Welcome to- The Fountain Pen Community!

More power to you for finding great paper that satisfies your needs. By no means is the paper that I sell the only good paper out there! Clairefontaine paper by and large is very smooth....that's the point. Extremely smooth paper is hard to achieve, and that is one of Clairefontaine's shining qualities. I prefer smooth paper, but I know MANY people who do not. To each his own! I've heard good things about Amalfi (though it's somewhat hard to find) and Crown Mill, as well as some Southworth. Apica makes some decent paper, too. The thing is unless you 'happen' upon a low-price paper option that happened to get a good batch that's FP friendly (the next batch, maybe not so much), it's often hit-or-miss with cheaper papers. There are very few paper companies that cater to the fountain pen user community as it's such a small crowd, so fountain pen friendliness is most often a 'bonus' characteristic with paper brands. I heard somewhere that of all of the pen users out there, less than 1% are fountain pen users, not to mention all of the other uses for paper out there that don't involve fountains. It's not always exciting for people to buy and try notebook after notebook after notebook trying to find something that works with a fountain pen. It's also not exciting to hear about a great fountain pen friendly notebook that someone raves about online, you buy the same thing (coming from a different batch of paper) and having it not write well at all. The few companies that are out there that focus on making quality, consistent paper that is friendly to fountain pens do charge a premium, no question (and that's not just the French). However many people actually find value in the consistency and reliability of 'premium' paper products because they don't have to spend their time or money searching around for the 'unknown' brands. Everyone is different!

I'm really trying to be open and honest here, but it's hard for me to respond to you when you pick apart every sentence I write. I'll just make a general statement here: there IS a difference in quality of paper, pens, ink, and everything else in the world that can loosely be determined on price. However, it's never a steadfast rule that higher price means higher quality or satisfaction, which I think is your point. I agree. In the end, you need to just try everything out for yourself and determine what you like best.

I'm back! Sorry, I'd left FPC for a while because I was spread a little too thin and had to cut some things back. I'm back now though! I feel bad about the way this conversation left off.

I agree with you, paper is as personal a choice as the pen, the nib, and the ink. It all gets stirred into the big pot that is the overall writing experience.

I had heard something about Crane that they were either cutting some of their line or changing it, or something like that. I've had a lot of people ask me about Crane, but I've never used any of it myself. What type of Crane is your personal preference?

Crown Mill is another paper I've heard a lot about for correspondence. It's no secret I deal with Clairefontaine and Rhodia, but they don't really have much in the way of correspondence paper. I get asked quite a bit about carrying Crown Mill and Crane's, I just haven't looked into it much yet. I'm not even sure if Crane's sells outside of their own website. Where do you find your Crown Mill?

I've heard good things about certain Strathmore paper too. I've seen that at Office Max (and I think Staples, too). How does that compare with the others?

This is to be found over there if you are looking for some of the worlds worst pictures...well it beats my drawings.

ESSR ink and paper test 46 papers.
As a paper noobie, Id always said I was going to run 15 inks over 15 papers with 15 nibs..having run 17 nibs with one ink over 46 papers. I doubt if Im going to do the 15 cubed. It will be too much work. Cleaning 15 pens, 15 times is work. Then I'd use up all my ink.

Living in Germany, most of these papers are of course European, mostly German. There are four US papers. Crane, Eaton, Southworth, and Strathmore. Three are Spanish. One French (I did not have Rhoda nor Trioumph(sp). )

ESSR is a blue-Black ink that in most cases dried to a black or a nice black gray. Some papers it had a blue tingesome times I had to look real hard to see that. A couple of papers it was easier to see a blue tinge; a touch of blue. The last paper the Eaton showed a Blue-black; with hardly any black.

I am a paper noobie. I was sent a few sheets of this or that paper, and never used them, in I was waiting to gather up enough papers.

I thank everyone who was so nice to send me paper.

A few weeks ago, I finally went all over town looking for paper, and found some. I found less than I wished. Had I gone in the back room of my B&M Id found more paper, that was cheaper than the Rossler and Zerkall they had in the main room, in the stationary department. I do know where I can find some good paperand more importantly, they will order papers for me, or inks.

Zebra (Rex Office) was good papers bought at Aldi, a super market as a loss leader yearly sale action.

I used a 2.8x/7d/250 square magnifying glass. 4x 3 to check feathering. With out that, many papers would be sitting in different rating blocks.

How could my better papers be so lowly rated?
Magnified feathering or feathering in BB or BBL/OBB, the wide nibs.
Some of the Textured paper is lower rated because of feathering rather than what the writing joy would give it. I have found marbled paper to be very good.

Nit pickers paradise, I have to look at it magnified.
BEF= bare eyed feather; the sit there and look at the paper on the desk; not taking it close to the eye.
The back of the page was second in my rating to feathering. Echo = too faint to read. Show through = some of it can be read.On the vast majority of the paper there was no bleed through.

Good paper is real nice to write on. Normally I put that on the paper after 3-4 nibs, a yes, fun to write on, or causes ink to dance.

I did not do a smear test. There was not enough room with 17 nibs. And I did not think of it.

Two papers being compared under the magnifying glass, being moved to piles of similar feathering, then again and yet again. I shuffled paper I ended up with more piles than expected.

I find 90 g/24 pound better on the whole than 80g/22 pound, and 105/110 or 28/29 pound better than 90 of course. the 32 pound/120 g depends on it's texture. But there is no golden rule, some thinner paper is very good.

** are the papers I will try to photograph, and under magnification. I have picked out six. If you really want to see a paper that is not **, let me know with in the next day or so. I will try to make adequate pictures. So far Ive not been satisfied.
I dont own a scanner, now. Ive had two. They never did what I wanted them too do, and never will. I dont see buying one to put up ink scans.

First set #1.
**#1-1. My top paper was a great piece of 35-year-old unknown paper that was on a cheap pad, German by the size of itand unknown. I bought the pad way back when, in ball point days, and would not have spent much money on it.
There is show though, and no-BEFit writes like a dream, wonderful crisp lines in all widths and flexes. Murphy rules. I dont know which company to ask if they still make wonderful cheap fountain pen friendly paper, or even better.

**#1-2. paper is a Zebra 90 g multi colored pack of 10 colors of 25 each. Its a touch slow to dry, has Echo. Writes so well, and in ten colors from ivory to dark vivid red, green and blue and pastel shades in between. No-BEF. Next year I buy two packs of this paper. I had expected nothing from this paper. I bought it for the hell of it. It was that 'cheap' supermarket Aldi's year's loss leader sale in good papers.
#1-3. Surprised me in it is Brunnen. Brunnen feathers in lower weights. It is a marbled 120 g paper. It writes well, no show through and no-BEF.
#1-4. Zander Gohrsmuhl matt 110, good paper, has echo, no-BEF.
#1-5 Unknown 35 year old linen or laid 160-200 g writes well especially for texture paper. 100% no echo, no-BEF. Id saved that paper when I realized that was much too good to stick in an old Jukie Typewriter printer (pre-laser). It did not dawn on me to write with a fountain pen on it back in BP days.

Second setpapers #2 and #3.well number three was not good enough to be in #2 and not bad enough to be in #4.
#2-1 Conquer paper, which one I dont know, A nice poster sent me a sampling of it. A good paper, echo+, no-BEF.
#2-2 MK Papier Smooth with watermark 80 g. Writes well, show through, no BEF. (surprised it beat the 95 g. MK papier.)
#3-1 Rossler Laid 160 g Very picky to the nibCatches certain nibs; italic, Maxi-F, Semi-flex F, Maxi EF and regular XXFothers are fun to write with. Small echo, no-BEF. Yet it is fun with other nibs.

#4 set.
**#4-1 Zebra Marbled 90 g, good paper, no echo even on 90 gram paper, no-BEF. That cheap Aldi paper Ive mentioned before. Im so glad nowwhen I went back to buy more paper, only this was left over so I picked up a couple more packs.
#4-2 Spanish Oxford Optic 90 g = or better than Clairefontaine Velvet 90 g. good paper. Faint echo, no-BEF. Touch of blue. I have a small school booklet of it. And there is no one selling that in Heidelberg area. Ill have to order it by mail.
#4-4 Unknown laid 90 g good paper, show through, no-BEF. Touch of blue. Some one sent me 60 pages. I am glad to have this paper.
#4-5 Zander Gohrsmuhle 90 @ 15 years old. Show through, very small BEFgood paper.

Set #5.
#5-1 Zebra 90, Butten/hammer/verge Good paper, echo, no-BEF.
#5-2 Schoellenshammer drawing and painting #4 110 g, echo, no-BEF. It is unfair, Id ordered a sample pack and they sent the art pack and not the writers pack. I will get a sample pack from them, I hope. A good name in paper.
#5-3 Clairfontain Velvet 90 g. Very smooth, too smooth and this is not the smoothest of Clairfontain from what I read. There are a scatter through the 17 nibs did not write or did not write the full line. 5 nibs in all. One just dont use a trouble nib on this paper The other nibs are nice writing. Echo+, no-BEF. Not a paper for the nib limited.
#5-4 Zander 80 g matt, French Lilly XXX watermark from the 70s, more 35 year old paper Show through, no-BEF.
#5-5 Zander 90 g matt (modern), show through, no-BEF.

Set #6
**#6-1 MK Papier Typewriter/inkjet 95 g watermark good to write. Some show through, No-BEF.
#6-2 MK Papier gehammert/embossed white, writes good, show through, no-BEF.
#6-3 Zander Gohrsmuhle 80 g matt (modern) show through, no-BEF.
#6-4 Rossler 80 g Excellent paper pad, show through no-BEF. I bought three pads of Rossler of different names, all 80 g.
#6-5 Watermarked Japan Post Neuseidler 90? Good paper, show through, no-BEF.
#6-6 Rossler 100 g Laid.a hard paper to write on, show through, no-BEF. 0.30 a sheet.
**#6-7 Zerkall, 100 g, hand molded.Writes GREAT.why so low. It feathers, it has minor BEF. I dont care. This paper is well worth the 0.50 or $0.75 cents a page. It is a great pleasure to write on.
#6-8 Rossler 80 gram Brilliant Linen rough, skippy, some times nice. Better in wide nibs. Show through. BEF-yes. Partially because of the texture. . Was one of the three Rossler pads.

Set 7.
#7-1 Rossler 80 gram Butten/hammered/verge, good to write on. Show through. No-BEF. One of the three pads.
#7-2 Rossler 100 g cream, good paper Echo, no-BEF. (0.30 a sheet.)
#7-3 Crane 24 pound Parchmentspeckled, Small bleeding where some of the wet full flex nibs were, show though, OK-BEF.
#7-4 Southworth 32 pound..writes nicemild show through, no-BEF.
#7-5 Zander 80 G Gohrsmuhle (modern) show through, OK-BEF.
#7-6 Miguel Ruis Spanish laid 110/120, light show through, mild-BEF.
# 7-7 Galgo Verjurado Spanish 100% cotton laid, Echo yes-BEF Ivory


Set 8
#8-1 Zebra Linen structure 120 g, good for wide nibs. Echo, OK-BEF.
#8-2 Unknown (Ecology) laid recycled??? A paper for wide nibs, small show through, BB-only BEF.

#8-3 Crane 24 pound Bluten/Verge? Draggy small show through. Small BEF.

#8-4 Crane 24 pound, Laid? Echo, Small BEF.
#8-5 Brunnen 90 g Butten/hammered/verge chamois color, show through and yes-BEF
#8-6 Segma Priemum AAA? 80 g copy paper, feels better than expected, good (copy) paper. How ever. Bleed through, yes-BEF.
#8-7 Zebra 90 g laid, good paper, show through, BEF.
#8-8 Marmora 90 g beige, nothing special, middle heavy show through, yes-BEF.
#8-9 Avery Dennison/Zweckform 100 g laser copy paper.. Echo, yes-BEF. Not bad paper out side of that. I expected more. Ill have to get some HP 28 and 32 some time.

Set 9
#9-1 Strotmore pure 100% cotton 24-28 pound? Here and there a bit rough, not for every nib. Medium show though and yes-BEF.
#9-2 Daler Rowney 90 g Calligraphy paperdryShow through and yes-BEF.
9-3 Brunner 120 Butten/hammer/Verge, good paper, little show through, yes-BEF.
**#9-4 35 year old Eatons Corrasable typewriter paper 16 poundscost $1.05 back in the when. Bleed though, yes-BEF.
But great paper.it shows ESSR blue. I ran 8-10 inks over it before and they all shaded very well and it was such a pleasant surprise. I am glad I still got 40 pages of this left over. Very Blue with ERRS ink..
Odd that one of the papers I most like, is so bad. Its plus point vastly out weighs its many minus points.

There are a lot of good papers out there. There are few perfect papers.

If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them.
I will also be doing an ink review of ERRS soon.

WOW Bo Bo!

Got Paper?? LOL

Thanks for the reviews!

Frank

Has anyone here ever tried Basildon Bond paper and envelopes? It is from the United Kingdom and I love it. I got mine while in Scotland but it may be available on line. I have no idea if it is actually sold outside of the U.K. It is extremely fountain pen friendly but has just enough tooth to it to give some nice feedback while writing. Their champagne (off white) brings out the beauty of many inks such as Diamine Grey, Diamine Syrah, Diamine Oxblood, Private Reserve Avacoda as well as others. If you can get your hands on some then I highly recommend it.