Paper Collection

Here is a running list of all the paper/journals I’ve tried and if they’re fountain pen friendly or not. Honestly, it’s more for myself than anything because I tend to always forget these things. Haha. So here goes:

1. Labrador Leather Notebooks – Yes, FP-friendly with just a bit of show through at the back. Similar in quality to some Muji notebooks – update: apparently the paper in their notebooks are a bit inconsistent. The newer ones are prone to feathering and bleed through. The leather covers are good, just be ready to use a different notebook with them (if you’re an FP-user).
2. Moleskine – Not very FP-friendly. Even my dry writers and those with fine nibs tend to show a little at the back of each page, which is quite disappointing considering the price and all the hype it gets.
3. MUJI – My favorite journals, so far. Just make sure to pick the ones made in Japan, not Indonesia, and those that have 5% recycled material in their paper (not those with more than 5%). (Update: I’m not sure why but the new batch of this notebook seems to be of a different quality. Still FP-friendly, but not as smooth and white as before)
4. Pantone – No. Just no. Only pick if you are going to use pencil or ballpoint pens on it.
5. Nuuna – Not FP-friendly at all, but they do make great sketch pads.
6. Rhodia – Very FP-friendly, though they’re more fun to use with wet writers. The pages of some kind of paper products tend to be a bit too slippery and almost ink-resistant for dry writers. Webnotebooks and color pads are great, though. Read my reviews for Classic and Color Pads, Stapled Notebooks, and Webnotebooks.
7. Daycraft – FP-friendly but the pages could be a bit smoother. It shows a bit of feathering for my wet writers.
8. Midori – Yes! Shows off the shading and sheen very nicely with no bleed through or feathering at all. Like Rhodia, sometimes may get too smooth and slippery for comfortable writing with dry writers.
9. A&S (All and Sundry) – Came across these notepads, memos, to-do lists and calendars in Baguio but I just remembered that I discovered them in Powerbooks recently. These are FP-friendly (some bleed through with wet writers), and the prints are funneh. 😀
10. Venzi Flexy2 – Despite being just 70gsm, this paper is very FP-friendly. I use it as a refill for my small leather notebook. It’s 9×14 cm and comes in different colors (I noticed black, red, green and dark brown). Looks kinda like a passport. Each pack of two notebooks cost P98. Not bad. Here’s a review from hellokeesh.com.
11. Elias – Yes, check out hellokeesh.com’s review here and my own review here.
12. Alunsina Mini Journal – Yes, check out my review here
13. Alunsina Large Journal – Yes, though fine and dry writers might not pair well with it. Review here.
14. Alunsina Kislap Traveler’s Notebook – They offer three kinds of jotters; lined, unlined and weekly planner. I noticed the planner and the blank jotters have great, FP-friendly paper but the lined jotters are prone to feathering. Review here.
15. Mnemosyne Maruman Inspiration – Yes. With some caveat. Read the review here.
16. Kokuyo Campus – Yes! Paper is similar to the old paper of Muji (the brown one with 5% recycled paper). Read the review here.
17. Curnow A5 Journal with Tomoe River Paper – YES! Amazing paper! If you love notebooks, you really MUST try this. Read the review here.
18. Smells Like Sundays – Yes. Very wet writers will show a bit of bleedthrough (tiny dots where the letters start and end). Nice texture, affordable price. Read the review here.
19. Yumi – Yes! It’s quite an eyecandy too. Read the review here.