Levenger Paper And Fountain Pens

[Djehuty]

The last time I experimented with Levenger paper products was several years ago. At the time, the consensus here was that their papers varied -- sometimes they worked with fountain pens, sometimes they didn't The batch I got fell in the latter camp. I was just wondering whether they've improved. I'm pondering trying the Circa system again, and wondered whether I could buy ready-made, or would have to punch my own.

 

[Oranges and Apples]

They are not fountain pen friendly.

[Oranges and Apples]

"Why you'll experience such a satisfying write
Levenger inks resist fading as well as feathering. They are moist on your nib but dry readily on your paper (especially helpful for left-handed writers). They're lightfast and maintain a crisp line without spreading. The even saturation ensures no skipping."

 

http://levenger.com/Levenger-Bottled-Ink-Core-787.aspx

 

Their own inks do not even work with their paper.

 

If you do insist on using their paper then I would recommend an iron gall, carbon based, or a Noodler's Ink such as X-feather.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Oranges and Apples

[Mari1013]

I find the Arc by Staples system paper -- fully compatible with Circa -- quite satisfactory and less pricey. (I use mostly fine nibs with Sheaffer and J. Herbin inks and with Noodler's Black.) And I just acquired a sheaf of Rhodia Circa paper I'm looking forward to testing.

[Joe in Seattle]

The Levenger Stanley journal inserts of several years ago were coarse & porous. Today's are very nice to write in.

[owenj]

I have the Levenger Rhodia paper, annotated and ruled. Both work well with fountain pens. I had a batch of ruled paper about three years ago that bled and feathered like mad, but that wasn't the 90gsm Rhodia stuff.

[Djehuty]

Thanks -- I was afraid this might be the case. Looks like I would be constrained to their Rhodia paper or making my own. I was hoping they might finally have decided to make fountain pen friendly paper. I'm not sure I'm all that thrilled with their "annotation" ruling system, and the lines seem darker than I like anyway. I'd been hoping to try some of the dot-grid pages.

 

As for the Arc system, isn't there a problem with the little mushroom cutouts being too small for Circa? In any case, the Staples paper seems about the same in terms of printing -- it's either very dark Circa annotation-style pages, or very dark grid pages.

 

And, of course, Clairefontaine only makes its own and Rhodia papers in European sizes, and American sizes have to be just a tiny bit different, because apparently there's a paper-products cold war raging between the continents.

 

You'd think putting together a binder system would be easier....

[wikeh2004]

I used their paper and IIRC it was acceptable. The problem with Circa paper for me was the expense. I resorted to making my own refill pages using templates from diyplanner.com and decent quality paper. I used Georgia Pacific Advantage 22 lb inkjet paper I bought at Costco, and then some Hammermill 24 lb premium multipurpose paper. Both were FP friendly.

 

As long as you can get one of the Circa desk punches, you can use whatever paper you want. Right now, they're having a sale on Circa products and the standard metal desktop punch is only $39. Well worth it. I'd buy one except I already have one. :-)

[Djehuty]

I was just on my way here to say something about the Circa sale, in fact. I have a desk punch from a while back, from the last time I attempted Circa-izing, but I didn't have any acceptable paper (laser printing on HP paper didn't work for me), or any large enough rings. The sale has the rings half off, so they cost what I'm willing to pay for them, and the Rhodia paper is now the same price as Staples Arc paper.

 

Now if only they'd put their faux leather Circa folios on sale for about 75% off, I might get one of those.

[amastronardi]

I got the sampling kit weeks ago, and the Levenger paper performs very well with my fountain pen using my Pelikan M805 F with Noodler's black ink (a wet pen with a lubricated ink). To be fair, it performs much better than I expected, however the paper is not butter smooth like Rodhia.

 

Haven't tried the Rodhia paper made for the Circa system yet.

 

Regards,

AM

Edited March 13, 2015 by amastronardi

[cleosmama]

The Rhodia paper (Circa version) works better than their regular paper. It's Rhodia paper--the same as the regular Rhodia paper.

[Bill]

I tried a lot of their products (I used to live a mile from their Tyson store) and I came to like the white Freeleaf pads in junior size. I used the yellow letter size for a long time but the paper used for the color packs changed for the worse a couple of years ago. I was given a couple of sample/starter packs of the Circa paper and was not impressed.

 

I do like some of their non-paper products. I like the bomber jacket pen wrap for three M800s (leaving two slots empty) along with the wallet and a portfolio. My favorite Levenger product is the Empyrean ink, a rich, well-behaved blue that I have used as my main business blue for several years.

[Buzz_130]

I have a pretty good stack of Levenger Freeleaf paper, and I'm very pleased with the performance with fountain pens. It's 100gsm paper, has a nice level of feedback for even my smoothest pen, has no feathering with any ink or nib, and I can easily write on both sides without ghosting problems at all. I've found it to be very good paper thus far.

 

Buzz

[Djehuty]

I ordered some of the Rhodia Circa paper, and it's grand stuff, of course. Also some rings while they were on sale. Now if only they'd put their only useful non-leather folio on sale....

[Gloucesterman]

Personally I like the Staples' ARC paper with a medium, fine or extra fine nib. It has worked well for me (so far) and it's a lot less expensive (especially with a 20-40% discount coupon that is often available.

[CraigR]

I have been a Levenger customer for many years and have tried/used many of their papers from time to time. It seems that the quality as far as fountain pen friendliness varies with each order. This may be due to their changing sources, but it does make it difficult to count on. I also have noticed a change in their 3x5 cards. They used to be very good with fountain pen ink. Recently, they are not as friendly.

 

My planners and a journal are DIY with Circa disks, punch and quality HP 24# or 28# paper.

[KlytusLord]

I am a big fan of their Circa system, but I do tend to use rollerball pens on it more often than not. I have found that extra-fine and fine nibs do ok on the paper, but anything broader than that tends to bleed through and/or feather.

[cleosmama]

I like their Bookography idea, but the paper really stinks for fountain pens. I'm going back to the wirebound notebooks I used to buy from Barnes and Noble to make reading notes.

[EricaTX]

I'm a fan of the Freeleaf dot grid paper that they have in their clearance section. It's the paper that I scribble/doodle/test pens and ink, as well as for note-taking at work. I have probably 10 pads in various places.

Edited March 22, 2015 by EricaTX