Good Fp Friendly Notebooks In Australia. But Where?

[duffydavid]

Hi everyone after looking through this forum and the broader internet for awhile I have found that notebooks seem to be very expensive and hard to get here. I have also seen that fountain pen users have a great deal of contempt for the quality of paper in Moleskin notebooks. So while my sourcing questions are directed at Australians I would love advice on what as well.

 

Here is my current setup. I have 2 large moleskins in the post and an alright quality random A5 notebook however I would like to upgrade to something better. I would love to know what is better. Going for a midori or similar product that is as far as I know a nice leather cover with a refill interior that can then be archived when filled or buying individual notebooks like Moleskins and such. My other 2 questions are is the Massdrop deal on Rhodia webnotes as good as it looks and does anyone know of good paper retailers here that sell high quality spiral bound more school oriented notebooks or a decent web retailer.

Thankyou for your suggestions everyone this seems like a really good community.

[inkypete]

G'day. The best local source for online delivery is notemaker.com.au but some Officeworks also carry a limited range of Clairefontaine and Rhoda. Do a search of their site and then you can check stock at your local or the nearest. They also deliver. You don't say where you are - let us know and we may be able to be more specific as to local sources. Telegram is the company that imports many of the good brands into Australia (they also own notemaker). You can go to their site and search for a retailer near you - telegrampapergoods.com

 

I am a huge Clairefontaine fan and almost use their notebooks exclusively now but they may not suit you. My best advice is to buy one of whatever you fancy and try it out before you stock up. I am not a moleskin fan. I love the legend and what they have done to bring upmarket notebooks back to popularity, but the paper is just too bad and inconsistent for me to ever trust their product.

 

I am also a fan of gouletpens.com based in the states. Amazing service and an all round great company to do business with. However the dollar isn't that good for USA purchases so they are probably less attractive right now. When we were above parity it was buyers heaven.

 

Hope this helps. Let us know where you are and a few on here may be able to be more specific if you prefer a bricks and mortar store.

 

Nice to have another Aussie on the board.

[duffydavid]

  On 6/4/2015 at 10:42 PM, inkypete said:

G'day. The best local source for online delivery is notemaker.com.au but some Officeworks also carry a limited range of Clairefontaine and Rhoda. Do a search of their site and then you can check stock at your local or the nearest. They also deliver. You don't say where you are - let us know and we may be able to be more specific as to local sources. Telegram is the company that imports many of the good brands into Australia (they also own notemaker). You can go to their site and search for a retailer near you - telegrampapergoods.com

 

I am a huge Clairefontaine fan and almost use their notebooks exclusively now but they may not suit you. My best advice is to buy one of whatever you fancy and try it out before you stock up. I am not a moleskin fan. I love the legend and what they have done to bring upmarket notebooks back to popularity, but the paper is just too bad and inconsistent for me to ever trust their product.

 

I am also a fan of gouletpens.com based in the states. Amazing service and an all round great company to do business with. However the dollar isn't that good for USA purchases so they are probably less attractive right now. When we were above parity it was buyers heaven.

 

Hope this helps. Let us know where you are and a few on here may be able to be more specific if you prefer a bricks and mortar store.

 

Nice to have another Aussie on the board.

Thanks!

I am in Melbourne but I don't really care about physical vs online as long as it does not cost more. The only officeworks paper I have is a Nu:Elite A4 journal or something along those lines and it's just some nice 120gsm paper. I am honestly leaning heavily towards a Midori at the moment and it seems like book binders online is the best bet here. I guess the only thing left is to know where I can get some nice thick A4 spiral bound notebooks for school subjects. Any brand really as long as it works well with a FP

[inkypete]

  On 6/5/2015 at 8:49 AM, duffydavid said:

Thanks!

I am in Melbourne but I don't really care about physical vs online as long as it does not cost more. The only officeworks paper I have is a Nu:Elite A4 journal or something along those lines and it's just some nice 120gsm paper. I am honestly leaning heavily towards a Midori at the moment and it seems like book binders online is the best bet here. I guess the only thing left is to know where I can get some nice thick A4 spiral bound notebooks for school subjects. Any brand really as long as it works well with a FP

Midori is also available at notemaker.com.au In terms of good value spiral notebooks I still use Clairefontaine. Office works used to have Reflex paper in notebooks and they were excellent value but they have been discontinued now. Good luck with your search - let us know what you find.

Edited June 5, 2015 by inkypete

[sakayume]

I like Life Japan notebooks, which can be found in Magnation and also online at Notemaker. Also, some Daiso notebooks (the made in Japan ones) and looseleaf papers are surprisingly decent.

 

I'm not fond of spiral notebooks, so not sure about those, though I have used some very good Kokuyo Campus spiral notebooks in the past. Sadly, it doesn't seem as though any of the Kokuyo Campus line is available here.

[inkypete]

  On 6/5/2015 at 9:28 AM, candide said:

I like Life Japan notebooks, which can be found in Magnation and also online at Notemaker. Also, some Daiso notebooks (the made in Japan ones) and looseleaf papers are surprisingly decent.

 

I'm not fond of spiral notebooks, so not sure about those, though I have used some very good Kokuyo Campus spiral notebooks in the past. Sadly, it doesn't seem as though any of the Kokuyo Campus line is available here.

I love the Daiso loose leaf - excellent qua;ity and very inexpensive. Binders are good quality too for the price. Might be a good option for school subject notes. At $2.80 you can't beat the value.

[duffydavid]

Thanks guys! I think I have decided on getting these http://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/nu-a4-pu-covered-wiro-journal-notebook-nuwirjura4 for school subjects. I have the "stiff" bind one and the paper is not really fountain pen designed but it is certainly nicer than Spirax. For personal journalling I think I will try what you guys suggested and have a look at Daiso I have also heard Kmart has some passable notebooks. The best time for buying though really seems to be just as the back to school sales end and they have large amounts of unsold notebooks. I am also going to Europe in December so I will probably buy a kilo of Rhodia or something there instead of an arm and a leg on postage.

Thanks for the advice as well this seems like a great community!

[Buzz_130]

Even though I'm in the US, I bought my A4 Rhodia Webnotebooks from notemaker. After working my way through Clairefountaine, Rhodia, Apica, Moleskine, Quo Habis, and some no-name brands, I settled on the Rhodia A4. This is a perfect size for me and my journal use, and I particularly enjoy how this book likes flat. Interestingly, they are not available in the US.

 

I've also started working with Tomoe River paper, and, if I can find a journal (A4 or A5) that lays flat, I think I would convert to this paper as my best solution.

 

Buzz

[bdez]

Welcome ! Agree with all of the above and notemaker is my go to place. If you like Life A5 booklets they have a cracking special at the moment at

 

http://www.notemaker.com.au/life-japanese-paper-notebook-a5-15x21cm-kappan-ruled?default=2031 and

 

http://www.notemaker.com.au/life-japanese-paper-notebook-a5-15x21cm-kappan-grid?default=2028

 

Their Life prices aren't too bad (sorry couldn't get the$USD to change to $AUD).

 

BTW no affiliation - just a loyal customer

[Newjelan]

  On 6/6/2015 at 11:04 PM, Buzz_130 said:

I've also started working with Tomoe River paper, and, if I can find a journal (A4 or A5) that lays flat, I think I would convert to this paper as my best solution.

Buzz

The A5 Seven Seas Notebooks (now called the Recorder I think) from nanamipaper.com have about 450 pages of TR paper and lie flat. I use them for work and they're perfect.

[SNAK]

NoteMaker: They are great but price is of course Australian price. But if you buy in bulk the price goes cheaper. Also, if you order more and get on your loyalty program then you get lifetime 15% discount so that helps somewhat too.

 

Nation State (http://www.nationstate.com.au): Similar to Note Maker. I use both of them, comparing the price of course.

 

OfficeWorks: Their Rhodia/Clairefontaine supply seems to be restocked infrequently (at least at my local store) so I am not sure if they are going to continue with Rhoda/CF line. Nu: notebooks are fine, but the paper is thick and notebook heavy so I prefer Rhodia/CF.

 

Book Depository (http://www.bookdepository.com): I buy all my books from them, but they also have cheaper prices for Moleskine notebooks/sketchbooks, and Monsieur notebooks/sketchbooks. It may be worth a look.

 

I have now moved on to Tomoe River paper and love using Nanami Paper's Seven Seas Journals, and they are absolutely beautiful. But the price is prohibitive and they only allow 5 books per order, so there is the cost issue. I still have 2 or 3 Seven Seas books left, but for the last year or so I have been using the 5 reams (4000 sheets) of A4 TR paper I got directly from Japan (rakuten store) and have started to make my own journal notebooks , which is working great for me. My printer happens to handle TR paper fine so I print ruled line and I do stitch binding so the end result isn't too bad.

 

If you like TR paper, JustWrite sells notebooks made of Tomoe River paper, although they are quite pricey for the number of pages you get.

 

Or, you could use A4 size Reflex paper or HP Premium Laser paper and punch holes in them to put into binders. You could print ruled lines on those paper with regular printer easily.

 

Good luck with your paper search. I think everyone goes through this in their quest to enjoy fountain pens to their best potential. We all have to find our own balance between FP friendliness and cost/availability.

Edited June 15, 2015 by SNAK

[inkypete]

  On 6/15/2015 at 6:02 AM, SNAK said:

 

 

Book Depository (http://www.bookdepository.com): I buy all my books from them, but they also have cheaper prices for Moleskine notebooks/sketchbooks, and Monsieur notebooks/sketchbooks. It may be worth a look.

 

 

If that was a source for moleskin it could be renamed book suppository.

[migo984]

  On 6/15/2015 at 7:03 AM, inkypete said:

If that was a source for moleskin it could be renamed book suppository.

Yes! That's what we call it in our household - The Book Suppository

[SNAK]

  On 6/15/2015 at 7:03 AM, inkypete said:

If that was a source for moleskin it could be renamed book suppository.

 

  On 6/15/2015 at 8:32 AM, migo984 said:

Yes! That's what we call it in our household - The Book Suppository

 

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g292/shihophotos/Misc/roflmao.gif

Edited June 15, 2015 by SNAK

[duffydavid]

I actually just received my Moleskines and they are not that bad although 16 dollars each was probably too much. I was also amazed at the Rhodia selection in the Qantas club gift shop they actually had webnote books and notepads for reasonable prices. Unfortunately no dot grid. I never thought that I would find something "reasonably" priced in an airport let alone the Qantas club.

My other recent finds have been a 3 dollar notebook at Kmart that basically has the advantage of not feathering and that's about it but because they are so cheap I don't really care what I write in them so it balances out. The other even more exciting find is these http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/231576049195?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT which look like the perfect school notebook. High quality paper and a variety of colours. I have also seen this note pad reccomended http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/bunguya/item/12-p142/ although I have not made the jump into trusting anyone but Paypal with my CC info so I have not given them a try however they come well reviewed.

 

Is Tomoe river paper actually FP friendly my impression was that it was "paper thin" so it feathered and showed through. I really just want paper that lets me do shading.

[SNAK]

David,

 

That eBay seller you mention does have soooooo many interesting things for sale, from kitchen gadgets to German glass vase, and I have bought from them a good few times, but their shipping takes a quite bit longer than what you would expect from a UK based seller. So just keep that in mind.

 

If you are after an A4 notepad, Maruman is nice, but you could get a Reflex A4 notepad at Officeworks too, lined and gummed at the top and everything.

 

Tomoe River is very popular these days precisely because it is so good with fountain pen & ink. The paper is very thin, yes. So ghosting (seeing the shadow of what was written from the back side of the page) is there, but there is absolutely no feathering (fuzzy lines) or bleed through (ink seeping through to the back side of the page, different from ghosting). If you want a paper to accentuate an ink and pen combination's potential for shading and sheen, you really ought to try Tomoe River. Plus the feel of nib on TR paper is something that has to be experienced. It's not slippery like Rhodia/CF, but not toothy either, it's lovely. I suggest their white as opposed to their cream colour.

 

If you would like to try some sheets of TR paper, I could send some out to you if you PM me your postal address.

[inkypete]

  On 6/15/2015 at 1:18 PM, duffydavid said:

I actually just received my Moleskines and they are not that bad although 16 dollars each was probably too much. I was also amazed at the Rhodia selection in the Qantas club gift shop they actually had webnote books and notepads for reasonable prices. Unfortunately no dot grid. I never thought that I would find something "reasonably" priced in an airport let alone the Qantas club.

My other recent finds have been a 3 dollar notebook at Kmart that basically has the advantage of not feathering and that's about it but because they are so cheap I don't really care what I write in them so it balances out. The other even more exciting find is these http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/231576049195?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT which look like the perfect school notebook. High quality paper and a variety of colours. I have also seen this note pad reccomended http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/bunguya/item/12-p142/ although I have not made the jump into trusting anyone but Paypal with my CC info so I have not given them a try however they come well reviewed.

 

Is Tomoe river paper actually FP friendly my impression was that it was "paper thin" so it feathered and showed through. I really just want paper that lets me do shading.

Qantas Club has had a good range of notebooks for a while now including Clairefontaine and Rhodia. The bookshop chain outside (Watersomething from memory) also has a good range in Melbourne and Sydney.