You can find and endless choice of things to consider whenever selecting a paper that is great usage with water fountain pencils. It’s very just like picking a superb wine with numerous subtleties and nuances. But, any great paper will bring out a whole new lease of life to your pencils and ink, allowing you to see things you will have missed before like sheen.
Let’s begin with a synopsis associated with facts to consider whenever selecting a paper. Click on this link to jump directly to the tips.
Whiteness and colors
Paper, since you may understand, are available in virtually every color imaginable, from pure white up to a neon pink that is bright. The de facto standard for lots more fountain pen paper is white. Some documents could be more white (brighter and less gray) than the others. Another popular color is just a color that is cream/ivory. This might create your ink look different and quite often creates some very nice impacts with specific inks. Cream paper normally significantly easier regarding the eyes because it’s much less bright.
Let me reveal a sheet of white paper (HP 32lb Premium Laser) by having a sheet of ivory paper (Southworth 32lb Ivory Laser). Spot the color differ from white to yellow, nearby the limit regarding the pen.
Feathering
Some cheaper documents usually tend to exhibit feathering, where ink spreads out uncontrollably through the paper. You have a tendency to get extremely thick lines and strange spikes over the letters. This might be as a result of the paper absorbing the ink too rapidly, similar to a muscle taking in water. Reduced quality documents like those present in many spiral notebooks tend to be vulnerable to feathering, where as top quality documents are made to prevent feathering, mostly by way of a surface that is coated.
The image below shows the consequences of feathering. The top image shows a paper that feathers effortlessly (Xerox 24b copy paper). Notice exactly just how dense the relative lines are when compared with a paper that resists feathering (Hewlett-Packard 32lb Premium Laser Paper). Both composing examples had been completed with the pen that is sameVisconti Homo Sapiens, B nib) along with the exact exact exact same ink (Sailor Yama-Dori).
Show-through and bleed-through
Bleed-through is quite typical on thinner documents or bad quality papers that have a tendency to soak up ink quickly. Higher-end papers generally speaking are coated and stated in way to resist ink from bleeding through, in spite of how slim the paper is. Nonetheless, despite having the most readily useful water fountain pen paper, you can find traces of the writing being noticeable on the reverse side. This really is referred to as show-through or sometimes called “ghosting.” Show-through may be countered by making use of a thicker paper stock, such as for instance 32lb over 20lb.
This photo shows a big number of bleed-through. The most notable is the identical Xerox 24lb paper since the above photo and has many spots where in fact the ink seeps through. The ink can also be seen on the sheet below it as well in extreme cases. The bottom ended up being the exact same HP paper and displays simply no bleed-through or show-through after all.
Texture
Some documents have actually a smoother that is much than others. Fountain pencils generally pair well with documents being really smooth, since the nib will simply glide within the paper. Generally speaking, coated documents are more smooth while uncoated people have rough texture. Other specialty documents, such as for example cotton paper, could have a woven texture, similar to a top or material.
Drying Time
Whenever you compose in writing, the ink laid straight straight down takes some right time for you to dry completely without smearing. The factor that is dry-time a great deal related to the particular ink utilized (fast-dry inks for instance), but will all conditions being equal, some documents dry faster other people. As being good principle, smooth and coated documents have a tendency to take more time to dry than uncoated, rough documents. Too, a paper than significantly resists bleed and feathering will tend to take much longer to dry, due to the fact ink must evaporate in the place of being consumed.
Rulings
If you’ve ever utilized a typical notebook, you really must be acquainted with American college-ruled or wide-ruled paper, that has lines spaced at regular periods across the sheet having a cut-off margin regarding the part. Maybe you are astonished to discover that there are more rulings that are unique can be obtained on water fountain pen paper. There was a dot-ruling that is nearly the same as graph-paper, but makes use of dots in place of lines. There is the French (Seyes) ruling usually used to rehearse cursive in France, along with numerous others. You can conveniently print almost any ruling you like directly onto your paper if you opt to use printer paper for daily writing.
Price and Availability
Similar to things these days, there is certainly really paper that is inexpensive is useful for water fountain pencils and intensely high priced paper that may work well. Nonetheless, remember that not all the paper that is expensive fully guaranteed become suited to water water fountain pencils.
Tips
The next papers are my own favorites but are presented in no order that is particular. You can’t fail selecting any people of this documents with this list!
Tomoe River
Tomoe River is A japanese paper make and it is paper is well known because of it’s silky smooth texture and extreme opposition to ink. The paper is very slim, to arrive of them costing only 52 g/m 2 i thought about this , and generally are extremely durable. They do have a tendency to crinkle only a little if you should be rough because of the pages, but don’t tear or tear effortlessly.
Colors: obtainable in both White and Ivory Feathering: positively none, even for really flex that is wet Bleed-through: None, aside from extremely unusual occasions Show-through: a great deal, because of just exactly how slim the paper is. Typically, i suggest just utilizing one side. Texture: incredibly smooth, like writing on cup Dry Time: Very long as a result of exactly how ink resistant the paper is Rulings: just discovered as blank sheets but could have rulings printed on cost: $15 for 100 sheets; pricey but worth the purchase price accessibility: Loose sheets or pads can be located at a couple of trusted online retailers Amazon: Link here
Rhodia
Rhodia is an extremely well understood paper that is high-end and it is very popular among water water water fountain pen users because of its smoothness and ink resistance. Rhodia paper is 80g/m 2 and it is in regards to the thickness that is same regular content paper. Rhodia is normally understood for perforated sheets to its staple-bound pads along with their WebNotebook line.
Colors: Available only as White Feathering: None, anticipate on ink drips and flex that is wet Bleed-through: Absolutely none Show-through: Very minimal although the paper is certainly not dense Texture: exceptionally smooth, like composing on glass Dry Time: longer, but significantly less than Tomoe River. Rulings: can be bought as Blank, Lined, Dot, or Graph Sizes: are located in full A4, A5, and pocket sized pads and notebooks cost: $14.50 for the A4 pad of 80 sheets. Supply: Pads and notebooks provided and may be located at most of the retailers that are online: Link Here
Clairefontaine
Clairefontaine paper is in fact created by the company that is same makes Rhodia paper and so the paper quality is beyond superb. Like Rhodia, Clairefontaine includes a number that is large of in rulings and paper structure. The paper is usually 90g/m 2 and it is thicker than regular content paper. They’ve been renown for his or her Triomphe notepads aswell as their bound notebooks.
Colors: Available only as White Feathering: positively none, despite having excessively flex that is wet Bleed-through: Absolutely none Show-through: Minimal given just just how dense the paper is Texture: Silky smooth and quite soft Dry Time: longer and a comparable as Rhodia Sizes: A4 and A5 notepads and bound notebooks Price: $9 for the A4 Triomphe pad of 50 sheets and $6 for an A5 pad accessibility: Both pads and notebooks provided and certainly will be located at some trusted online retailers Amazon: Link here
HP Laser Paper
HP is usually recognized with regards to their computer systems and printers, however they additionally create a selection that is large of and picture paper. Their “Premium Laser” line, although created for laser printers, works definitely fantastically with water fountain pencils. The top is offered and coated in a variety of paper loads: 24lb, 28lb (now discontinued), and 32lb.
Colors: Available only as bright(98 that is white) Feathering: generally speaking none, aside from flex pencils Bleed-through: positively none Show-through: definitely none, with the exception of wet flex pencils Texture: Smooth although not because smooth as Clairfontaine Dry Time: Medium, lower than Rhoda Sizes: Available on as standard United States page size (8.5”x11”) Cost: Retails at $19.99 for the ream of 500 sheets for 32lb and $14.99 for 24lb availability: 32lb can almost be found at all workplace supply shops. Amazon: Link here
About Moleskine
Moleskine notebooks are can everywhere be found! These are typically identifiable from those stands that are rotatable you notice in bookstores along with other stores. Usually lauded as being a great notebook brand name, their paper is useful for pencils, ball points and rollerballs. Nonetheless, their paper executes terribly with water water water fountain pens, feathering such as a muscle and sometimes bleeding through on the 2nd sheet. Individually, I stay as clear far from Moleskine when I can whilst the paper simply doesn’t work for me personally. Many people have discovered success making use of Extra-Fine (EF) nibs in the notebooks, although not numerous.
Allow me to you understand favorite documents or documents which you hate when you look at the feedback!
(item pictures are credit to JetPens and had been utilized with written permission.)