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Hi, I am seeking a definitive answer to what I thought was a simple question. I would like to know what the distance is between the ruled lines on the pages of an A5-sized Rhodia Webnotebook with lined paper. I am confused, because the Goulets in the US say one thing in answer to this question, but The Writing Desk here in the UK say another... The Goulets say that it is 7mm. The Writing Desk say that it is 6mm. FWIW, the line separation on the two Rhodia *pads* that I have is 7mm, but then those are not Webnotebooks, so looking at the paper in them can not be said to answer my question either. Now, I would be surprised if Rhodia were making one paper for US consumption and another for European/UK consumption, but then I was surprised to find out last year that LAMY would sell bottled Dark Lilac ink in the US but not in Europe, so what do I know? Anyway, in order that I may find out which retailer's information is correct (for 'Webbies' sold in the UK), I would now be very grateful if any of you out there in FPN-land who have a UK-bought A5 'Webbie' with lined paper, would measure across ten lines in it, and then tell me whether that distance is 70mm, or whether it is 60mm. My thanks to you in advance for your answers Cheers, M.

So I thought I'd compare my newly purchased (for GBP 12) Ciak Paperchase and the Rhodia Webbie we all already know and love. Firstly is the Ciak Paperchase. I believe this is the new Ciak paper which is now dubbed environmental friendly as it is acid free (personally never read much into the whole environmental issues behind acid containing paper). I was initially hesitant to get it as I had at a time held a sample of the old Ciak paper, which we would recall was slightly toothy, fibrous, but oddly had a strange charm and texture to it. I never did manage to find another copy of the old Ciaks, as much as I tried with emails to various online Ciak sellers. So describing this paper, it not as smooth to touch as the Webbie's Clairefontaine. When I say that, the paper isn't rough like a tortoise's shell, it's just more, textured, but not to the point of say, a G Lalo Verde 100gsm paper with the embossed lines in them to guide writing. Your pen will not glide as smoothly on this paper as on the Webbie. You will not have that 'I'm writing on silk.'' sensation. (Ignore the logic for a second and just concentrate on silk being smooth...) But it will not stop, get tangled in fibres, or spew blobs of precious ink. But yes it is bettter than your average paper you find at work. Strangely, I used to hold Webbies as my gold standard, but I've found that this paper actually holds slightly better against broad pens with broad nibs. As you can see, there is a little more bleedthrough on the Webbies, evident by the tiny dark splotches ,whereas the ink patterns are relatively consistent throughout the Ciak's. The shading amount is the same. Not very well represented on this, but take my word for it. I think it's a good alternative for people who; 1) Have been using Webbies, love them, but just want to try something new. I'm one of them. I'd actually love a journal made completely out of G Lalo Verde pages.. 2) Dislike the sheen on the paper of webbies 3) Dislike the slower drying time of webbies 4) Don't need the extra pouch at the back to keep pieces of paper. 5) Like a horizontal strap. It is fountain pen friendly, which for me, means it is able to tolerate broad nibbed pens with highly saturated inks. I've no qualms recommending this as a reliable alternative to the Webbie.

I purchased the large-size Webbie back in March. I’ve been hesitating to do a review because I just wasn’t sure what my final verdict was going to be, but now I think I know. In case you’ve been living under a rock or something, here’s a brief overview of the Webbie: Made by RhodiaContains 90g creamy Clairefontaine paperSewn binding, all encased in a soft-to-the-touch leatherette coverIncludes a ribbon bookmark and elastic closureAvailable in lined, dot-grid, and blankThis size sells for $22+ online, depending on retailer (I bought mine for $25 from Goulet Pens)That’s the infamous Webbie. Some people love them, some people hate them. I am going to do a bit different format today and list the things I like about this notebook, the things I don’t like but aren’t severe enough to keep me from using it, and the thing I didn’t like that ultimately delivered the death blow. Things I like: The hard cover is very sturdy and I enjoy the texture of it. Soft and supple to the touch but without seeming delicate - it’s a good balance of style and stability. The material also doesn’t seem to be prone to picking up an inappropriate amount of dirt, even when used as a daily carry. The paper is but-tah smooth. I started to say that it’s the smoothest paper I have ever used, but in reality it’s on the same level as the Tomoe River Paper in my Seven Seas journal and the Staples inkjet paper I write reviews on is of similar quality. There are different ruling styles available. Not all retailers seem to have all rulings, but they are out there and it nice to have choices. The only experience I have is with blank pages, but it’s nice to even have that option since a lot of notebooks seem to only be offered in lined and maybe grid.That might seem like a short list, but overall I have to say that the experience of using and writing in a Rhodia Webnotebook is very pleasant. The paper is some of the best you can buy and the build quality is excellent. If you are looking for a really nice notebook, I don’t think you can go wrong with trying out a Webbie. However, there are some things that I don’t like at all about the Webbie. Things I don’t like (minor): The notebook is only available in black and orange. While I do appreciate having choices, I only dislike the color orange slightly less than I dislike the color black, so there’s that. This is obviously a personal thing, so take it with a grain of salt. The Rhodia logo on the front cover is anything but discrete, at least on the orange version. I can see how it would be easier to miss on the black one, but the imprint is so deep that the shadows created on the orange cover means you will always be able to see the logo, unless of course it’s so dark that you probably won’t be doing much writing anyway. The paper, while fantastically smooth and able to handle most inks, is not perfect. I did have a few inks that started to bleed through the pages, which is something of a deal breaker for me. Granted, these were not the inks I used regularly, but I think I’ve been spoiled by Tomoe River Paper where nothing bleeds through the pages. I don’t mind a fair bit of ghosting, but bleeding is unacceptable. The elastic band is so tight that it leaves little indentations in the soft material of the cover. The flip side of that being that the elastic band starts off nice and tight, so the notebook is held closed very securely.All of those things are minor quibbles, and for the most part personal annoyances more than anything else. Not everyone has the same standards that I do, so these things might not bother you at all or they might be the ultimate deal breakers for you. For me, there was a single quality that has caused me to stop using the Webbie as my EDC: The paper is cream. It’s listed online as “ivory” but it’s darker than the color I consider ivory. It’s noticeably yellowed, and this will dramatically affect the appearance of your inks on the the page.Which is not a big deal unless you are using this as an ink journal. But, for me the color is too much. I absolutely love bright white paper. I like my writing to pop off the page. I’ve learned that I will probably not find a notebook with bright white paper that is also FP friendly, but the color of the paper in the Rhodia is too much for me. Thus, while the paper quality and build quality of the Rhodia Webnotebook is fantastic, it is ultimately not the notebook for me. I have recently shelved it and gone back to my Seven Seas journal, which is making me wonder why I ever left it. The issues that made me switch to the Webbie have turned out to not be something that I really took that much advantage of in the Webbie anyway, so I’m back to the wonderful Tomoe River Paper. Overall, I think the Webbie is a great notebook, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a classy looking notebook filled with FP friendly paper that will hold up to a daily beating. All of the objections above are personal criteria I have used in my quest for the one true notebook and are in no way meant to bash on Rhodia. Yes, the Webbie is pricy, but there are few other notebooks out there that boast such nice paper and a sewn binding with hardcover. The only thing I can say is try it out if you are curious, since the only person who can tell you if a notebook will work for you, is you. :-) This notebook was purchased with my own money and I am in no way affiliated with any companies mentioned above and am not being compensated for this review in any way. The opinions expressed are entirely my own and you are free to disagree with them if you like.

Hi, I'm using mostly Clairefontaine notebooks for basically everything I write - 90g/m2 , white, very smooth and beautiful for fountain pens. With the large majority of my pens and inks I get no bleedthrough or feathering on this paper. Because I wanted something with a hard cover, which Clairefontaine don't seem to have in A4 size, I've acquired a Rhodia "webbie", which states to be using Clairefontaine paper, 90g/m2, but ivory instead of white. Both papers feel exactly the same and I feel no difference while writing. However, with a MB 146 M inked with J Herbin Bleu Ocean, on the Rhodia I see some bleedthrough, albeit minor, while I don't have this on the white Clairefontaine notebooks. The pen is wet but by no means are we talking BB, BBB or a full flex nib that gushes ink. I would have expected the papers to behave similarly in every way. Has anyone seen this before? And on a similar note, has anyone seen Clairefontaine notebooks with hard covers? Many thanks for your thoughts.

I decided to buy an Oberon Design Journal cover, and I have to say that it looks awesome! much better than in the pictures. It looks a lot more sturdy than I was expecting too. Just wanted to put this out there.

Folks, I did a search and found a lot of information on the Rhodia Webnotebook, except the answer to the question that started my search: Why is it called a "Webnotebook?" What exactly does that mean? Thanks for any insights anyone cares to share. Ben

Which is the "lesser of two evils"? I have one Webbie (140mm x 210mm - 5.5in x 8.25in; blank) with which I've not been all that enthused for all the usual reasons reported by others here and there: bleed/show/feather etc. Basically, I was disappointed that it wasn't of the same quality as the white Rhodia pad paper - you can, in my experience, apparently throw anything at that kind - broader nibs, wetter inks yadda yadda yadda. From what I've gleaned of the Leuchtturm notebooks, they're not any better. However, what I'd like to know is, to what degree are they worse? Provided that you are someone that has used a Webbie, and have experienced bleed/show/feathering (due to whatever factors: nib size/nib wetness/ink type/weather) and have used a Leuchtturm with much the same results, how bad are the aforementioned effects on the Leuchtturm compared with the Webbie? I ask because very soon I shall have need of some notebooks (3-4 of them, going on to 6-8 if/when I fill the first batch) that are of the typical Moleskine-esque black/elasticated/back pocket variety (hard or soft cover) and am wondering if it is worth it to get the Rhodia's which cost quite a bit more than the Leuchtturms. I could perhaps fiddle with my ink and nib combinations to find something that is "just right" with the Rhodia I have, but provided that I don't, would the Leuchtturms perform significantly worse? I can tolerate my current experience with the webbies, but I don't think I could if it were any worse. Thank you for your advice.