Campus and Red n’ Black

[Mark from Yorkshire]

I have just tried a couple of my fountain pens on the Oxford Red n’ Black pad and it looks horrid then compared it to the Campus reporter’s notebook and it looks to me fine. Is it true that both these are supposedly the same paper. 

[LizEF]

Interesting.  With separate photographs, it's awfully difficult for us to compare (the scale and rotation not being the same).  These days, except for hardbound, all the Black n' Red I see have those annoying Scribzee things in the corners.  But from your photo, yours looks genuine.  Perhaps it's really old?  Unfortunately, I have yet to try the Oxford Campus, so I can't compare them personally.

[Mark from Yorkshire]

2 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Interesting.  With separate photographs, it's awfully difficult for us to compare (the scale and rotation not being the same).  These days, except for hardbound, all the Black n' Red I see have those annoying Scribzee things in the corners.  But from your photo, yours looks genuine.  Perhaps it's really old?  Unfortunately, I have yet to try the Oxford Campus, so I can't compare them personally.

Thank Liz, I may rephotograph them or scan them later in the week. I think you may be right about them being old or old stock

[Mark from Yorkshire]

 

[Mark from Yorkshire]

I have scanned the images next to each other for comparison, so they are at the same scale, and size. The pen and ink in the initial sentence are the same on both sheets Lamy Scala Broad Nib and Diamine onyx black ink I.E. Tha darker and broader black ink the finer nibbed writing is too different pens one my Inoxcrom Fountain pen the other on the quality notepaper is my Lamy AL-Star with Parker Quink Black ink in it.

[LizEF]

Wow.  That new image really shows the difference.  I have to believe there's something wrong with the Black n' Red - at least, I never experienced spread on a Black n' Red.  All mine are several years old (I use them slowly, mostly for letter-writing), before they started adding the annoying Scribzee marks in the corners (I won't buy them any more because of that).  Either they don't add those marks in your market, or you got really old stock (assuming this notebook is new?), or even a fake (though that inner page with the time zones certainly looks authentic).

 

I think we need someone in the UK to tell us whether Black n' Red in the UK currently includes the Scribzee squares (example from US Amazon), then maybe we'd know whether you got a dud or whether further investigation is needed to determine if this is the paper they're currently using and it's garbage...

[mizgeorge]

The UK version also has the horrible Scribzee marks, and I notice that my preferred Campus notebooks also seems to have them now. I guess I'm on the lookout for a new everyday notebook unless I can find some old stock.

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, mizgeorge said:

The UK version also has the horrible Scribzee marks, and I notice that my preferred Campus notebooks also seems to have them now. I guess I'm on the lookout for a new everyday notebook unless I can find some old stock.

Depressing, isn't it, when the digital world intrudes on a little piece of fountain pen heaven?   The hard-bound Black n' Red don't have those marks, and I may buy those one day, or I may just keep buying Endless Recorders...

[Mark from Yorkshire]

Yes The Red n Black does have the Scribzee marks. I do not mind, as the optik paper is better than the old stock that I had. I have forgiven Red n Black now i have a new A4 Spiral bound one that I am using as my Daily Journal/ Diary. It is even working ok with my particularly wet or ink heavy pens and not taking excessively long to dry out