Problem with Crane Stationary

[usabkk]

Hi everyone,

I just purchased some VERY expensive 100% cotton stationary from Crane. After using a few sheets, I realised that the paper is very non-absorbent and not consistent when writing with a fountain pen. Most sheets are almost water resistant---but the envelopes write fine. I wrote to Crane customer service and sent the follow e-mail with a photo of the inconsistent paper quality. It has been about four days and no response yet. This paper was to be an investment for many years of enjoyable writing, but now I am suffering with this paper. It is strange, because I have used paper from Crane before, and it was wonderful. What to do?

 

Thanks,

 

Claude

 

You can see the photos of my writing on this paper here: http://gallery.me.com/c.harris#100046

 

Here is the correspondence sent to CRANE: ---------------

 

Dear Sir:

 

I just ordered $800.00 of engraved stationary from finestationery.com --- as pictured below.

 

I am very happy with the look and feel of my stationary, but I have noticed that there is some varied quality in the paper. I use an oblique nib fountain pen and have found some of the paper MUCH more non-absorbent than others. If it was just a small difference, I would not bother to write, but some of the sheets seem almost water-proof! Holding the paper up to the light you can see that the more absorbent paper has a rougher texture and the non-absorbent is much smoother. I don't know what the process is, but at this level of cost, one would expect consistency! ---- Especially from CRANE'S.

 

Spending $700.00 on 300 sheets of paper and envelopes is not for everyone. I am not happy; how will I know if the paper I use will be absorbent or not?

 

As a fountain pen user, you can see my problem.

 

Used your stationary before and there was not problem. Very nice with a fountain pen --- this is why I ordered more...

 

The water mark was "Cranes 100% Cotton " --- and now it is "Crane & Co.100% cotton" --- is this a lower standard cotton paper?

 

What should I do? I just like consistency when I touch the nib to the paper...

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Dr. Claude Harris

Bangkok

 

PS: Envelopes all seem to have the"smoother" service and writing is fine and absorbent.

 

2nd e-mail: ----------

 

Dear Sir:

 

I am attaching some scanned images of the paper. I wrote with the same fountain pen and same ink on all three samples. The first or bottom page seems to be the majority of the paper --- very non-absorbent. Some of the paper is like the middle sample, and all the envelopes are the same quality. The fountain pen used is a medium point adjusted to be "juicy" when writing. In fact, the envelopes are the best for writing. The problem is the paper sheets.

 

I would like to send some of this paper to your manufacturing manager. Maybe they can tell me why there is so such a difference in absorption.

 

I would like to have the sheets changed ---- so the all have a consistent absorption rate and are not buffered or non-absorbent as in the bottom example.

 

By the way, the pen used was an OMAS limited edition with a 18K nib which cost me about $2,000.00. So my pen is not the problem!

 

Thank you,

 

Dr. Claude Harris

 

PS: Please zoom up close to the writing on the bottom sheet and you can see how non-absorbent the paper is...

 

 

 

 

 

[Phthalo]

I'm sorry, but I think your best course of action is to continue to resolve this issue with Crane & Co. Four days it not a very long time... wait a few more days, and if you have no response, try contacting them again.

 

You have bought a product you are unhappy with - you must resolve the issue with the provider of the product.

 

 

[QM2]

 

I have a similar complaint with Crane's. Last summer, I wanted to stock up on nice letter-writing stationary and bought several different types of rather expensive Crane paper, in large packs. Almost none of it works well with my XXF-F pens. The problem is either the weird "water-resistance" as you describe it, or the exact opposite -- feathering. With a few pens the paper does work, but that is not the kind of performance rate I was looking for. The representative at the Crane's shop where I bought the paper told me that it was not returnable and that they cannot guarantee for paper to work with every single fountain pen owned by people. I was too busy at the time to begin an email correspondence with corporate customer service and decided to let it go.

[RLTodd]

that is the general rule, not every pen with every ink will work with every paper...... most of us have bits of nice paper that just won't work with any fp/ink combination we have tried and it goes to the bp/rb stacks.

[kudzu]

A dear friend bought me some wonderful Crane stationery when she started being the recipient of many snail letters. Alas! my ink feathered horribly on it. I was embarrassed to use it. I mostly used it to write her, using my finest nib to reduce the worst of it, but I was very happy when I'd used all that up. Good luck.

[usabkk]

Dear Paper lovers:

 

After five days of waiting, Crane's Customer Service Supervisor responded to my e-mails. He has requested I send in several sheets with writing examples. Here is his reply: Dear Mr. Harris,

 

Would you be so kind as to send hard copies of the stock with your

writing on them as shown on your attachment? Our QA department would

need these to assess the quality issues so we can get back to you.

 

If that is acceptable, then please send them to Crane & Co. CDS Division

to my attention. If possible please also include a copy of this e-mail

with the shipment with the detail below that you have provided.

 

Thank You,

 

Greg Mitchell

Customer Service Supervisor

Crane & Co. - CDS Division

1466 Curran Highway

North Adams MA 01247

 

I will DHL the samples to him and let everyone know why this expensive paper is inconsistent.

TAke care, USABKK

 

 

[Phthalo]

Good stuff. Hopefully there will be a pleasing result.

[QM2]

that is the general rule, not every pen with every ink will work with every paper...... most of us have bits of nice paper that just won't work with any fp/ink combination we have tried and it goes to the bp/rb stacks.

 

Of course. And there are many cheap paper packs I've bought in the past that are completely unusable, which is understandable. But out of the "fine paper" I own, the performance rate of my pens and inks is something like this: Clairefontaine, Rhodia and Elco -- close to 100%; Crown Mill -- 90%; Moleskine -- 80%; Crane's -- 10%. That is a drastic difference in performance when compared to other paper of the same status. This surprised me, because I expected Crane's to be extremely FP friendly, given that they do sell FPs in their shops.

 

But in any case, I hope usabkk's correspondence with customer service turns out well!

 

QM2

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2008 by QM2

[RLTodd]

..... This surprised me, because I expected Crane's to be extremely FP friendly, given that they do sell FPs in their shops.

 

.....

 

Why, fountain pen users are a trivial market share. Not even on the radar screen of marketing anymore.

[QM2]

..... This surprised me, because I expected Crane's to be extremely FP friendly, given that they do sell FPs in their shops.

 

Why, fountain pen users are a trivial market share. Not even on the radar screen of marketing anymore.

 

mmn : (((

[CraigR]

It seems like this problem is part and parcel of being a fountain pen user. Fortunately, this forum has numerous sub areas that deal with pens, inks, papers and their compatibility with each other. I also was surprised to learn that just because a paper is of high quality and cost it may not be suitable for use with some inks. It has been a learning experience as I continue to expand my pen and ink collection. I am concerned with the fact that the original poster experienced what sounds like a considerable difference in the Crane paper within the same lot (I assume the same lot). I am interested to hear the outcome of Crane's investigation of the matter. /Craig

[inkypete]

Thank you for starting this thread. I must say my very limited dealings with Crane have been good and I am considering a more substantial order and would have assumed (wrongly) that their expensive papers are FPN friendly. You saved me an expensive risk - I'll look elsewhere or ask them to mail me a sample.

My old supply of Gray Lawn is a beautiful FP sheet but not available any longer.

[nkk]

I had just ordered a batch of 100 correspondance cards with my monogram on them when I read this.

 

Not to wish ill on anybody, but I do hope that the OP just got a bad lot and mine (and everybody else's) will be fine. From what I have experienced from the non personolized correspondance cards, they are fine, so I still hope my personolized ones will be fine, too.

 

Thanks for the heads-up, even if I did not see it in time. It still apperently prevented others from wasting their money.

 

 

-Nkk

 

EDIT: Are we even talking about correspondance cards here? Or full size paper? Or what? Or are would they all still be bad?

Edited July 19, 2008 by nkk

[Phthalo]

The issue concerns paper, not cards.

 

Let's not make assumptions and broad generalizations about the subject at hand.

 

The OP received a timely response from Crane & Co. after raising an issue with them - lets just wait and see how the issue is resolved.

[QM2]

EDIT: Are we even talking about correspondance cards here? Or full size paper? Or what? Or are would they all still be bad?

 

The experience I described was with A4 and A5 sized packs of writing paper in several different colours, not with correspondence cards. I had used Crane's correspondence cards in the past (4-6 years earlier), mostly with Parker Vector fountain pens, and remembered the brand as being quite good and luxurious (which was why I decided to invest in the writing paper).

 

It is quite possible that companies use different batches of materials and different methods of manufacture, from product to product and for different years of production. One lesson I have finally learned is that it is simply best to test everything before buying.

 

QM2

[nkk]

EDIT: Are we even talking about correspondance cards here? Or full size paper? Or what? Or are would they all still be bad?

 

The experience I described was with A4 and A5 sized packs of writing paper in several different colours, not with correspondence cards. I had used Crane's correspondence cards in the past (4-6 years earlier), mostly with Parker Vector fountain pens, and remembered the brand as being quite good and luxurious (which was why I decided to invest in the writing paper).

 

It is quite possible that companies use different batches of materials and different methods of manufacture, from product to product and for different years of production. One lesson I have finally learned is that it is simply best to test everything before buying.

 

QM2

 

 

Thanks for clearing that up. Now I can go back to waiting like a five year old at his birthday for the cards.

 

Ok, you got me. The truth is, I did get them as a birthday gift.

 

Anyway, best wishes to the OP in getting this cleared up ASAP.

 

-Nkk

[usabkk]

Dear Paper Lovers:

 

More development: The original agent for Crane's that sold me the paper --- Finestationery.com --- contacted Crane's, while I have been dealing directly with Crane's (I sent in the samples by DHL). Here is their e-mail to me:

 

Dear Dr. Harris,

 

I am so sorry for the inconsistency of the stationery you received.

 

I have spoken with a representative of Crane's at length to discuss your concerns regarding the quality. They feel confident that the variation in texture was an anomaly, and will most certainly reprint your letter sheets at no charge.

 

Thank you very much for sending us a scanned image showing the disparity in texture. I also appreciate your offer to send samples to us for a physical quality review; this will most certainly help us to determine the root cause of the issue.

 

Please mail the letter sheets to FineStationery.com, via the US Postal Service, using the least expensive method possible. Our address is:

 

FineStationery.com

1013 Centre Road, Suite 200

Wilmington, DE 19805

 

*Please include the order #551291 and Attention: Sarah on the inside of the package.

 

Thank you so much for your help with this. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience which this may have caused. We strive to offer excellent customer service at FineStationery.com and we want you to be completely happy with your stationery.

 

Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. I can be reached by reply email or by calling toll free at 1-888-808-3463 ext. 4141. I am in the office Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm, ET.

 

Best regards,

 

Sarah Houghton Vendor Relations Supervisor

shoughton@finestationery.com | extension: 4141

 

FineStationery.com

201 West 14th Street, Suite 100 | Wilmington, DE 19801

p. 888.808.3463 | f. 302.993.1200

 

 

*****************

 

I have responded and asked Sarah if I should deal now with her or with Crane's. What ever the case, it looks like I will get new stationary!

 

Will keep you all updated about what the final analysis of the paper lot was,

 

USABKK

 

 

 

[Phthalo]

Excellent news - thank you very much for this update, and do keep us informed.

[PacificCoastPen]

Is it a matter of the nibs roughing up the surface of the Crane paper? Would a rollerball be more compatible?

Wanda

[CraigR]

I am impressed with the customer service offered by the vendor FineStationary.com. It also appears that Crane is as concerned with their quality as I hoped and expected they would be. Thank you for providing both the heads up on the problem and the satisfactory resolution. /Craig