Krink Notepad Review

Have you ever seen something and grabbed it on a whim, hoping it would turn out to be something good? That’s exactly how I ended up purchasing this Krink notepad. My wife was at the local art store buying some paint markers and I saw these shiny notepads and notebooks sitting on the counter. I figured that if they were good for paint markers, they would probably be pretty good for fountain pens as well, so one of the notepads ended up in our shopping bag.

First Impressions

Krink definitely has their branding down, as their products are instantly recognizable. Paint markers aren’t in my area of expertise, so I can’t say how good the rest of their products are, but I can say that the notepad and notebooks look really slick, especially compared to what’s normally found in the fountain pen world. The shiny silver covers with simple block lettering make a great first impression. The paper feels very thick and smooth and, as I mentioned, will hopefully hold up to fountain pens really well. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to handle a notebook, so I can’t comment on how they are made. This review is for the notepad and paper only.

The branding and styling is very simple and attractive.

The Details

What are these notepads like?

• Pages: 250
• Paper Weight: 100gsm
• Binding: Glue
• Page Style: Blank
• Size: 6″x6″

Ink-handling characteristics (A table with the following properties can be found at the bottom of this post)

• Sheen: High
• Shading: Low
• Bleeding: Very Low
• Ghosting: Low
• Feathering: Very Low
• Dry Time: High

Other features

• Also comes in notebooks
• Attractive design

You can see that this notepad has quite a few pages and is quite thick.

Actual Use

I feel like this review needs to consist of two different parts: Using Krink paper with fountain pens and using Krink paper with ink and water. The reason for this is because, while my normal paper tests involve testing with fountain pens, this paper is made for art and not writing, so I think it should be tested for ink and water play as well.

I will also say that I tried this paper with a variety of brush markers, highlighters, Sharpies, and other random things I found around my house. The paper handled all quite well with only the Sharpie, the biggest weakness of any paper, bleeding through. It did a good job at keeping the Sharpie in check, though, with only minimal bleed through.

Use With Fountain Pens

Krink paper surprised me in how well it works with fountain pens. It has a bit of texture, so it offers some feedback when you write on it. Still, it’s fairly smooth. I would compare the texture to Midori MD or Fabriano EcoQua. It also handles fountain pen ink very well! In my tests and writing, I found it to not show much shading, but it does show sheen. I couldn’t get it to feather or bleed. Thanks to its heavy 100gsm weight, there is almost no ghosting. Dry times are on the high side.

Krink notepad writing sample: Front

Krink notepad writing sample: back

Use With Ink And Water

Using this paper with ink and water isn’t quite as satisfying as using it with a fountain pen, but you could definitely do worse. The paper handles large amounts of ink and water fairly well, but it does tend to wrinkle and warp when wet (it flattens out some when it dries). Fortunately, the water doesn’t soak all the way through the paper, so the pages behind the one you’re working on should be safe. I also have to note that the paper handles water much better than most other fountain pen friendly papers, but doesn’t do nearly as well as watercolor paper. I’d also say that Tomoe River handles ink and water better thank Krink does, but if you’re looking for a thicker alternative to Tomoe River, this would be a decent option.

Conclusion

I don’t think that Krink paper will be the next big thing in the world of fountain pens, but it is actually very nice paper. It’s pleasant to write on, will show off the properties of your ink, and handles heavy applications of water and ink fairly well. I would be happy to keep this notepad on my desk for quick notes or doodles. I can imagine that a notebook filled with this paper would be wonderful for anyone who enjoys writing, playing and drawing with a variety of pens and makers.

If you’d like a bit more information about how I test papers and notebooks, I wrote an article about my paper rating system.