In the fountain pen hobby, there is the common referred to “dynamic trio” or “holy trinity”. This trio consists of the three main variables that effect your fountain pen experience – pen, paper, and ink. Together those factors can make or break your fountain pen experience (although in most cases you won’t have any trouble).

Today I will be covering one of the three points of this trinity: paper.

My Paper Collection

Throughout my year of being a fountain pen enthusiast, I have amassed a decent amount of notebooks and paper. I mainly bought different types of paper just to experience them, and later on would discover uses for them.

My collection so far consists of:

2 Black n’ Red Notebooks

1 Rhodia A4 Dotpad

1 Rhodia A7 Pocket Lined Pad

1 Budget Tomoe Notebook

1 Small Clairefontaine Pad

& 5 Up&Up Notebooks

I use my Black n’ Red notebooks for pen pal letters and general writing because not many of my notebooks are lined. The A4 Rhodia pad is used for drawing, sketching, pen testing, and other general uses that would benefit from some nice paper. The A7 Rhodia pad is carried around and used for general notes and things i want to write down. The Tomoe notebook I bought as a cheap way to discover the magic of Tomoe River paper on a budget. I usually end up just scribbling in it and making blobs of ink to gawk at the sheen. I bought the Clairefontaine pad for $2 just so I could try out the paper. Now, I made it into my Ink Journal to keep track of and show off my inks. Finally, the Up&Up notebooks were bought on a budget for schoolwork. I got five of them for $1.50, and they have some surprisingly good paper!

Paper Comparisons

All tests were conducted with Monteverde California teal and a Waterman Carene (F)

Black n’ Red:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Black n’ Red notebooks use 90gsm Optik paper, and they handle ink very well with little to no bleeding or ghosting when writing with just about any pen. Dry times are what I’ve found to be pretty average at about 30 seconds, and inks sheen pretty well. Lines on this paper are crisp and clear, and I personally really enjoy white paper. The finish on this is slightly less smooth than Rhodia, so if you like that bit of feedback (but not too much), this is for you.

Rhodia:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Rhodia paper has been the standard paper for comparison because it has a nice balance of weight, sheen, shading, and dry times. The Teal dried in around 25 seconds, and inks certainly do sheen on this paper (not sure why there is no sheen in my demo). Shading is nice, lines are crisp, and paper is smooth, making Rhodia an all around great option.

Tomoe River:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tomoe River is an incredible paper. Inks sheen and shade amazingly, and sometimes ink properties you never knew existed appear! Even with a dryer pen like my Carene the Cali Teal sheened beautifully. This paper does ghost some (at least the 52gsm sheets), although there is little to no bleeding, and the paper’s finish is very smooth. The only drawback to this paper is that dry time doubled from 30 seconds to a full minute, but in my opinion the trade off is completely worth it. If you have never purchased or used Tomoe River paper, I strongly recommend you do!

Clairefontaine:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Clairefontaine paper is a thicker 90gsm sheet, so it handles ink extremely well with no ghosting or bleeding, even when making ink swabs. Dry times land at the average of 30 seconds, and inks shade very well. The sheets are nice and smooth, providing a great writing experience. The largest drawback in this paper is that I cannot get most inks to sheen. Even when swabbing Cali Teal, I got nothing. The only ink I have gotten to sheen is Organics Studio Nitrogen because, well, that ink can sheen anywhere. Overall, CF is a nice paper for writing when you don’t care for or want sheen.

Up & Up:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This paper really surprised me. It handles ink really well with little ghosting and bleeding. Inks don’t shade as much as on, say, Rhodia, but still more than your average crappy paper. The sheets are pretty smooth, but not as much as the other. more costly papers. Lines on this paper are also bit choppy. Here is a line compared to Tomoe River:

In all fairness, Tomoe River has one of the smoothest line of any paper, so Up & Up certainly isn’t too bad. What really surprised me with this paper is the sheen. Sheen shows up incredibly well. If you follow my Instagram, you probably saw this image in the California Teal Ink Journal post:

That was written on this paper! Can you believe it? These costed $1.50 for five 70 sheet on clearance, and they certainly hold their ground against Rhodia and Black n’ Red.

Conclusion

Out of all of my notebooks, I end up using Black n’ Red the most. For me, it has the best blend of paper weight, sheen, and smoothness all wrapped up in a durable binding with lined sheets. The best bang-for-the-buck paper, though, was absolutely Up & Up paper. It behaves very well and is incredibly cheap at $1.50 for 350 sheets.

If you have yet to delve into the world of paper, I strongly recommend you try out as many as you can to find what you like. Then, buy a bunch of that and at least one notebook of Tomoe River paper. Trust me, that paper is magic.