What's so Special about Fountain Pen Paper?

While there is so much focus on fountain pens - from brand to nib size, ink, colour, and material, without the right paper, your pen’s potential is poor.

Just like your choice of pen, your choice of paper is personal and essential to the enjoyment of your fountain pen providing you with a superior writing experience.

Of course, fountain pens work on any kind of paper. However, there are a few points to consider when choosing paper and also, why paper specifically made for fountain pens, will give you a better writing experience.

1. Drying Time

Different ink formulations have an impact on drying time. In addition to this, a paper's absorbency also plays a role. If it's less absorbent the ink will take longer to dry.

Paper Texture

Another factor that impacts drying time is the smoothness of the paper. A rougher paper tends to absorb better while a smoother paper takes longer to dry.  

2. Feathering

Low-quality paper causes what is known as feathering. This is when the ink spreads through the fibres of the paper. It makes for messy and unclear writing.

3. Bleed Through

Bleed-through occurs when the quality of the paper is low, too thin and therefore overly absorbent. You can see this when what you have written appear on the backside of your paper or worse - when it bleeds through on to the next page.

4. The Making of Paper

Paper manufacturers take into consideration the above factors when milling paper.This is done through the choice of paper fibres, the weight, and the density of the paper once it’s finished.

High-quality fountain pen paper is milled with the specific intention of reducing the number of fibres that get stuck in the nib. This is a good reason why recycled paper doesn’t make for good fountain pen paper.

In addition to the milling of the paper, manufacturers apply a special finish to their paper. The finish can create a more silky paper but also has an impact on bleed-through and drying time. 

Paper Papier’s Recommendation 

We carry a number of different kinds of fountain pen paper in order to offer a selection that is sure to please you no matter what kind of paper you prefer. 

Looking for the smoothest and silkiest of paper. Then we highly recommend Rhodia!

Made in France, Rhodia is one of the smoothest papers we carry at Paper Papier. In fact, it's so smooth we would call it buttery - and we absolutely love to write on it! 

Fountain pen ink dries on it in a reasonable amount of time and there are no issues with bleed-through or feathering. 

If you're looking for a luxurious writing experience, Rhodia is it!

Don't forget to check out the other paper available at Paper Papier.