Before I get started, I wanted to let you know, in the interests of complete transparency, that today I’m going to be talking about a product I sell. That said, my “retail” operation at TGS is relatively small, and for the time being is limited to those products about which I feel strongly enough to keep in my own regular rotation, including the current TGS “house paper” from Write Notepads. I don’t think my opinion on the product is colored by my interests as a retailer, but again, transparency is important. With that out of the way, on to the review.
If you read my recent series on the Best Paper for Everyday Writing, Write Notepads paper makes numerous appearances. Their standard spiral notebook and landscape notebooks have earned a regular place in my workflow, simply because the paper is among the best-performing paper for fountain pens that’s I’ve used. It helps that I have a thing for vintage-inspired design, and their pistachio-colored notebooks remind me of the vintage supplies I used to “borrow” from my Dad's office supply closet when I was a kid. So, bonus points for nostalgia.
I’ve never done a “proper” review of this paper, and wanted to post some pictures demonstrating why I like these notebooks so much. Write Notepads has found a source of paper that, for me, strikes the perfect balance of absorbency and smoothness. It’s not heavily coated like Clairefontaine, so you get that same tactile feel reminiscent of Baron Fig paper (another favorite), but with better performance with wet fountain pens. I’ve experienced absolutely no bleed-through, little to no feathering, and a reasonable dry time that’s similar to Rhodia.
Sometimes I find that extra fine nibs will feather and bleed more than broader nibs, especially needlepoints that can dig into the fibers. I tried this paper out with the Platinum Curidas fine nib with both heavy pressure (top) and light pressure (bottom). Neither bled through but the heavy pressure writing sample feathered a bit. With normal writing pressure I did not have this issue.
Absolutely NO bleedthrough or show-through whatsoever, even with a really wet swab where I made multiple passes. I was, of course, able to make a Sharpie bleed through to the back side.
Final Thoughts and Where to Buy
As I mentioned above, this paper works so well for me that I’ve largely switched over to Write Notepads paper as my primary general purpose writing paper. With the exception of some of their pocket notebooks, Write Notepads uses this high-performance stock in all of their offerings, and I like that the full-size spiral notebooks come in both standard and landscape orientation.
You can purchase Write Notepads notebooks (including the spiral dot grid notebook pictured here) in the TGS Curated Shop, and I also carry the Landscape Notebook, Steno Pad, Reporter Notebook, Paper Journal, and Copper Anniversary Edition Pocket Notebooks (which has the higher quality paper). For items I don’t carry, you can order directly from Write Notepads, though I appreciate all the support you can throw my way!