My idea is to use a thinner paper - almost like the paper they use in the pages of the bible (very thin). The difference is, I want something classier. I dont want the paper to be too transparent since this will make it hard to read when pages are ontop of each other. I dont mind about the price either - just something really good quality.

 

Does such paper even exist?

 

Please help,

Thanks,

James.

Edited August 18, 2007 by jamesbest77

[Slush99]

Well... I'm not sure. I have some onionskin that friends have sent me. It's really thin but it IS transparent to some degree. It is very attractive. I could send you a few sheets if you PM me...

 

I'm not sure where to get it but I think I'll leave that to others

Edited August 18, 2007 by Slush99

[acfrery]

Hi James,

 

Crane's Air Mail stationery seems what you are looking for. I understand it is no longer in production, but there seem to be some boxes out there. It is fountain-pen friendly, and has a very elegant touch and look.

 

Alejandro

[jamesbest77]

Thanks for your suggestion about Crane's Air Mail stationary, I came across the other thread about it on this forum too. You are right, it is impossible to find though!

 

I think onion skin paper and possibly "vellum" is the kind of thing i'm after. I just need to find a good quality, not too opaque brand of it now. I may have a wonder around bond street/selfridges tomorrow.

Edited August 19, 2007 by jamesbest77

[encephalartos]

Check an art supply for Clearprint Tracing Vellum.

You can get it in 8.5 x 11 pads. Thin and also semi

transparent.

[FLZapped]

You might want to consider this paper:

 

9 lb Bond (Onion Skin)

 

-Bruce

[Margana]

I read your post today and played around with both onion skin and vellum to see if they would meet your criteria of "classy" and "not too transparent". The onion skin I have has a somewhat rough texture and works best with my wide nibs. The narrow ones were inconsistent and wrote much drier than on bond. The vellum is more transparent and provides a writing experience much like writing on glass. The nib just skates across the surface. I have to write very slowly exercising considerable control but it produces a nice result with a variety of nibs.

 

I can't say either one looks classy. Serviceable perhaps but neither professional nor upscale. The onion skin I have is particularly unsuitable I should think. Maybe there is better quality paper available in your area. Vellum can be purchased in most art supply stores in small packets so you can acquire that one easily.

 

One thing you did not mention is whether this will be a printed project or written with a fountain pen. Onion skin would be too fragile for a printer but vellum is well suited for an inkjet should that be needed.

[jamesbest77]

Many thanks for trying this out for me Margana. The paper I was after was for use with a fountain pen (sorry I forgot to mention that).

 

I had a pop down to Smythsons today on New Bond Street and their "featherweight paper" as advertised on their site is only available in their jotters and diaries.

 

In that case, I think this might bring me a few steps back (but not back to step one since I have learnt a lot since then)

The options I have considered so far are:

 

- onion skin paper

- some kind of bond paper

- "vellum"

 

I'm getting the distinct impression that for these weights of paper, I am not going to find something elegant. In that case, I think I might have to be a bit more flexible with the weight of the paper. Perhaps something in the 60-70gsm range. If this is the case, might anyone be able to recommend something "exquisite" ?

 

[Samovar]

This thin paper thread is very interesting. Is there any feathering on onion paper?

How bad is the show through?

Does any one of you know a good brand of bible paper?

Is bible paper similar to onion paper?

 

Samovar

[jbb]

This thin paper thread is very interesting. Is there any feathering on onion paper?

How bad is the show through?

Does any one of you know a good brand of bible paper?

Is bible paper similar to onion paper?

 

Samovar

 

I do not find onion skin to feather -- it is more prone to having the ink sit on top of it and take a long time to dry. The ink doesn't bleed to the back side but since it's sheer you can only write on one side. Another problem is that a sharp nib can rip through it if you press hard but most modern fountain pens are not that sharp. Bible paper seems even thinner than most of the onion skin I've seen.

 

[donwinn]

This thin paper thread is very interesting. Is there any feathering on onion paper?

How bad is the show through?

Does any one of you know a good brand of bible paper?

Is bible paper similar to onion paper?

 

Samovar

 

I do not find onion skin to feather -- it is more prone to having the ink sit on top of it and take a long time to dry. The ink doesn't bleed to the back side but since it's sheer you can only write on one side. Another problem is that a sharp nib can rip through it if you press hard but most modern fountain pens are not that sharp. Bible paper seems even thinner than most of the onion skin I've seen.

Any idea where one could acquire some blank Bible paper?

Donnie

[jbb]

Any idea where one could acquire some blank Bible paper?

Donnie

 

Oooh, I wonder if there is a publisher printing bibles who would sell some paper.

 

[Nibble]

Any idea where one could acquire some blank Bible paper?

Donnie

 

There is Bible Paper and again there is India Paper.

 

Bible Paper seems to be used by Cambridge University Press, and it is not the same as India Paper (which is used by Oxford University Press). India paper is really wonderful stuff (there is a little Wikipedia article on it)

 

Unfortunately I can find nowhere to buy it.

 

You might check out Smythson's. They make a lovely thin paper and sell it as Air Mail paper. You need to send them an email direct about this as I don't think you can order it from their website.

[donwinn]

I did a google search on Bible paper, and found a site which stated that foolscap is another name for Bible paper

[Tweel]

Any idea where one could acquire some blank Bible paper?

If you want to try to track down a vendor, it looks like this paper is also known as "lightweight offset book" paper, e.g.:

 

Domtar Featherweight Opaque

 

I thought "foolscap" was a paper sheet size.

 

-- Brian

[donwinn]

Well, after doing a google search on featherweight opaque paper, I found Smythsons of Bond Street in UK, which will sell me a 192 leaf floppy manuscript journal with featherweight opaque paper in a 7.5 X 5.5 format for only $205 USD. Oh well, maybe I can find one a little less expensive. On second thought, make that a LOT less expensive.

Donnie

[Judybug]

You might want to consider this paper:

 

9 lb Bond (Onion Skin)

 

-Bruce

 

Bruce - have you used this paper with your fountain pens? It looks nice. Too bad you have buy a ream. Can this paper be used in injet printers? I might order a ream if I thought I could used it with FPs and the computer, but I would think 9lb. paper is too thin to feed through the printer. Does anybody know? The paper is described as being for "crafters" - no mention of computer use.

 

Judybug

 

[1937w]

I am unaware of the practices in the UK, but here in the US there are thin papers made for legal documents. One such is Sphinx Esquire Bond. It is a 25% cotton fiber paper with a slight parchment feel/aspect. Because of the dense fiber matting, this 16 lb paper is thin and can be compactly folded. It is very FP friendly. While not fully opaque, it is far more so than onion skin. If the Sphinx is no longer available, there may be other types of business papers about.

 

You may try to contact one of the large independent (ie. not Staples, Office xxx, &c.) stationers that service law firms and the finance industry, they may have some NOS paper that meets your requirements that they will be happy to sell.

 

Some of the business service centers such as Kinko's have folding machines, these can fold a decent number of sheets into a compact neat package. Also, there are oversize business envelopes (not catalog envelopes) for thicker mailings.

[Tweel]

Bruce - have you used this paper with your fountain pens? It looks nice. Too bad you have buy a ream. Can this paper be used in injet printers? I might order a ream if I thought I could used it with FPs and the computer, but I would think 9lb. paper is too thin to feed through the printer. Does anybody know? The paper is described as being for "crafters" - no mention of computer use.

 

Judybug

"Crafters" -- it used to be for "typewriters"! If I could find my own pad of onionskin (dang it!), I'd try it and let you know, but I suspect that any large patches that were sprayed with ink would buckle. But speaking of my pad, it used to be available that way. I know carbon paper is still available, so why not onionskin? Are there any independent office-supply stores or university bookstores in your area?

 

-- Brian

[Rena]

You might want to consider this paper:

 

9 lb Bond (Onion Skin)

 

-Bruce

 

Bruce - have you used this paper with your fountain pens? It looks nice. Too bad you have buy a ream. Can this paper be used in injet printers? I might order a ream if I thought I could used it with FPs and the computer, but I would think 9lb. paper is too thin to feed through the printer. Does anybody know? The paper is described as being for "crafters" - no mention of computer use.

 

Judybug

 

Judybug,

 

I bought a ream of this onion skin paper from The Paper Mill Store and love it. I "can" run it through my inkjet printer, but that's not the easiest to do -- sometimes it will bind, but sometimes goes through fine. Don't buy it with the intention of using it in your printer. Most of my fountain pens write beautifully on onion skin, but flex nibs and fine nibs do catch a bit. It's great paper for writing long letters since you can enclose lots of sheets without extra postage.

---Rena