Back To School... But With Which Paper?

[stringsandpedals]

Hi everyone,

 

after almost 2 years I'm going back to school, and for the first I have to properly ask myself: which paper would be best to use for daily use.

 

I prefer to use wirebound notebooks, so I can organise the individual sheets into the right folders after class.

Naturally I have to consider which pens and inks to use, too, but we all know how the paper affects things such as dry time, etc., too.

 

So ideally I'd like to get a ring wired notebook, that isn't too smooth as ink tends to take its time to dry (which is what I experienced with Rhodia a lot). On the other hand I'd like to avoid feathering and bleed through as much as possible.

 

I quite like Rhodia's dotted paper, though, due its subtleness and clean look, and it helps, of course, to write fairly neatly.

 

Anyone's got any suggestions? I'd be very grateful.

[cobalt]

Have a think about Atoma (from Belgium). The disk system lets you organise content easily and the notebooks behave like wirebound. I use it with fountain pens and there is some bleed with my very wet Skyline, but a stiffer/drier nib (my modern Conklin Duragraph) works fine. Nice and affordable.

[torstar]

get the 24 pound liner note paper, a world of diff (for those who want that distinction) over the usual 20 trash

 

over here it sells by 100 and 200 packs in the shelves with the fancier paper

Edited August 21, 2016 by torstar

[Alexerion]

If you're looking for cheap, Hilroy has a sub-brand called Cambridge. I have a small notebook from them that cost me about two, three bucks (can't quite remember, but no more than three) and there is no feathering or bleed-through whatsoever.

[erpe]

Maybe have a look at this http://www.youroxford.nl/nl/optik

[amberleadavis]

Miquel Ruis is great paper and here in the US the notebooks are available at Barnes and Noble. It's an Italian company so I don't know if you can find easily where you are, but the paper is terrific.

[zuerincolour]

I would definitely recommend Fabriano Ecoqua notebooks. Their paper is great and isn't Rhodia smooth which I prefer for fast note taking at University. Comes lined, dotted, blank or grid with a variety of binding types including spiral bound. The only down side is that there is a little ghosting but nothing crazy.

[sciumbasci]

I believe that the best ratio in terms of cost/quality is to buy those 500 packets of loose leaf paper, print on it lines/grid/dots or whatever suits you best, and then punch the holes in them yourself

[torstar]

I believe that the best ratio in terms of cost/quality is to buy those 500 packets of loose leaf paper, print on it lines/grid/dots or whatever suits you best, and then punch the holes in them yourself

 

That's the 20 lb stuff I mentioned earlier.

 

If you look around in the store they may have 24 lb which is a world of diff.

 

(keep telling people this and maybe 1 in 1,000 will find the instant solution to their specific problem that I have perfectly addressed)

[aside]

I swear by the stables arc system. No problems with the paper and it is the only thing that lets me keep organized for classes. They have a notebook that comes with paper and dividers and I've found it to be a godsend.

[amberleadavis]

If I have never mentioned it, I use this website to generate some of my favorites.

 

https://incompetech.com/graphpaper/cornelllined/

[Jordan N]

Staples ARC is OK, but not sure if you can get it in Europe (if you're still in Amsterdam). Also, I'm not sure if a letter size - not A4. If you don't need to add some other pages, it's a nice system on its own.

 

Personally, I had good experience with "Monochromo" by Pigna (www.pigna.it), but that was one notebook that was purchased 10 years ago, I'm not sure if they still use the same paper.