D I Y Homemade " Rhodia Quality" Dot Grid Paper

[Betweenthelines]

Howdy folks,

 

Well, I have been meaning to make some of my own "Rhodia quality" dot grid paper at home, using HP 32lb paper and resources for dot grid templates that folks have provided here. I finally had time to bring in my ream of paper into the office and have some fun after work today, and here are the results. This was my first attempt, and could probably be tweaked further for better results ~ would love to hear how others do theirs.

 

Ingredients:

 

- 1 Ream HP 32lb Paper

- Dot Grid Template: http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/squaredots/

 

Set to:

• 11X17 inches (Yes, I printed on 8.5X11, but using the larger setting removes the site's watermark and reduces the margin)
• Minimum Border: 0
• Dot Weight: 1.4 (I tested multiple dot weights and compared them to Rhodia - 1.4 is the closest and best looking, IMO)
• Grid Spacing: 5
• Grid Color: Light Blue (turned out beautifully)

Printing:

 

I was too lazy to edit the PDF so that it was two pages so I could print double sided, so I ended up doing like you would do with a printer at home - print 50 -> 100 pages on one side, flip em over, and print again.

 

The Results:

 

Here I will compare my printed HP 32lb paper to a Rhodia No. 19 Dotpad 5X5 - 8.3X12.5 - 80g - 21.3lb

 

 

First Impressions

 

Having finally tweaked the settings of the template just right, I gotta say, feeling like you're printing Rhodia is a very nice feeling. The paper is thick and, with the simple addition of the dots, is suddenly transformed from boring printer paper to luxurious writing paper.

But how does it compare to the "real deal"?

 

http://i.imgur.com/m4K74Pi.jpg

(Rhodia on left, HP 32lb on right)

 

As you can see, there are marked obvious differences from the get go. These are:

• The Rhodia is more of an ivory, whereas the HP is bleach white
• The No.19 sheets are obviously bigger than 8.5X11 (8.3X12.5)
• If you look closely, the template still leaves a slight margin around the edges, whereas the Rhodia runs the dots to the edges. It is less than that of the 8.5X11 setting, and there's no watermark at the bottom, but it's there. If this bothers you, you can surely get OCD with photoshop and get it just right.
• The Rhodia paper is much lighter/thinner paper than the heavy HP 32lb
• The Rhodia No.19 has grey dots, I chose light blue for mine - much better in my opinion. In fact I like the blue dots far better than the purple Rhodia dots as well.

 

http://i.imgur.com/t7THfjZ.jpg

(Rhodia on left, HP on right)

 

Here is a close up of the papers and dots. While the ivory of the Rhodia is nice, I certainly prefer the blue dots over the grey.

 

 

Performance

 

 

OK, appearances aside, what really matters is how the paper does when your pen hits the paper.

 

For comparing performance, I used one of my wettest writers to put it to the test - a Pilot Metal Falcon SF with Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo. I have been using HP 32lb paper for "normal" (non-flex) writing for months now, using it for progress notes at work, and it has performed splendidly with all varieties of pens and inks. So for this, I only wanted to test the wettest of the wet to exhibit the paper differences and push them to the max.

 

Something to note: When it comes to performance, the biggest difference has to do with the composition of the HP paper. It seems that the HP paper has a "primary" (front) side and "secondary" (back) side - one side that has a "finish" and one that does not. I have noticed this before, but never tested the differences in detail.

 

Front of HP Paper vs. Rhodia

 

http://i.imgur.com/VenhoKl.jpg

(Rhodia on top, HP on bottom)

 

Not bad, right? Ok, so the Rhodia performs just slightly better, but for what you're paying for a ream of HP, it's pretty impressive when it comes to throwing loads of ink at it.

 

Back of HP paper vs. Rhodia

 

http://i.imgur.com/HuPqmwK.jpg

(Rhodia on top, HP on bottom)

 

Uh oh... not so good. This is what I mean when it appears that the HP paper has one side that has a finish that the other does not. As you can see, feathering from the flex writing.

 

Important to remember... this is again using my wettest writer, and a flexible nib at that. With "normal" writing, or even not overly wet flex writing, you will not have a problem with the back of the HP paper at all.

 

 

The Feel

 

As I have said, I have been using HP 32lb paper for months to write progress notes with fountain pens, and it performs just as well as Rhodia with all but the very wettest flex writers. However, I must admit that it doesn't feel as nice to write on as Rhodia. The HP paper is a bit more slippery, is thicker, and while utterly smooth, the glide isn't as satisfying as Rhodia. The Rhodia has just the right balance of smoothness vs. feedback, and the lighter/thinner paper is more pleasant.

 

Considering the cost of a ream of HP 32lb vs. Rhodia, though, these are really nitpicks. At the end of the day, HP 32lb paper remains one of the best easily accessible papers for fountain pens.

 

 

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/QMCJ3Ag.jpg

 

 

OK, so it ain't quite Rhodia paper. If I had to pick between the two, Rhodia wins easily. However, Rhodia is expensive, and I feel like I have to treat my dotpads like gold, making sure not to waste a single scrap. However, with 100, 200, 500 pages of HP dot paper you can scribble and flex and swab to your heart's delight, and not worry about it! We'll call it the "poor man's Rhodia".

 

I did try using a paper cutter (the big handle ones) to cut the pages in half and create some stationary, but I gotta say, lining the paper up perfectly to cut them right is a lot more difficult than you'd think. I went through a frustrating process of wasting a lot paper with bad cuts, and ended up with a small stack of paper that's slightly off. Oh well.

 

 

That's all, folks!

 

 

Edited July 10, 2014 by Betweenthelines

[Lyander0012]

Hmm, looks pretty good! I'm just surprised that the HP DIY looks more like Rhodia paper to my eyes than the actual Rhodia paper does. The lighting could be part of the reason, but I thought you'd gotten the two mixed up at first


Thanks for sharing!

Kevin

[Betweenthelines]

Hmm, looks pretty good! I'm just surprised that the HP DIY looks more like Rhodia paper to my eyes than the actual Rhodia paper does. The lighting could be part of the reason, but I thought you'd gotten the two mixed up at first

 

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Kevin

 

You're probably used to the smaller pads, which have purple dots.

[TMac]

Thanks for this post. I recently purchased a ream of the HP 32lb paper but have not yet printed anything on it. I was thinking either a grid format or dots. I really like how your's turned out. Do you bind your paper in anyway? I would love to use this for work notebook pages but would need to bind them - an entirely new challenge. I don't like rings and even the ARC discs are bothersome.

[oldmatekev]

Not a bad idea.

 

I find 5mm grids to be almost exactly the wrong size for my writing. To small for using one line, to big for two.

If it works to stretch the grid to 7mm that would be great

[mhguda]

Thanks for this, especially the size setting. I will play a little more with this...

Here is a tip in return: when I had a ream of too large paper, I took it to the local Xerox document center and they cut it for next to nothing... if you only want like a relatively small stack cut in half, it's definitely worth it. Even though I have my own paper guillotine, which you can never get to cut stacks of more than 10 sheets quite right...

[Lyander0012]

Good call, OP. I busted out my No. 18 pad and just noticed that they were grey dotted XD

 

My apologies, haha.

[Ted A]

I've been using this combination for a year or so to make journals. I differ a little:

Minimum border = .25

Dot Weight = 1.25

Grid Spacing = 1.3 per cm

 

I have a Canon ink jet printer and the 0.25 border causes the watermark to not show up.

 

I fold the sheets and bind them into 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 books.

[Betweenthelines]

Thanks for this post. I recently purchased a ream of the HP 32lb paper but have not yet printed anything on it. I was thinking either a grid format or dots. I really like how your's turned out. Do you bind your paper in anyway? I would love to use this for work notebook pages but would need to bind them - an entirely new challenge. I don't like rings and even the ARC discs are bothersome.

 

Yeah, I was thinking about that. Top staplebound would be nice, but then they wouldn't be perforated. Overall, I don't think I'll end up binding them. I like to be able to remove the sheets and have no idea how one would create perforation at home.

 

Not a bad idea.

 

I find 5mm grids to be almost exactly the wrong size for my writing. To small for using one line, to big for two.

If it works to stretch the grid to 7mm that would be great

 

Cool.. yeah the beauty of this is how customizable it is.

 

Thanks for this, especially the size setting. I will play a little more with this...

Here is a tip in return: when I had a ream of too large paper, I took it to the local Xerox document center and they cut it for next to nothing... if you only want like a relatively small stack cut in half, it's definitely worth it. Even though I have my own paper guillotine, which you can never get to cut stacks of more than 10 sheets quite right...

 

That is a great tip.. I might just do that.

 

 

I've been using this combination for a year or so to make journals. I differ a little:

Minimum border = .25

Dot Weight = 1.25

Grid Spacing = 1.3 per cm

 

I have a Canon ink jet printer and the 0.25 border causes the watermark to not show up.

 

I fold the sheets and bind them into 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 books.

 

 

Would love to see your binding process/end result!

[saskia_madding]

I actually do exactly this with Tomoe River paper. It's awesome.

[Ted A]

I actually do exactly this with Tomoe River paper. It's awesome.

 

do you print lines, dots or a grid on the Tomoe River paper? I've worried that the paper is too thin to survive the printing process. I keep having visions of trying to run it through a laser printer and having it come out in flames.

[Ted A]

I follow the Homemade Notebook (Hand-Stitched, A5-size) links in the pinned DIY thread of this section.

[Notebookish]

The trick you did with the size setting is awesome. I used to have to save my pdf as a jpeg, erase the watermark, then turn it back into pdf. This reduced the quality of the image. Your trick is much better.

[Ted A]

The trick you did with the size setting is awesome. I used to have to save my pdf as a jpeg, erase the watermark, then turn it back into pdf. This reduced the quality of the image. Your trick is much better.

 

I always have visions of ink squirting around the inside of my printer trying to find the outside edges of the larger paper.

[inkstainedruth]

Hmm. I don't know what sort of scanner software and printer you have, but I can set the margins to be zero in size all the way around. That may or may not get rid of the watermark, but should get rid of the margins.

Thanks for the instructions, though -- I may try doing something similar.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Betweenthelines]

 

I always have visions of ink squirting around the inside of my printer trying to find the outside edges of the larger paper.

 

Heh, I don't think it works that way.

 

 

 

Hmm. I don't know what sort of scanner software and printer you have, but I can set the margins to be zero in size all the way around. That may or may not get rid of the watermark, but should get rid of the margins.

Thanks for the instructions, though -- I may try doing something similar.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

I was using an industrial size office printer, and 0 at the correct paper size still had margins and a watermark. Not sure why... and didn't spend enough time experimenting to find out.

I think the way to really perfect it would be to take a larger version of the template and edit it down in photoshop until it's just right.

[mhguda]

The printers I've used all add their own margin, even if I specify 0 as the margin. Hardwired, from what I understand. But if you specify a paper size larger than what is actually in there, the watermark at least does not get printed - you just get the margin that the printer cannot avoid. So for me, this worked perfectly.

[wallylynn]

This is one great process and review.

 

I don't go so far to bind fully covered journals, just refills. I find my modified french rule is perfect for penmanship practice.

At work, I just print 5mm dot-grid. I don't care about the watermark, and decided I actually want to keep it so I never forget where the PDF came from.

[LKVS]

I know this is a very old thread, but I'm just stopping by to say that it was a very useful tip, and the site still works well. I offer two tips.

 

• You can easily remove the watermark using any vector illustrator like Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator.
• If you're not sure what's the best points-per-inch for you, write your normal writing on blank paper, then print out a test and overlay it over (or just measure an inch). For me, I found that I prefer 3.5 points per inch.

[Kolagnostos]

 

do you print lines, dots or a grid on the Tomoe River paper? I've worried that the paper is too thin to survive the printing process. I keep having visions of trying to run it through a laser printer and having it come out in flames.

@LKVS I agree, great thread. I think many of us appreciate dot grids so much we want to apply it to our own uses.

 

I don’t journal but I’ve definitely wanted the dot grid for my letters. I’ve been designing my own stationery for some time. (We sure did take for granted back in the day when there was a stationery store in every town.)

 

I have desktop design software and the impatient part of me simply designed my dot grid according to how it felt to me, no specific spec (hangs head in shame ) You all obviously have a much better way to do it.

 

@Ted A, I have an HP Envy printer. I print on my white and cream Tomoe River A4 papers just fine. Even both sides. Dot grid with a ghosted illustration even. (Although I know some folks don’t write on both sides of Tomoe.)

 

I enjoy designing and providing the PDF downloads for free, because it’s about helping keep tangible written correspondence alive in the world. Two I’ve recently added, A4 size: One and Two