Cheap fountain friendly paper

What are some good notebooks, loose leaf, journal style, or reporter notebook brands that are real cheap. For just writing lyrics to my music or practicing my cursive writing quotes I need cheap paper that I can get a lot of for very little money, especially being out of work at this time.

If you all could help by letting me know which brands to look for that I can find in pretty much any store like Walmart or something like thag.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks
Mreeveshp

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Try paper made in India, found in many a Dollar Store. If you can get the India index cards, also great. Hint: Price...one dollar.

Side note: Some inks are less prone to feathering so you can get away with cheaper paper.

You can also try using a ream of 24 or 32lb copy paper and have it punched for loose leaf use.

As you may imagine 32lb is better but 24lb is cheaper.

I have read excellent impressions of hemp paper. Though I don't know where to buy from: there's some on alibaba, but I never bought from that site.

You might also consider bagasse paper- made from the fibers of sugar cane. Staples sells some under the Sustainable Earth brand but just make a note of that term and you'll see it from time to time in the dollar stores, etc.

Seconding carlos.q's suggestion, I use copy paper cut in half and punched for an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" binder for my planner and have just started using it for poetry drafts. I find it perfectly satisfactory.

I picked up some HP 24# copy paper yesterday.

It seems somewhat bleed resistant but pen lines are 1-2 sizes thicker versus FP paper.

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Originally Posted by aquafox

I have read excellent impressions of hemp paper. Though I don't know where to buy from: there's some on alibaba, but I never bought from that site.

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I don't know what the current generation of hemp papers are like, but the hemp paper I remember from a few years ago was rough and porous, and I expect would feather badly. And it was, and I believe still is most likely, more expensive than most paper.

I found bagasse paper to feather. Staples has essay books that give a lot of paper that handles my fp but you have to get the more expensive ones. Also the ones at Walmart if made in Viet Nam are good but you have to read cause other sources are not good though they look the same.

The Caliber composition books CVS sells are cheep and work great with fountain pen ink.


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It's an older post now, but with some inks I can write on any paper almost regardless of quality. It works for most of my pens too, maybe not the wettest pens.

I am really happy with the sugar cane based paper from Staples. As a general rule I have found that paper made in Brazil and in Vietnam tend to be FP friendly.

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If you're in the US, Walgreens' Wexford composition books (sourced in Vietnam) have no bleedthrough and minimal ghosting. They're $2.99 normally, but on sale for 50¢ around back-to-school time.

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Originally Posted by Inkflow

If you're in the US, Walgreens' Wexford composition books (sourced in Vietnam) have no bleedthrough and minimal ghosting. They're $2.99 normally, but on sale for 50¢ around back-to-school time.

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Thanks I will look into those I have a few no name composition notebooks that I believe are from wal mart that aren't that bad. The only thing I don't like much about them is the huge wide rule but as long as it works I will use it.

Thanks
Mreeveshp

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Originally Posted by Sailor Kenshin

Try paper made in India, found in many a Dollar Store. If you can get the India index cards, also great. Hint: Price...one dollar.

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I second this. I buy the composition books at the Dollar Store. The ones from Vietnam are also good. When you get used to the feel of good paper, you will be able to just touch the paper and know if it will work with fountain pens. I also make notebooks out of Staples Sugar Cane copy paper I buy by the reem.

Exceed, available at Walmart, is awesome.

I have bought a number of their 100gsm A5 dotted journals. (They also make a 78gsm so be sure to grab the 100.)

They are about $9! It’s a crazy low price for a journal that other ‘popular ‘ brands sell for 2-4 times as much.

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Originally Posted by Mark Dillon

Exceed, available at Walmart, is awesome.

I have bought a number of their 100gsm A5 dotted journals. (They also make a 78gsm so be sure to grab the 100.)

They are about $9! It’s a crazy low price for a journal that other ‘popular ‘ brands sell for 2-4 times as much.

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I have the exceed journal that I love, so the other day i got the 5 subject exceed notebook for practice it doesn't say the weight of the paper but it's pretty thick and the paper felt the same as the journal but when I got home and tried it all my inks (which are only 6) feathered like crazy but at least it was only about $5

I might try to get the sugar cane paper. I still have some HP paper that works pretty good but not much.

Thanks
Mreeveshp

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Originally Posted by mreeveshp

I have the exceed journal that I love, so the other day i got the 5 subject exceed notebook for practice it doesn't say the weight of the paper but it's pretty thick and the paper felt the same as the journal but when I got home and tried it all my inks (which are only 6) feathered like crazy but at least it was only about $5

I might try to get the sugar cane paper. I still have some HP paper that works pretty good but not much.

Thanks
Mreeveshp

Sent from my Note 8 using Tapatalk

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Here’s a link on how Exceed improved their journal. https://youtu.be/WZAp3oKt9Cs

My guess is the journal paper costs more to have a coating and they don’t have it in the notebook. I appreciate how open they were to making changes based on the reviewer’s previous video and I wonder if they might change the notebook if they knew it might be a better product for fountain pen users.

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Originally Posted by Mark Dillon

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Originally Posted by mreeveshp

I have the exceed journal that I love, so the other day i got the 5 subject exceed notebook for practice it doesn't say the weight of the paper but it's pretty thick and the paper felt the same as the journal but when I got home and tried it all my inks (which are only 6) feathered like crazy but at least it was only about $5

I might try to get the sugar cane paper. I still have some HP paper that works pretty good but not much.

Thanks
Mreeveshp

Sent from my Note 8 using Tapatalk

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Here’s a link on how Exceed improved their journal. https://youtu.be/WZAp3oKt9Cs

My guess is the journal paper costs more to have a coating and they don’t have it in the notebook. I appreciate how open they were to making changes based on the reviewer’s previous video and I wonder if they might change the notebook if they knew it might be a better product for fountain pen users.

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Yes only there journals have paper that is FP friendly at least what I have seen so far.


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Originally Posted by OCArt

You might also consider bagasse paper- made from the fibers of sugar cane. Staples sells some under the Sustainable Earth brand but just make a note of that term and you'll see it from time to time in the dollar stores, etc.

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I can confirm that for me the sugar cane paper from Staples has done very well with my pens and using Noodler's Black ink.

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Originally Posted by MTHall720

I am really happy with the sugar cane based paper from Staples. As a general rule I have found that paper made in Brazil and in Vietnam tend to be FP friendly.

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I also have found that to be the case too. Generally happy with Brazil, Vietnam, and some India paper.

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+ Hammermill Digital Color Copy Paper, 28lb. It works very well and is even slightly better than HP paper. Plus the paper weight is great. Like most of these papers they are coated so your colors will tend to be more saturated. May take a little longer to dry but not terribly so. Available in reams.

+ Black'n Red notebooks, bound, are excellent also. Same notes as on the copy paper though.

Here are a few comparisons below though the prices may be out of date by a small amount.

Paper Brand & Name Price No. Of Sheets Weight lbs Weight gsm $/Sheet
Hammilton Color Copy Digital, letter, #28, Ream 500 sheets $18.49 500 28 105.3 $0.04
Kokuyo Campus Loose A4, 8.3x11.7 $7.75 50 75 $0.15
Clairefontaine Triomphe Notepad - A4 $9.00 50 90 $0.18
Tops Legal Pad, 50sht, 16lbs, Pack 12 pads $17.79 600 16 60.2 $0.03
Black'nRed Notebook $7.00 96 24 90.0 $0.07

*Sorry about the spacing. I did arrange it but in preview it drops all the tabs and spacing.

The backs of junk mail business envelopes are not necessarily fountain pen enemies. The best are the ones with the straight (vice triangular) fold - so when you use the back there's less interference with your writing / your list whathaveyou.

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Originally Posted by mreeveshp

What are some good notebooks, loose leaf, journal style, or reporter notebook brands that are real cheap....

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It’s been my experience that funds spent on cheap untested alternate paper stock ends up wasted once ink is applied. I take advantage of special pricing of the reliable brands and stock up. An excellent source is https://crazyalansemporium.wordpress.com. Call Alan and explain your needs. He brings loads of stationary to the fountain pen shows.

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Originally Posted by FredRydr

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Originally Posted by mreeveshp

What are some good notebooks, loose leaf, journal style, or reporter notebook brands that are real cheap....

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It’s been my experience that funds spent on cheap untested alternate paper stock ends up wasted once ink is applied. I take advantage of special pricing of the reliable brands and stock up. An excellent source is https://crazyalansemporium.wordpress.com. Call Alan and explain your needs. He brings loads of stationary to the fountain pen shows.

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I will definitely look into that site and I do agree after buying a bunch of different papers and then only half being okay, I have probably spent enough to buy good paper. My only problem is good paper is much lower quantity and with cheaper paper if its decent enough it's quite a bit more paper for just everyday practice.

I'd like to find somebody to do something like a pen pal writing back and forth and for that I would rather use better paper.

I've been practicing for over a year to be able to write cursive but I can't build any speed, I have to write so slow so I just keep practicing about an hour or so everyday.

mreeveshp

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If you are asking about the cheap ones then I like Pelikan Jazz and Rhodia Heritage. I also love the hand-assembled Appointed. However, I don't compromise on paper quality due to price because it always comes with a bad end. So, if you want lots of shading, no bleed and featuring then Tomoe River FP Notebook could be your first choice. I know its a little expensive but I think its fair due to lightweight and features. You can also see reviews of different paper for fountain pens from here https://drawingfan.com/best-paper-for-fountain-pens/. From here you can get all details and can make a better decision.

On the other hand, if you want a within budget option then what is about Clairefontaine? It is also very smooth and coming without ghosting and bleeding. Hopefully, you will like it.

Hi people,

I am just a fountain pen NooB, bud I like to write on Clairfantaine paper.
Currently I am writing on Clairfontaine 120 grams DCP paper. >link<.
I also like to write o the normal paper from Clairfontaine, the Clairalfa, bud the DCP I like the most.
I will not suck up the ink right away, and the pen flows very smooth in the ink over the super soft paper.
Maybe it is just a personal preference, maybe you like it to.

One thing is for sure, it is certainly not expensive.

In the nearby future Oxford comes with Oxford Optik paper in A4 packages of 500 sheets :).
I pre-ordered 1500 pages :).

The Oxford Optik printer paper is the same paper witch is in their well known fountain pen friendly notebooks.
Attachment 59552
In Europe the delivery starts in the begin of April.
You can order it on Amazon (at least the Dutch Amazon bud I think every European Amazon).

Do you have a cents per sheet on the Optik loose leaf paper? I've found the Hammermill Digital Copier paper in #28 weight to be quite good. In another class from brands like HP. It feels, performs similar to Optik or close enough that it doesn't cause me any grief over the difference. I've used the higher end papers but just don't see enough difference to upgrade so far. I write exclusively with stubs and almost exclusively with Noodler's ink. It takes a decent paper to stand up to the combo.

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Originally Posted by Niels

In the nearby future Oxford comes with Oxford Optik paper in A4 packages of 500 sheets :).
I pre-ordered 1500 pages :).

The Oxford Optik printer paper is the same paper witch is in their well known fountain pen friendly notebooks.
Attachment 59552
In Europe the delivery starts in the begin of April.
You can order it on Amazon (at least the Dutch Amazon bud I think every European Amazon).

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It's been available here in the UK since last month, and it's nice (£6.99 a ream, less in bulk) which at todays rate is just under 2c (US) per sheet.

I just wish they did the 90gsm version, which is my preference for printing, especially double sided, which I tend to do so save paper.

I just got some Optik notebooks (they finally had the spiral bound unlined version back in stock) which were very good value - less than £2 each for five, which is less than half the price I normally have to pay for the Rhodia version - though I do still prefer the top bound Rhodia format if I have a choice.

Well I hope the Optik loose paper comes to the US. Love to do a comparison with it some of the others. I have found it does pay to experiment with papers that are more frugal. It is the same process known as comparison shopping. You buy a sample of a product and test it. If it doesn't work, use for your printer, scrap, drawing, whatever. Don't buy it again. If it does work, then add it to your acceptable list and so on.

I have had some recent success with B5 notebooks, dot-grid, from BooQool on Amazon. Look for the BooQool storefront. Perform well with stub nibs, not much show through, no bleeding, feathering, etc. Paper feels a little bit draggy but not much. Dry time seems a little long, but some of the inks I use do have longer dry times.

Here's a link to the Staples Sugar Cane Paper I use. https://www.staples.com/Staples-Sust...product_398457

I purchased the Exceed 100 gsm journal and attacked it with a bevy of Chinese fountain pens with a variety of inks. All came out great. See photos.

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Originally Posted by phhphd

I purchased the Exceed 100 gsm journal and attacked it with a bevy of Chinese fountain pens with a variety of inks. All came out great. See photos.

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Very nice handwriting. The journals are great in my opinion, great price and always work well for me, the notebooks on the other hand feather horribly with all my inks which aren't many, I was very disappointed with them. I also have some of the exceed pocket size hard cover notebooks which are great I think they use the same paper as the journals.

Thanks
mreeveshp

Ayush notebooks from India aren’t too bad...I paid $7 for a 5x8-ish size.... but I’d rather spend $22 for an Endless Recorder notebook, Tomoe River 68gsm, around 190 pages of very nice paper, both sides usable, and it’s a very nicely constructed notebook as well.

Another vote for sugarcane paper. I use the pads from Office Despot and the loose leaf copy paper from Staples.

I recently purchased Southworth paper from Amazon (US). 500 sheets for under $25. No issue with any pen or ink combination that I've used on it

I recently purchased Southworth paper from Amazon (US). 500 sheets for under $25. No issue with any pen or ink combination that I've used on it