Christmas Cards And Very Wet Nibs.....

[Addertooth]

It is that glorious time of year, where we fulfill our social obligations to family, friends and aquaintences.

It is time to do the Christmas cards. However, all of the cards I run accross are made with very porous and open grained paper.

I would like to use my wet flex nib pen to put some artful words in the card, but the card paper wicks horribly.

Other than using a page out of my Rhodia book to include my words, is there a better solution for this? Is there a brand of Christmas

card which is made of firmer and less wicking/bleeding paper?

[OCArt]

One option would be to enclose, or alternately tip-in, a note written on suitable paper like Tomoe River.

[Jerome Tarshis]

Our universe is large and various. I myself have never been troubled by excessive absorbency in the paper used for greeting cards. I have been somewhat often troubled by ink-repellent paper used for greeting cards. For me the run-up to Christmas has been an occasion for using a generous nib with a free-flowing ink. Even then I often wonder if the paper stock was manufactured by the Totally Impossible Department of Clairefontaine.

[A Smug Dill]

My take is to logically separate the end from the means, the intended outcome from the (pleasure and/or method) of the process. If you want to write in a calligraphic hand or script that demands the use of a flex nib, then perhaps a dip pen with drawing inks that you wouldn't want to put in any fountain pen, let alone one that you like for its wet flex nib. That might work better with a larger variety of paper and card stock, still give you the occasion to apply your calligraphy skills and produce the intended outcome for your family and friends to receive, without making it about putting a particular pen to use or the enjoyment of such.

 

Obviously, if you don't have a dip pen and suitable nibs, or drawing inks that would do the job, then you may have to fall back on what you have on hand. Then, using that particular pen and ink becomes a constraint and a limitation, as opposed to the purpose you desperately want to serve with this exercise.

 

I recently had to write a whole bunch of place cards for my wedding reception, as well as thank-you cards for all the gifts. I was limited by the wedding stationery (previously used for sending printed invitations and RSVP cards) and place card stock (of a different brand), and I don't have any drawing inks on hand, so I tried six or so fountain pens (as well as dip pens) and over three dozen different inks to find combinations that will work, "wasting" several hours and consuming a few cards in experiments getting there.

 

At one point I found that a PenBBS 308 with the factory-fitted "mini-Fude" F nib, that had an "old" fill of Sailor Shikiori souten in it which hasn't been used for several weeks, produced pleasing sheen without feathering on the wedding stationery, while just about everything else feathered noticeably. However, a fresh fill of that ink in a different pen fitted with a Nemosine Stub nib failed to produce similar results; there was less sheen and more feathering. Given I couldn't just swap converters (with different-sized openings), I ended up making a new screw-in Stub nib unit with spare parts for the PenBBS 308 (which still didn't work as well), then tried condensing an amount of Sailor Shikiori souten in a beaker (which got me closer, but still not quite there), and so on... all because I was fixated with making things work the way I would like them to in writing the thank-you cards.

 

In the end, they didn't work, but eventually I found that with one particular Nemosine Stub nib produced something close to the results I wanted when Diamine Jalur Gemilang was used, but I had to make that nib drier to control the feathering. Looking back, I'm not sure that it was three hours (split over two evenings) that I consider enjoyable or well spent, when I could have just fulfilled my social obligations by writing the cards with a ballpoint pen, or even say in Sailor souboku pigment ink with a F-nibbed fountain pen.

[Honeybadgers]

If you're stuck with bad paper, diamine registrars will never fail. I can write on trash hospital copy paper a wet pelikan BB semiflex without noticeable feathering with registrars.

[Tasmith]

If you're stuck with bad paper, diamine registrars will never fail. I can write on trash hospital copy paper a wet pelikan BB semiflex without noticeable feathering with registrars.

+1 for Diamine Registar's.

 

I've had great success with Iron Gall inks including R&K, and Platinum on papers that will make regular fountain pen ink blot, smear, skip or feather.

Edited December 1, 2019 by Tasmith

[Bo Bo Olson]

ESSR was judged a tad superior to Diamine Register some 7-8 years ago, and depending on the paper you can watch it turn from blue to blue-black before your eyes.

Not that your reader will know that.

There was one of the largest threads on that Ink back then 35-40 pages.

[sidthecat]

You could also try diluting the ink with water, which will (counterintuitively) make it drier. Absent that, procuring some blotter paper may do the trick.

[Retro-user]

Our universe is large and various. I myself have never been troubled by excessive absorbency in the paper used for greeting cards. I have been somewhat often troubled by ink-repellent paper used for greeting cards. For me the run-up to Christmas has been an occasion for using a generous nib with a free-flowing ink. Even then I often wonder if the paper stock was manufactured by the Totally Impossible Department of Clairefontaine.

Hear, hear. The coated paper does seem ink resistant. Best use a Sharpie.

[OMASsimo]

Almost all of my Christmas cards have a paper insert anyway and I experienced little problems with them. But if so, I simply would exchange them for and insert made of the paper of my choice. I think that's simple enough.

[Inky.Fingers]

Use HairSpray to coat the paper. The use any ink and any nib!

[corgicoupe]

A bit off topic, but I have found that of late checkbook papers have become very absorbent. Writing on the front bleeds to the back and endorsing on the back bleeds to the front. Guess I'll have to try registrars ink in a pen dedicated to check writing.

[inkstainedruth]

A bit off topic, but I have found that of late checkbook papers have become very absorbent. Writing on the front bleeds to the back and endorsing on the back bleeds to the front. Guess I'll have to try registrars ink in a pen dedicated to check writing.

 

Oh, yeah, the last few batches of checks I've gotten have been terrible for that. Ironically, the check registers are better -- not by a lot, but enough to make it look as if I've used a different pen and/or different ink. Most recently I've been using Sailor Souboku, and even then I've had problems with the checks themselves.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[SpecTP]

I use G.Lalo or Crane stationery for Christmas correspondence and they have no issues in handling wet nibs since I also try (poorly) and do 'calligraphic' writing styles

[pajaro]

Once I made my own Christmas cards. After that I have been too lazy to do any. Bought the cards, prepared my Sheaffer Holly Pen sets, Inked the MB stub with red ink, the Sheaffer stub with green, and just watched the calendar days change, until it was too late to send them.

Edited December 24, 2019 by pajaro

[two2tone]

What are those things you call "checks?"

 

A bit off topic, but I have found that of late checkbook papers have become very absorbent. Writing on the front bleeds to the back and endorsing on the back bleeds to the front. Guess I'll have to try registrars ink in a pen dedicated to check writing.

 

 

Oh, yeah, the last few batches of checks I've gotten have been terrible for that. Ironically, the check registers are better -- not by a lot, but enough to make it look as if I've used a different pen and/or different ink. Most recently I've been using Sailor Souboku, and even then I've had problems with the checks themselves.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[corgicoupe]

What are those things you call "checks?"

 

A bit off topic, but I have found that of late checkbook papers have become very absorbent. Writing on the front bleeds to the back and endorsing on the back bleeds to the front. Guess I'll have to try registrars ink in a pen dedicated to check writing.

 

 

I figured someone would ask... but I still use them for some payments.

[SpecTP]

I figured someone would ask... but I still use them for some payments.

I have a box of original checks from 2003 that came with my bank account that have still not been used up. I think I write about 2-3 checks in total per year. Most everything gets paid by electronic transactions.

 

p.s. sorry for the threadjack

Edited December 25, 2019 by SpecTP

[Addertooth]

Not offended SpecTP.

With all of the data-spills, and credit card leaks, I don't blame people for using checks.

I had to replace my card 3 times in the past couple of years (Target Hack, Walmart Hack, And China's answer to eBAy… Banggood Hack). For some things, I prefer a check, especially if it is with a vendor I won't likely do business with again.

 

Addertooth

[SpecTP]

Not offended SpecTP.

With all of the data-spills, and credit card leaks, I don't blame people for using checks.

I had to replace my card 3 times in the past couple of years (Target Hack, Walmart Hack, And China's answer to eBAy… Banggood Hack). For some things, I prefer a check, especially if it is with a vendor I won't likely do business with again.

 

Addertooth

for vendors that I don't regularly do business with, I opt to use one time virtual credit cards.