Kokuyo's Cheaper Alternative To Tomoe River

[Wendell]

For a few years, I didn't pay much attention to pendom, but I've just turned to it again and I see that Tomoe River paper has become all the rage. I'm not surprised that people like it, but I am surprised how it has come to be seen as a luxury item.

What we have here is 52 gsm paper that takes FP ink well. Well, Kokuyo also sells pads of 50 gsm paper that looks and feels the same and takes FP ink just as well. Here is a link to the catalog page for the Kokuyo Campus Report Pads (p. 704 top).

http://dl.kokuyo.co.jp/digicata/2015/stationery/index.html#page=692

You have a choice of A4 or B5 size, either blank or with 7, 6, or 5 mm lines. The list price for an A4 pad is 250 yen. You can also get the 50 gsm paper with dotted lines (p. 705 top), recycled (p. 706 top), perforated (p. 706 center), and with some specialized Japanese layouts.

The pads are sold at a budget price. They are meant to be used as scratch paper. So buy yourself a pad and scribble to your heart's content.

JetPens has the blank pads.

http://www.jetpens.com/Kokuyo-Campus-Report-Pad-A4-Plain-50-Sheets/pd/11294

The markup is much higher than usual for JetPens, I suppose due the expense of shipping something heavy like paper. But if you decide you like the stuff, you can reduce the expense considerably by ordering in bulk through some Japanese shop in your area. When I ordered through Kinokuniya in the USA, the final cost was about 50% over Japanese list price.

I have a couple pads of this stuff and it is my favorite paper to write on with gel or fountain pens. The surface is about as smooth as Apica, but the light weight of the paper causes a cushion effect in the pad that is wonderful. I rarely use the pads, though. The thin paper warps from hand moisture and is easily damaged around the edges, and it's very inconvenient for shuffling around loose sheets. So I normally stick with Apica paper.

 

[takkun]

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll check out the local Kinokuniya and report back!

[TheRealScubaSteve]

I'm intrigued, but at the price per page (at least on Jet Pens) Kokuyo paper is more expensive. T.R. can be sourced much cheaper than JP - can Kokuyo? I don't see an English version of the site you linked.

[bdez]

^{For the Australians on here, the A4 Bond 55gsm and Bank 45gsm paper at metropaper isnt a bad approximation of TR paper I have both and for day to day use the cheaper stuff is pretty good with all types of pens. Theyll ship small quantities as well.}

 

Try http://www.metropaper.com.au/Paper_Products.html

Edited March 6, 2015 by bdez

[Newjelan]

^{For the Australians on here, the A4 Bond 55gsm and Bank 45gsm paper at metropaper isnt a bad approximation of TR paper I have both and for day to day use the cheaper stuff is pretty good with all types of pens. Theyll ship small quantities as well.}

Try http://www.metropaper.com.au/Paper_Products.html

Thanks, for this. I use quite dark, saturated inks, do you know if it copes with them? I couldn't see prices on the site so I'm assuming you order via email/phone?