I recently posted a review of the Leuchtturm1917 Softcover notebook and gave it high marks for the paper quality. Specifically, I was impressed with the great shading and lack of feathering or bleeding that the paper showed. Shortly after posting that review, I heard from a few people who had vastly different experiences with their Leuchtturm notebooks. I also realized that I had a different Leuchtturm notebook that was purchased about a year ago and never used. Would it have the same paper as the notebook I had just reviewed or the worse paper that other people had experienced?
Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Quality
If you’re reading this and wondering what the fuss is about fountain pen friendly paper, fountain pens have particular paper requirements in order to get the most out of your pen and ink. For starters, paper that feathers and bleeds is typically considered unacceptable for use with a fountain pen. Not only can it make your writing hard to read, but it also can make the entire back side of each page unusable. Paper will also ideally show the shading and sheening characteristics of your inks. If your paper doesn’t show much sheen or shading, you’re missing out on an entire dimension of writing with a fountain pen!
You can see how much character shading can add to your handwriting.
Comparing The Two Leuchtturm1917 Notebooks
First, I think we need a way for me to talk about the notebooks so that you can tell them apart. The notebook that I initially reviewed is a larger A5 size, so I’ll call this one the “larger” notebook. In the writing samples this is notebook (1). The other one that I had never used is a smaller pocket notebook in an A6 size, so I’ll call this one the “smaller” notebook. In the writing samples this is notebook (2). Other than the size, both are the exact same Leuchtturm1917 Softcover notebook. The only difference is that they were purchased about a year apart from each other.
Let me start out by saying that I really liked the larger notebook that I reviewed. I don’t usually use both sides of a page, so the ghosting didn’t bother me. I loved the texture of the paper and how much shading it showed. I wasn’t crazy about the price of the notebook, but I was willing to overlook that for the overall quality of the notebook and the number of additional features that are included.
Then I tried out the smaller notebook. While it has the exact same features and cover material, and the paper looks and feels the same, the writing experience was completely different. Inks feathered and bled like crazy. Lines were not crisp, which made all of my writing look like I used a larger nib size. There was no sheen on any of the inks I used. If I didn’t know better, I would never have guessed that both notebooks were made by the same company.
What the heck was going on here? Just to be sure it wasn’t a fluke and I just happened to test a bad page, I tried a page in each signature of the notebook (grouping of folded sheets of paper that you can see when you look at the top or bottom of a notebook) to see if the quality was any different. Unfortunately, there was no change in quality.
Each folded grouping of papers in a notebook is called a signature.
Leuchtturm Paper Quality
It seems that Leuchtturm has a bit of a reputation for varying paper quality in their notebooks. Look around online and you’ll find various blog posts and forum topics discussing the varying paper qualities. I think these two notebooks really illustrate just how much it can vary. Here are the writing samples that I used to test each notebook using my new paper rating system.
Leuchtturm (1) – The larger Leuchtturm notebook handled ink very well.
Leuchtturm (1) – It had very little bleed through, and only with my wettest nib.
Leuchtturm (2) – The smaller Leuchtturm notebook handled ink horribly.
Leuchtturm (2) – The back page of the smaller Leuchtturm notebook looks like my pen leaked all over it.
Here is how I’d rate each notebook using my paper rating system:
Leuchtturm Softcover Notebook (2)
-
Sheen
-
Shading
-
Bleeding
-
Ghosting
-
Feathering
-
Dry Time
Leuchtturm Softcover Notebook
-
Sheen (higher is better)
-
Shading (higher is better)
-
Bleeding (higher is better)
-
Ghosting (higher is better)
-
Feathering (higher is better)
-
Dry Time (higher is better)
There is an enormous difference between the two notebooks. This is not something that you would expect from two notebooks of the same brand, especially when they are the exact same type of notebook.
I do want to mention that I have one other Leuchtturm journal that I use, which is the Some Lines A Day 5-year journal. It was purchased around the same time as the smaller notebook. Fortunately, the paper in the journal is very well-behaved, but I’m not sure if it’s the same paper as in the larger notebook or not. Since the Some Lines A Day journal is meant to be used over the course of 5 years, writing a bit on each page once a year, I’m wondering if it has special coatings that protect the paper from repeated use.
Conclusion
After using the 5-year journal for the past year and then trying out the larger A5 notebook, I was sold on Leuchtturm. I loved the feel of the notebook, the texture of the paper and how my writing looked on it. Then I tried the small notebook and everything changed. In my mind Leuchtturm went from a notebook company that made an amazing, high-quality product to a company that made an unreliable, overpriced product. Does this sound harsh? It should be. If a company is going to charge as much as or even more than some of the best notebooks on the market, including Life and Midori, I expect the quality of the paper, not just the notebook itself, to be consistent and fountain pen friendly. Page numbers and an index do not justify the price tag.
With that being said, I’m going to go back and adjust my previous review of the Leuchtturm1917 Softcover notebook. There is just no way that I can recommend a Leuchtturm notebook to anyone who uses a fountain pen.
Comments 17
Very interesting! I’ve used a number of hard-cover Leuchtturm1917 A5 journals and several of the “Bullet Journals” which are essentially like the hard cover journals and they have all without exception had very high quality paper. I love their paper, the texture, shading, and even sheen (my experience is that the sheen would be more like 2 or 3 stars on your system, I think), no bleed through, but yes, some show through. Still, I really enjoy their paper. The only thing that keeps me from buying more of their notebooks is that they don’t have any with lines that are 7 mm apart–only dot grid 5 mm or lines 5 mm or blank. If they had 7 mm lines, I would not need to look at any other journals.
I’m currently using a Midori MD journal with 7 mm lines (yay!) and it’s a great journal. The only drawback is that this one also has significant show through. Oh well! It’s fun searching for the best notebook for your tastes!
Thanks John!
Author
I have to say I was pretty disappointed. I really wanted to like them, but that smaller notebook really has me leery to spend money on another one. It’s good to hear you’ve had nothing but good experiences with them (other than the line spacing)!
I love Midori MD journals. They do also have a lot of show through, but the paper is just so good! Hopefully one day you’ll find the perfect notebook.
After being disappointed with Moleskines I wanted to try the Leuchtturms, starting with an A7 to test… Well, not better than Moleskines when it comes to fountain pens friendliness. Paper behaves differently according to size and models, it seems.
For instance, in pocket formats, Moleskine notebooks are not good, agendas feels like even graphite pencils will bleed and feather, BUT pro pad in 100gsm are very good, as the faux-A5 soft cover notebook which can handle my Ahab at least as good as my Clairefontaines do. But the “Pro” hardcover in faux-A5 performs more than a basic pocket sized.
So today I use MD, Life, Apica, Tomoe, Rhodia/Clairefontaine, Fabriano for fountain pens writing, and “Molestturms” for the rest.
Author
Sounds like you’ve had some very mixed results, which is sad. There’s nothing worse than spending money on a product that has worked for you in the past and having a different experience. Sounds like sticking with other brands is a good idea.
I just started googling for this topic as I thought I am crazy seeing the paper difference in same products.
I asked several sellers and they all were convinced that ‘All Leuchtturms have same high quality paper’ but this simply is not true. ~3 years ago I bought a dotted berry A5 which had gorgeous smooth and thick, extremely fountain pen friendly paper. I was so in love in this notebook that when it was close to finish I another 2 in different cover colours (Still a5 dotted as this is my fav format). I was so dissappointed when it turned out that the paper in new notebooks is rough and thin…
Few days ago I went to stationery shop and out of curiosity I checked 4 L. notebooks that were already unwrapped from plastic foil on shelves and it turned out that all 4 used different paper! WHY it is that? It feels like some kind of lottery 🙁 I don’t get it why they’re doing it…
Sad thing if it comes to number of pages, pocket on the back, length of ribbons + some other details – my first berry Leuhtturm is the best. I checked moleskines, nuuna, rhodias and all of them were not as perfect… 🙁
Author
I had a similar experience to you. I loved the first notebook of theirs that I used, but as soon as I tried another that had such different paper I knew I wouldn’t be using any more for a while. That’s really crazy that you found four different notebooks that all had different paper!
I’m new to FP and I’m taking an online classes on FP use. My instructor recommended the Leuchtturm and while new to FP, I love paper. Disappointed with this product. Very happy to find your site.
Author
Hi Pat, I’m happy to hear you’re enjoying using fountain pens! It’s too bad you got a bad notebook. Leuchtturm’s notebooks, with the good paper, are very nice to use. Happy to have you here!
I do a lot of volunteer committee work in my town, and I like to keep one journal going, with meeting notes, and I prefer the A4 size hardcover for this purpose. I have also used a number of A5 notebooks.
I first started with Moleskine. I will no longer buy Moleskine products, period.
I have been using a Fabriano EcoQua stapled softcover for personal notes, and I like it. I mention that having just read your review, which I agree with.
I filled a number of Rhodia A5 notebooks, and they were fine, but did not have numbered pages, which is important for me, for indexing purposes.
I have noticed a slight difference in the Leuchturmm A5 and A4 hardcover notebooks, the smaller ones seem to have a lighter grade paper, with more tendancy to bleed.
I am now on my fourth large Leuchturmm A4 hardcover for my volunteer work, and I think they are great. I see no bleed or feather, just a light amount of feedback, the numbering and index pages as well as the rear wallet are all important to me, and I enjoy writing on the paper with a great variety of pens and nibs. I have used lined , dot grid and plain, right now I am using a plain page, with bright red hardbound cover, two marker ribbons and a good elastic. I am totally sold, and urge you to try an A4. I get the slimlines, not the larger thicker version. The ruled pages have a very useful margin, where I can make ‘to do’ notes, or flag important passages, etc, post meeting editing, that sort of thing, very useful.
As a side note, after years of using Rhodia pocket size weekly calendar notebooks, in Orange, I saw a Leuchturmm weekly pocket calendar in a local art supply store and tried it out this year. Slightly smaller than Rhodia (better pocket fit), light grey printing for the days etc, good elastic, good pocket, two marker ribbons, soft grey cover. Took some getting used to, print is very small for my aging eyes, but very handysize, 3.6″ wide, 5.9″ tall. Binding is sewn. 5/12 through the year and holding up well. the seven days are on the left page, ruled lines on right page. The Rhodia had six days on the left page, Sunday at bottom of right, rest of right page is grid, days have two columns, AM and PM, Leuchturmm has one, no times printed in, which is OK for me. Paper good on both. Rhodia is 4.2″ X 6.0″, a little less handy, but nice hard bound leatherette feel. However, Rhodia cheaped out a few years ago and no longer included the inside rear cover pocket and deleted the page ribbon as well. Bad form. I started taping my own ribbon and pocket inside until I switched to the Leuchturmm, which has a pocket and two marker ribbons.
My main intended message is, take a look at the larger Leuchturmm 1917 Hardbound notebook, the A4, Slimline, nice hardcovers with good paper and a nice selection of colors for the covers.
Author
That’s interesting that you’ve experienced different papers between the Leuchtturm A5 an A4 sizes. I just started my first A4 notebook (Black n’ Red) earlier this year and must admit that I’m enjoying it. I’ll have to grab a Leuchtturm and see how I like it. Sounds like you’ve got a great system. Thanks so much for the comment!
Your re-review/post answered my burning question about Leuchtturm’s loyal following – the ink shading. I normally use Rhodia when journaling but when I started to learn the bullet journaling system I fell for the branding and jumped to the official Leuchtturm1917 version. I thought I could live with the ghosting, but when I saw the bleed through I had the same words you used: completely unacceptable. Fortunately, Rhodia has its own version of a bullet journal (dot, contents, calendar and numbered pages) so I went back to the silky, smooth land of Clairefontaine
Author
I still haven’t tried the Rhodia Goalbook (I think that’s the one you’re talking about), but it’s on my list of notebooks to pick up and try out! Glad you found something that works for you.
I am impressed with the new 120 gsm paper that Leuchturmm has introduced, I have an A5 bound notebook purchased direct from them that I am liking.
Author
I’ve been meaning to pick up one of those notebooks and try it out, Edward. Glad to hear you’re enjoying it!
I have just found this – all very interesting. I use A5 notebooks, with fine or XF nibs. I filled a hardcover one, bought in 2019, and it was excellent – I like the 6mm line spacing. Last year I bought another hardcover one, and a softcover one. The softcover book performs very well, but the hardcover one produces axactly the results you describe – broad lines. I thought it was just me – very relieved to hear others have the same experience! I’m wondering whether to go to Rhodia (7mm spacing). And like others who have responded, I will never buy Moleskine agin!
Author
Sorry you had that experience, Peter. I just tried the Rhodia Goalbook for the first time and it looks like it might be a good alternative. I haven’t used it extensively, but will have a review of it up at some point. Until then, I hope you have better luck with paper!
Thanks John. I haven’t ever used Rhodia Goalbooks but I’ll await your review with interest.
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