What shoud I look for in quality paper?

What traits exemplify quality paper for writing with a fountain pen? Any recommendations for a specific brand, or type of paper? I primarily use notebooks, but I have no problem with loose sheet paper. Any suggestions, tips, or recommendations are welcome.

the paper should not be overly absorbed causing the ink to feather out from the line you write, preferably if you write on the back sides of pages the ink should not show through either by ghosting, or full out ink bleed to the backside of the page, and in some cases it should be smooth to write on. although G. Lalo makes some high quality letter paper with some texture to it, it is not the smoothest because of that texture but it is still top notch stuff.

Some of my favourite brands are Life, Midori MD, Apica Premium CD, G. Lalo, Clairfontaine, Rhodia. the first three you can find at nanimipaper.com, while the other two have lots of places online to look

That was a speedy response. Thanks, James.

I really wouldn't have guessed some of the qualities that you've mentioned, but all of them make sense. I know a couple of the brands listed can be ordered from Goulet Pens Co. I'll have to look into Nanami Paper sometime in the near future. Much appreciated!

anytime... Btw application will determin what attributes youbare after most, for letters the tactile feel of Lalo is a nice paper for someone to hold while reading, but for something like a notebook you may want to find paper that will assist in faster dry times... If you kmow what you plan on doing with what your after I may be ablebto narrow somw sheets down for you as there is no reason to send more on something that wont work well for that purpose

I'm thinking that my fountain pens will have three main uses. First and foremost, to take notes with and for hand written assignments at school. I will generally be wanting notebooks so that I can have everything together for each course, but I'm sure I'll have some assignments that I will have to write to be completed during class. So, both loose leaf and notebooks that have faster dry times would be ideal for this.

Secondly, I do a lot of recreational writing. I could really use any type of paper for this. I write essays, journal entries, songs, poetry, and the like. I usually write in notebooks for organization and ease of transport, but notebooks are not something that's necessary. They're just what I generally use.

Thirdly, I'd like to start working on my penmanship, again. Loose leaf paper would probably be best for this. I can't imagine that I'd want to have notebooks of my ABC's written hundreds of times over.

I'd imagine that it would be nice to start handwriting letters eventually, but for right now, paper that I use will serve a more utilitarian function. I'm still looking for paper to accommodate my fountain pens and make my writing experience more pleasurable, though.

Im actually at a friends place dog sitting tonight but do have some things I can mention, just a long post to do on a cellphone, Im sure others will chime in but ill hit you back when I get home tonight, or if its to late then tomorrow. But one thought for now... your pens can serve most any writing purpose you toss at them, but put some thought into the paper you use in certain cases so that your pens are best for the task at hand.

For the recreational writing I think that you will like the Composition Books!

Tom

I'm checking into the above as well. At work, I've used lined legal pads for 30 years ... a hard habit to break. I switched to Ampad Gold Fibre (16 lb. I think) and they work well.

I ordered a Leuchtturm notebook from Amazon and was excited to use it. My daughter (an aspiring singer / songwriter) lifted same, along with my Pilot Metropolitan. I read good things about this notebook, and it was about $18. Might be worth consideration as well, though I can't vouch for it personally (yet).

For penmanship practice, look at Clairefontaine French-ruled notebooks from Amazon, Goulet Pens, etc. They are great aid in consistently forming your characters and spacing as they feature both vertical and horizontal lines. I took this advice from a member here, and it helped me a lot!

Thank you for the suggestions. I believe I will need to start bringing in my own paper to work, the copier paper we use is rubbish.

syngent said:

Im actually at a friends place dog sitting tonight but do have some things I can mention, just a long post to do on a cellphone, Im sure others will chime in but ill hit you back when I get home tonight, or if its to late then tomorrow. But one thought for now... your pens can serve most any writing purpose you toss at them, but put some thought into the paper you use in certain cases so that your pens are best for the task at hand.

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I know I'll use the pens on "regular" paper as well, but for me, getting some nice paper for my pens is like getting a nice brush for a soap. Sure, a $5 VDH boar can whip up a nice lather, but it's more fun to use a nice silvertip, or something to that extent.

airmech said:

For the recreational writing I think that you will like the Composition Books!

Tom

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I'm looking forward to trying it out!

kansaskyle said:

For penmanship practice, look at Clairefontaine French-ruled notebooks from Amazon, Goulet Pens, etc. They are great aid in consistently forming your characters and spacing as they feature both vertical and horizontal lines. I took this advice from a member here, and it helped me a lot!

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Thanks for the suggestion. I'll have to check it out sometime.

Jaybeez said:

I'm checking into the above as well. At work, I've used lined legal pads for 30 years ... a hard habit to break. I switched to Ampad Gold Fibre (16 lb. I think) and they work well.

I ordered a Leuchtturm notebook from Amazon and was excited to use it. My daughter (an aspiring singer / songwriter) lifted same, along with my Pilot Metropolitan. I read good things about this notebook, and it was about $18. Might be worth consideration as well, though I can't vouch for it personally (yet).

Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll check out some reviews of it.