Paper

[penmanship]

I'm sure this has been asked before but I just purchased some cotton paper. Does this make a difference when using a fountain pen? Not sure if it would be better, or actually not so good to use.
Anyone have any thoughts?!

thanks,
Tim

 

[Chasper]

IM(not so)HO paper is critical. To have a really pleasurable writing experience, the quality of paper is at least equally critical as the quality of the pen. To attempt to sell high quality pens by having the customer give it a trial write on a pad of cheap paper is like trying to sell a luxury car by having the driver take it for a test drive through a cow pasture.

100% rag paper, brightness in the upper 90s, just toothy enough to make the ink flow perfectly and a satisifying whiteness (don't confuse whiteness with brightness) will leave a potential customer breathless and salivating. Have him write with the same pen on a cheap note pad and he will start questioning if this pen really is any better than a bic.

 

[nava1uni]

I agree with Chasper. There is nothing better then writing with a nice pen on quality paper. It makes writing a satisfying experience. I like paper that has some tooth and a little more body then most commercially available paper. I buy my writing paper at a store called Paper Source for that very reason. When I do fairs I have nice stacks of writing paper for people to use to try out pens.

 

[Monty]

I've been pondering this same question. My thought is if you have a fine writing paper for them to try the pen on, then when they take it to the office or where ever and write on regular run-of-the-mill paper, wouldn't they begin to wonder what's wrong with the pen?

 

[Chasper]

I've been pondering this same question. My thought is if you have a fine writing paper for them to try the pen on, then when they take it to the office or where ever and write on regular run-of-the-mill paper, wouldn't they begin to wonder what's wrong with the pen?

If you drive your new luxury car through a pothole do you start wondering what is wrong with the car or wrong with the road? Personally I tell them that the writing is not going to be as satisifying on standard office paper. I'm just now realizing that selling some luxury paper to go along with the pen might be an upselling opportunity.

 

[GaryMadore]

100% rag paper, brightness in the upper 90s, just toothy enough to make the ink flow perfectly and a satisifying whiteness (don't confuse whiteness with brightness) will leave a potential customer breathless and salivating.

You know, you could be writing those soft-porn novels popular with some women

Cheers!

Gary

 

[ed4copies]

Well, I ain't no expert on fountain pens. But, I do know a thing or two about paper. So, let's examine a few terms: "Cotton" paper will have a "rag content" from 25% up. In MOST cases, it will also have a broad "tooth". "Tooth" is the size of the weave of the sheet, if you look at "fine cotton" paper, you will usually be able to see "ups and downs" or peaks and valleys. Seems to me this is the MOST important consideration as you look for paper. A fountain pen ink will not leave a nice crisp line on "toothy" paper - I don't believe. You are looking for a smooth writing surface, that would be more typical of "ink-jet" sheets. In fact, the ink-jet paper is also designed to accommodate "drying" - or minimize smearing in the fountain pen arena.

So, be careful what you call "Quality" paper. Talk with Anthony or Lou and see what characteristics THEY consider important. Not to "Knock" Chasper, his idea is correct, I suspect HE knows what he means. But, as I read it, I find it could easily lead you to the wrong "paper counter".

No offense meant, Gerry.
FWIW

 

[scotian12]

Ed...when buying ink jet paper the manufacturer refers to "brightness and weight" of a paper on their packaging. Do you recommend a certain manufacturer paper and what brightness and weight factors would you recommend? Thanks Darrell

 

[Chasper]

Well, I ain't no expert on fountain pens. But, I do know a thing or two about paper. So, let's examine a few terms: "Cotton" paper will have a "rag content" from 25% up. In MOST cases, it will also have a broad "tooth". "Tooth" is the size of the weave of the sheet, if you look at "fine cotton" paper, you will usually be able to see "ups and downs" or peaks and valleys. Seems to me this is the MOST important consideration as you look for paper. A fountain pen ink will not leave a nice crisp line on "toothy" paper - I don't believe. You are looking for a smooth writing surface, that would be more typical of "ink-jet" sheets. In fact, the ink-jet paper is also designed to accommodate "drying" - or minimize smearing in the fountain pen arena.

So, be careful what you call "Quality" paper. Talk with Anthony or Lou and see what characteristics THEY consider important. Not to "Knock" Chasper, his idea is correct, I suspect HE knows what he means. But, as I read it, I find it could easily lead you to the wrong "paper counter".

No offense meant, Gerry.
FWIW

Good clarification Ed, and no offense taken. Among the highest quality 100% rag content papers there are many possible surface finishes, and three of the most common are wove, smooth and laid. A laid finish consists of tightly spaced lines, and I beleive these might be the "broad" tooth that you refer to. I suspect they might be less than ideal for writing. A wove finish still has a bit of tooth in an invisible patter, while smooth has even less tooth, but would not normally be referred to as "slick." My preference is a wove finish, but then I've never done much writing with a truely high quality fountain pen. It is entirely possible that a smooth finish would perform better for some writing styles and some grades of nib quality.

Ed, do you every feel any personality conflicts with yourself in selling fine pens for hand writing, and mass quantities of paper and machinery for mechanical copying? You could say you are in the business of helping people put images and words on paper; pens and copy machines are just your means of diversification.

 

[DCBluesman]

Straying back to the original question, cotton paper is not necessarily good or bad for writing with a fountain pen. Cotton content provides for greater longevity of the paper and, because cotton does not contain lignin, it does not yellow with age. A rule of thumb states that for each percentage point of cotton fiber, a user may expect one year of resisting deterioration from normal use.

More important than the material, in my opinion, is the finish of the paper... the treatment of the surface of the paper. For my important writing, i.e. letters, journals, etc., I prefer vellum. This finish has an absolutely terrific tooth to it. (The tooth of a paper is simply the roughness of a paper.) This finish ranges from very noticeable to very subtle. To an untrained eye you may think that you are looking at a smooth finish paper. However, if you hold the paper at an angle away from you under light you will see that there is a bit of a roughness to the paper. It is that roughness or "tooth" that makes the difference between a smooth finish and a vellum finish.

The best way to discover the tooth of a paper is to try it out. Take a piece of smooth finish paper and then a piece of vellum finish paper and then matte finish paper. Try writing with a fountain pen on all of them and see the difference. They all seem to be really smooth papers but boy does the tooth make a difference!

FYI, my favorite everyday papers are Rhodia and Clairefontaine. There are many other wonderful papers, but these provide consistently high quality writings at an affordable price.

 

[nava1uni]

Lou,
It is Rhodia and Clairfontaine tablets that I use for my personal use. Rhodia makes a great grid tablet that fits in the pocket and works well with any pen. I find if the paper is too smooth the ink can smear before it is dry. I use a Namiki click fountain pen for everyday use and it works great on these tablets. It has a very nice nib and because of it being a click pen the ink flows easily because the tip does not dry out due to the rubber piece that closes off the nib when the it is retracted.