Whats your favorite paper for a letter?

[Alex Lexson]

Hey there, Happy Friday! 

 

I am looking for some recommendation for letter writing paper, I am looking specifically for some beautiful paper not necessarily 81/2 by 11. 

 

This is what I have previously used, I found it at a stationary store, could be similar but definitely good quality. This paper folds in half and creates a 6x4 size

 

Appreciate your recommendations!

Cheers, 

Alex 

[A Smug Dill]

You have some gorgeous handwriting and beautiful photography there!

 

I'm afraid I don't have any recommendations for high-quality stationery, though.

[hh1990]

Alex, what kind of ink do you typically use?

[Alex Lexson]

1 hour ago, hh1990 said:

Alex, what kind of ink do you typically use?

I am using Waterman intense black ink. I am looking for a light linen parchment paper. Having trouble finding the right size 

[arcfide]

You might check out the listing of papers here:

 

What Are The Best Fountain Pen Friendly Papers For Writing Letters? - Fountain Pen Love

 

I have the Life Writing Paper and can attest to its terrific qualities. It has a laid watermark on it, which lends a bit to the quality of the paper, but it has a smooth writing surface. It is also lined, so you might not appreciate that aspect of it. I personally like the lines and the generous spacing. 

 

I also like that it is not too thick, which I think enhances a writing paper for longer letters, which I tend to write. I am also partial to B5 size. I don't know if that's exactly what you are looking for, as it's not strictly linen, and it doesn't have the parchment cut. 

[Karmachanic]

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/354723-your-favorite-writing-paper/

 

[como]

Tomoe River 52gsm. It’s great for fountain pen and very light. You can recuperate the cost of this expensive paper in savings of postage (I was able to put more sheets in envelope before it reaches max weight for a letter.

[alkman]

I use a wide and weird variety of paper for letters. If you have the budget, Amalfi paper is a soft, handmade, fountain-pen friendly paper which comes in ~A4 sheets with matching envelopes from Vickerey (the angel watermark version is beautiful). More manageable are the Life papers which come in a wide variety of sizes. Strathmore has a nice pad of paper which comes with matching envelopes to boot (Jetpens carries them). My favorite paper for letters is still Gohrsmuhle which is a German production--it's a bit on the thinner side which lends itself to writing on one side. 

 

I recently discovered the Yamamoto papers at Vanness. I had the sampler and am waiting on packs of Spica bond and Fools...

[OleJuul]

I've been using Gnatural 75% cotton 25% linen in the ivory color lately. It's available on Amazon and also comes in a white. The ivory is quite yellow but looks really nice and "antique" with a brown or red-black ink. It's 8.5x11, but I often cut it for some more interesting formats. This is not like the common wood based papers however, so it might not be to your taste.

[XYZZY]

Hi Alex, and  

My local Kinokuniya has Midori Cotton writing pads and matching envelopes.  Their cotton paper is soft and feels good.  It's white, but not conspicuously so.  It takes ink reasonably well.  I don't have problems with it bleeding, but you probably want a wetter pen as it's absorbent.

 

Midori makes several products for letter writing, you can find them at https://www.midori-japan.co.jp/md/en/products/mdbinsen-futoh/

 

The two particular items I am talking about are:

Paper:  MD Letter Pad Cotton Horizontal Ruled Lines 20537006

Envelopes:  MD Envelope Cotton Sideways 20538006

 

Your location says San Francisco, and I think there's a Kinokuniya there.

 

Outside of Kinokuniya I have not found any place that sells those.  The Midori Cotton products are not well represented in the U.S.

[bunnspecial]

In the past, I've written a lot of letters on standard office supply store 25% cotton paper(aka "Resume Paper"). I use to find reams of it at work that people had left behind since the school use to require a thesis/dissertation be printed on it(now it's all electronic aside from the signature page). I have a bunch still, and all that I've found is FP friendly plus has a nice feel in-hand.

 

Lately, though, I've switched over to two different things. I used Tomoe River when writing to people who I know will appreciate what it is, and it's by far and away my favorite paper to write on. I do have a pad of Claiefontaine 90gsm, though, that I use a fair bit just because it is nice to write on and very substantial feeling.

[cellmatrix]

I like Smythson light or dark blue writing paper. If you don’t personalize it, it’s not too outrageously expensive and I like the nice colors and texture. It looks classy, especially if you get the matching envelopes. Mediovalis paper is nice and AmalfiAmatruda paper is really nice. The latter makes you feel like you are writing a letter back in the Middle Ages. 

[Misfit]

If you get a paper like Tomoe 52gsm that shows off ink properties so very well, you can buy scissors from craft stores with distinctive edges.  They would cut a pattern edge. 
 

Good brands for other papers are Crane, G Lalo, Clairefontaine’s Triomphe.

 

You can find some of these from www.atlasstationers.com. No affiliation, but a happy customer 

[kazoolaw]

Crown Mill is a solid choice:  substantial weight without going all the way up to Amalfi in price.

[mike.f]

Speaking of Amalfi, a friend got me this about 30 years ago, can't remember specifics of the paper but it is very nice, I haven't written on it in quite some time, will have to try.

[Gary1952]

Smythson note paper.

[GutSchrift]

On 3/10/2021 at 2:22 AM, Gary1952 said:

Smythson note paper.

+1 for the Smythson. I also really like LIFE Bank paper for letters and Original Crown Mill Pure Cotton used to be my standard. All three are excellent and very classy. Your recipients will notice the quality and you'll enjoy writing. 

[MHBru]

i end up using a variety of paper for letters.  Tomoe River for International only so I can save postage on a multi-page letter.  Frankly the stuff is very difficult to manage due to it's super thin light weight.  For all others.... Sourthworth is my go-to.  Nice cream colored, medium weight that can handle pretty much whatever I throw at it.  Plus 500 sheets for under $25 on Amazon!  If I want to show ink color I'll use Clairefontaine.  For a luxurious feel for the writer and the reader I like G Lalo.  

[cgfolks]

My favorite letter paper is Tomoa River 52gsm, blank (no ruling). It is thin, and has some show through when writing on both sides but it does not effect the legibility of your writing. The paper provides great sheen, shimmer, and compliments just about any ink very well. After trying quite a few different papers, this has been my favorite and quickly became the only paper I use for letters. I personally prefer the 52gsm to the 68gsm. My favorite quality of the paper is that it reminds me of very old papers from the 20th century which are very thin and almost transparent but somehow handle fountain pen ink exceptionally well. It is an amazing paper. Take care.

[Geslina]

On 4/19/2021 at 11:05 PM, GutSchrift said:

+1 for the Smythson. I also really like LIFE Bank paper for letters and Original Crown Mill Pure Cotton used to be my standard. All three are excellent and very classy. Your recipients will notice the quality and you'll enjoy writing. 

I just got a pad of Life Bank Paper a few weeks ago....I can’t say it’s what I’ve been looking for, seems a lot of my inks, and especially broader nibs, aren’t very smooth, and are a little “bleedy” on it.  But, I’ve found that the back side of the paper is smoother.  So I’ll be able to use it, but probably won’t buy it again, unless it’s for use with regular pens.  I do like the other Life paper I tried, the pistachio one.

 

I have just started trying out different papers, so don’t have a lot of experience.  I like the Tomoe River paper in Endless Recorder journals, it’s thicker than most Tomoe River, maybe it’s the new kind everyone’s been talking about and hates?  I also like Mnemosyne paper, and the Munken paper that comes in Nuuna journals....the latter also being a little too absorbent for broad nibs/very wet inks.  I don’t get all the love for Rhodia and Clairefontaine.  I also just bought a ton of Midori stationary and envelopes, all of which I don’t find fountain pens to write nicely on AT ALL.  Horrible.