Strathmore Parchment 200 Series

[fiberdrunk]

I don't think I've met a Strathmore paper I didn't like. They always seem to perform well with pen and ink. This parchment paper is very smooth and takes the ink nice and crisply. It's much heavier than Strathmore Calligraphy (with a weight of 60 lbs. or 89 g/m2). It's probably best-suited for lettering certificates, but I like to use it for letters occasionally. There is no feathering or bleedthrough with any of the inks I've tested it with. It's not very often that you find that mottled parchment look in colored sheets like olive green and pink! The natural color really does look a lot like real animal skin parchment or vellum.

 

This paper is available in-store at A. C. Moore and Hobby Lobby. It retails for around $5.99 for a pad of 50 sheets (sign up for these stores' newsletters and you'll get a 40% off coupon every week).

 

Strathmore Product Link

 

Related product: Strathmore Parchment 400 Series Product Link

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8464/8086295653_2884047d97_b.jpg

 

The paper colors (these are my own color names. Strathmore has not listed their names. The pink looks more beige in the photo, but in reality, it is more of a pale pink):

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8471/8086436977_9b29fe9c6e_b.jpg

 

Ink samples on the white parchment:

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8086695338_4de1f993dd_b.jpg

 

The homemade cooked-down black walnut ink sample a third from the bottom of the page was rather blobby-- I blame the poor performance on the ink rather than the paper. The bottle is a couple of years old now and I think I need to add a little water to it. Also, the last four Noodler's Russian series inks at the bottom of the page were from pens I had just flushed today, so they were a little watery and not as saturated as they usually are.

 

The Noodler's inks were written with Platinum Preppies, the iron gall inks with Parker Vectors, the Rotring ArtistColor with a Rotring ArtPen, the homemade inks with a J. Herbin glass pen, and the Platinum Carbon with a Platinum Carbon pen.

Edited October 14, 2012 by fiberdrunk

[Gloucesterman]

I don't think I've met a Strathmore paper I didn't like. They always seem to perform well with pen and ink. This parchment paper is very smooth and takes the ink nice and crisply. It's much heavier than Strathmore Calligraphy (with a weight of 60 lbs. or 89 g/m2). It's probably best-suited for lettering certificates, but I like to use it for letters occasionally. There is no feathering or bleedthrough with any of the inks I've tested it with. It's not very often that you find that mottled parchment look in colored sheets like olive green and pink! The natural color really does look a lot like real animal skin parchment or vellum.

 

This paper is available in-store at A. C. Moore and Hobby Lobby. It retails for around $5.99 for a pad of 50 sheets (sign up for these stores' newsletters and you'll get a 40% off coupon every week).

 

Strathmore Product Link

 

Related product: Strathmore Parchment 400 Series Product Link

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8464/8086295653_2884047d97_b.jpg

 

The paper colors (these are my own color names. Strathmore has not listed their names. The pink looks more beige in the photo, but in reality, it is more of a pale pink):

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8471/8086436977_9b29fe9c6e_b.jpg

 

Ink samples on the white parchment:

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8086695338_4de1f993dd_b.jpg

 

The homemade cooked-down black walnut ink sample a third from the bottom of the page was rather blobby-- I blame the poor performance on the ink rather than the paper. The bottle is a couple of years old now and I think I need to add a little water to it. Also, the last four Noodler's Russian series inks at the bottom of the page were from pens I had just flushed today, so they were a little watery and not as saturated as they usually are.

 

The Noodler's inks were written with Platinum Preppies, the iron gall inks with Parker Vectors, the Rotring ArtistColor with a Rotring ArtPen, the homemade inks with a J. Herbin glass pen, and the Platinum Carbon with a Platinum Carbon pen.

 

In fact, you don't have to sign up for their newsletter to get the regular "weekly" discount. Simply go to the A.C. Moore site, put in the zip code for the store you want to go to. The response will give the store info AND a tab to get the view of the flyer-specials- and the coupon for the week.

 

Two additional "secrets" for saving more money.

First: A.C. Moore honors competitor's coupons, so check out Michael's & Hobby Lobby's weekly coupons and specially priced items. Print off the competitor's coupons if it's greater.

 

Second: Rather than print out their version (one big coupon on a page), do a screen shot, cut out just the coupon (be sure to include all the critical info) using the cut & paste feature and then paste it onto a sheet. In fact, you can reduce the size (make sure it's still legible) and paste 2 or 3 or 4 copies on the same page. Finally, print out the coupon in black & white and in draft quality! Do you really need a full color, high resolution large copy on one coupon per page?

 

OK, so I pinch pennies. I would rather spend those pennies on ink, pens, paper or collect it and give it to charity.

[fiberdrunk]

 

In fact, you don't have to sign up for their newsletter to get the regular "weekly" discount. Simply go to the A.C. Moore site, put in the zip code for the store you want to go to. The response will give the store info AND a tab to get the view of the flyer-specials- and the coupon for the week.

 

Two additional "secrets" for saving more money.

First: A.C. Moore honors competitor's coupons, so check out Michael's & Hobby Lobby's weekly coupons and specially priced items. Print off the competitor's coupons if it's greater.

 

Second: Rather than print out their version (one big coupon on a page), do a screen shot, cut out just the coupon (be sure to include all the critical info) using the cut & paste feature and then paste it onto a sheet. In fact, you can reduce the size (make sure it's still legible) and paste 2 or 3 or 4 copies on the same page. Finally, print out the coupon in black & white and in draft quality! Do you really need a full color, high resolution large copy on one coupon per page?

 

OK, so I pinch pennies. I would rather spend those pennies on ink, pens, paper or collect it and give it to charity.

 

 

Awesome tips!