Posts filed under Paper Reviews

Original Crown Mill Classic Laid Writing Pad Review

With February’s InCoWriMo right around the corner, have you thought about what letter writing paper is in your arsenal? As an avid analog correspondence fan (Narrator: “That’s a lie.”) this is something I think about frequently. Ok, maybe not from a letter writing perspective, but from more of a “good stationery” perspective. Original Crown Mill paper falls into that category.

Founded in 1870, this Belgian brand is world-renown for its high quality writing papers. Their creations are specific, focusing primarily on written correspondence products, such as letter writing pads, cards, invitations, and envelopes. If you have visited a classic stationery store in person, you have likely seen Original Crown Mill prominently displayed.

The Original Crown Mill Classic Laid Writing Pad is designed for letter writing. This A5 pad (also available in A4,) contains 50 sheets of Blue Laid paper. What is Laid paper? In short, it is paper with a ribbed texture throughout the sheet. Traditionally, this texture was due to the single-sheet pressing and drying process, prior to machinery becoming involved in manufacturing. In modern times, this effect can be created on purpose, giving pages such as these that classic look and feel.

On the surface-literally-laid paper seems like it would feel terrible to write on. That was my initial thought as well. Fortunately, I am very wrong-at least in the case of this specific pad.

Writing with a fountain pen nib is a joy on this paper. You barely feel the texture, and, importantly, the finish of the page is such that there is little to no feathering, bleeding, or ghosting on the page. I was shocked to be honest.

Now, there is one downside of laid paper: the finer the nib, the less you will enjoy the feel of the page. This goes for both fountain pens and standard pens. Logically, it makes sense. Wide nibs glide over the ridges better, fine nibs bounce a bit more (on a micro level,) leaving more inconsistent lines. Standard Western fine steel nibs, and wider, worked great. Once I started getting into the extra fine range, it was less enjoyable, but still workable. My 0.38 mm gel ink pens were not good to use at all.

Two other interesting findings: one, shading and sheen showed up on the page better than expected. I assumed the page would be too absorbent for the sheen to set up, but I was wrong. Two, markers worked well on this paper. There was no feathering, and even the Sharpie barely came through the back side of the page. Now, this isn’t a paper you would normally use markers on, but they are a good test of the quality of the page.

The final comment is on the page color itself. Blue would never be my first choice for showing off ink properties, but it did well despite being difficult to photograph. It does dull-out brighter colors, so I would lean towards darker shades if I were writing to the Belgian Royal Family, but it is passable with other shades. I chose Omas Sepia as a mid-tone test, and the color represented well. The lighter the shade, the less accurate color representation you will have.

Luckily, this pad comes in many other colors, such as White, Cream, Pink, and Grey. I’m tempted to try the White sheets for something on the opposite end of the spectrum, because my experience with Blue has been so positive.

My overall experience with the Original Crown Mill Classic Laid Writing Pad has been positive. Surprisingly so, based on my pre-conceived thoughts. At $9.50 for 50 sheets of this quality, it is well worth the test. And in my case, a second round.

(OrangeArt Store, the US distributor for Original Crown Mill, provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on January 16, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Original Crown Mill, Paper Reviews.

Foglietto Memo Cards and Archive Box Review

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

I saw these cool Foglietto Memo Cards on Brad’s Twitch stream a while back and bugged the Bossman to send these to me for review. Even though I’m not a big index card user, I’ve embarked on a mission, albeit a very slow one, to find fountain pen-friendly index cards since our beloved Nock Co. index cards aren’t available anymore (sniff sniff).

Despite its Italian name (Foglietto means leaflet in Italian), Foglietto is actually a French stationery company that started in 2019 and their products are now sold in many European countries as well as North America. Up for review today is a pack of the Foglietto A7 Memo Cards and the Archive Box in Terracotta.

Each pack of A7 note cards contains 120 cards (this pack has 40 each in yellow, pink, and blue). They also come in a variety of styles like dot grid, grid, to do, blank, mixed, etc. The pack I have is the Organizzazione (which means Organization in Italian). The tops of each of the cards says “Titolo” (Title) and each color has a different layout. The yellow card is a to-do list, pink is plain with metric measurements on the side/bottom and blue is dot grid.

The cards are 260 gsm so they have a nice heft to them; slightly thicker than the typical index card, thinner than a playing card. There is a slight texture to them which I noticed with my finer nibs (like the Sailor 21k Fine). Overall, the cards held up moderately well to fountain pens, though the notoriously wet Diamine Writers Blood feathered quite a bit. Shimmer and shading were pretty much unaffected but the sheen of Diamine Jack Frost was diminished on all the cards (and Rhodia too). I was surprised to see a little of the chromashading properties from Sailor Manyo Fuji, especially on the yellow card. There was also zero ghosting or bleedthrough, not even from a Sharpie.

My least favorite color card to write on was the blue because the colors are much flatter and my 2H pencil was almost impossible to read on it. While FP inks did pretty well, none of them had problems with other writing implements either. And while FPs are my preferred instrument of choice, I was surprised to find that I enjoyed using the Lamy Tipo and Retro 51 rollerballs the most on these cards.

The Archive Box is made from cardboard, measures 118mm x 80mm x 200mm (~4.75”x 3.5” x 8.5”) and stores about 4 packs of A7 note cards. It comes in other colors including grey and green and costs 10GBP (~$12 USD).

Pros:

Fairly FP-friendly
No ghosting or bleedthrough
Good variety of card options
Box is fairly sturdy for being lightweight

Cons:

Finer nibs (especially anything finer than Japanese Medium) may catch on the cards
Wetter inks will likely bleed
Blue cards made ink colors look duller and pencil was harder to read
Price is a bit steep for 120 cards (18GBP or ~$22USD). For context, a pack of 80 larger Hamelin cards costs ~$7 and a 100 pack of 5x3” index cards from Exacompta costs ~$4.

Neutral:

Card sets seem to be sold in multi-colored packs. This may be good if you like a mix of colors or an annoyance if you only like or want certain colors.

Overall, these cards work well, and while they are pricey, they have a neat aesthetic to them, especially when paired with the Archive Box.

(Disclaimer: The Foglietto cards and archive box were purchased from Nero’s Notes at regular price for review. All other products used are my own.)

Posted on January 13, 2023 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Foglietto, Notecard, Index Card, Paper Reviews.

Yamamoto Paper Cosmo Note Notebook Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

The Yamamoto Paper Cosmo Air Light is known for its ability to make inks look their best, but every time I use it, I'm surprised at how well it works. Inks stand out so well on this paper that it makes me want to keep writing, even when I've run out of things to write.

This notebook from Yamamoto packages that experience in a nice, no-fuss minimalist book that ticks all of the boxes for a paper enthusiast.

The cover is a plain, grey cardstock that is flexible but sturdy enough to be a writing surface when needed. It's begging to be decorated with stickers, washi, or your own artwork. The spine is bound with a fabric tape with a minimalist brand stamped into the fibers. The sewn binding allows it to lay flat after a bit of training.

Insisde there are cardstock endpapers, and then 176 pages of excellent plain paper. There are no lines or words or numbers--it's just an open world of possibility. There is a line guide sheet included, which offers a 6mm grid or 12mm line if held behind the page you're using. This way, every page can be exactly the format you need, whether you're sketching, writing, or taking notes.

The paper is what really makes this notebook. Not everyone likes the texture of Cosmo Air Light (Brad), but there's no denying the way it makes ink stand out. If you want to show off shading or sheen, this is the best option out there, in my opinion. The cushy texture of the page is exacerbated by fine point pens, but medium and broad tips glide over it with no problem at all, which are generally what one uses when showing off ink properties, anyway. It also works fabulously with pencil, ballpoint, rollerball, gel, fineliners, even Sharpie--pretty much anything you want to write with. It's a finer, 83gsm paper, so there is ghosting, but not even the Sharpie bled through--not even a dot. The paper does have a long dry time, though, so patience or a sheet of blotting paper are required.

I've really enjoyed using this notebook. There's nothing extra about it--it's just a plain cover holding together a generous chunk of very nice paper. It's not too "nice" to use. The minimalism is inviting and utilitarian, and I find I keep reaching for it.

It's not inexpensive at $21, especially for a softcover notebook. But you do get a good page count for that price, so I don't think it's asking too much. There are certainly less expensive notebooks with paper that is almost as good, but the emphasis is on "almost." This is paper for ink lovers. Ink lovers with lots of writing to do.

(This notebook was purchased from Yamamoto Paper at the 2022 San Francisco Pen Show at regular price.)

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