Fp Filler Paper (Colloquially Looseleaf Paper)

August 11, 2011

Except for drawing, I always have used the cheapest writing paper with all of my fountain pens. (from 1963 to now).

August 15, 2011

Adding another +1 for Mead, with the following caveat, take a careful look at the weight of the paper. Some of the Mead notebooks I have, in particular, the 3-subject spirals, have much lighter paper than others. FPs still write very well, but if you need to use the back-side, show-through might be a problem.

Personally, I'm currently using Tops white legal pads, the paper's a 20lb weight, lined, 3-hole-punched, and perforated at the top for easy removal. Price-wise, it runs about $5 a pad, for 70 sheets. Still a little pricey, but its readily available at office supply stores. (think: no shipping costs)

August 16, 2011

here here
A popular recommendation here is for HP's Laserjet 32lbs paper. You can buy a ream (500 sheets) for about $16. Do a search on articles in this forum and you should be able to get the exact SKU code for the product.
Hmm, are there other options? I'd rather not use printer paper.

This is not just ordinary printer paper, this is paper that works really well with fountain pens and is much cheaper than most of the fancier papers(read expensive for your purposes)you hear about on here (such as Rhodia, Clairfontaine and others), and it's pretty easy to find in office supply stores. (in the US)

But is it pre-punched with three holes and lined, as notebook filler paper usually is? I believe that's what Scintillation is seeking.

Ah, that's true - it's not punched (easy to do if you have a punch) but it's also not lined. Didn't realize those features were required, sorry. Good luck on your search.

Go here to download your own lined-paper templates in PDFs free of charge. You can even download a notebook-paper template with the left-margin line. Then use your ordinary inkjet printer to print. Yes, you'll have to three-hole punch the paper yourself. It's extra work, but well worth it. I also recommend HP 24lb. LaserJet paper, which costs less than the 32lb, and which I prefer anyway. And if there's an Office Depot nearby you should buy a box (5 reams) of Double A 22lb paper for under $20, less than a penny a sheet for FP-friendly paper. They're a closeout item, so get there quickly. I was skeptical, but now I'm a big fan.

+1 on the lined notebook templates, they work great, and make any number of different papers that much more useable in any situation.

February 13, 2012

I'm looking for the same thing. 8.5x11, college ruled, 3-hole punched, fountain-pen-friendly filler paper.

Until yesterday I was using Mead's Five Star College Ruled Reinforced Filler Paper. It was "Heavyweight" (they don't quote an actual weight but it's significantly thicker than the regular stuff). It was perfect. No bleed through. Minimally visible from the other side. Unfortunately, the latest batch (they've changed the reinforcement strip from red to silver/blue) is completely different. It's now like writing on blotting paper. The feathering is so bad my pen writes twice as thick, like a paintbrush. Bleed through is awful. The other side is completely unusable. It even bleeds though onto the page underneath! They've moved the holes too, which are now a hair over 9mm from the edge of the paper, so that the paper no longer works in a 1/2 inch binder (you can't turn the pages).

I bought a package of Staples own-brand "Filler Paper" (in the purple package) today, following a recommendation on another thread on this forum. There's no feathering, and only a little bleed through here and there, but the writing on one side shows through to the other side more than I'd like. This paper, and the old Mead reinforced paper, use a 6mm offset for the holes, so it works fine in 1/2" binders.

Staples' own brand reinforced filler paper, suggested above, is thicker, and might improve the bleed through and show through enough, but the distance of the holes from the edge of the paper is larger again, at between 7mm and 9mm (it varies even between holes on the same sheet). Given that the new Mead paper didn't work in my 1/2" binders I'm not inclined to waste my money on this (or the paper if I take Staples up on their guarantee).

Printing my own lines and punching my own holes is too much hassle for me. In my case I use perhaps 1000 sheets a year, so price is not so important.

Please keep the suggestions coming!

Edited February 13, 2012 by robfpn

February 20, 2012

Following on from my last post...

The next paper I (half) tried was Ampad Envirotec 100% Recycled Filler Paper, 20lb weight, available from Staples.com. This was a failure for me because the holes are offset 9mm from the edge of the paper, which won't work in my 1/2" binders. So I took it back unopened and can't say how it might have performed with fountain pens.

And there I gave up. So I'm now printing incompetech.com templates onto HP 24lb Laserjet paper as suggested above. It works very well. No feathering and virtually no show-through. $11.49 for 500 sheets, off the shelf at my local Staples. Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I experimented with 3-hole punches in my local Staples. I found that Staples' own-brand punches put the holes 9mm from the edge of the paper, but that the Swingline LightTouch punches I tried put the holes 6mm from the edge of the paper. I went with the Swingline EasyView LightTouch for $19.99 which happily punches through 10 sheets of that 24-lb HP laser paper at a time (maybe it can do 12, I haven't tried it).