I have been acquiring and testing out fountain pen friendly paper for years now and have quite a bit of data. Instead of keeping it all to myself and slowing releasing it one paper review at a time, I figured I might as well put it out there for anyone to reference. With that being said, I give you The Massive List of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Ratings.
A Few Things To Note
Before you dive in and start looking through the table, I want to say a few things.
- If you’re wondering where they came from, all of these numbers are a result of my paper testing system.
- Some paper quality can vary from batch to batch. A few manufacturers I’ve had issues with are Leuchtturm and Baron Fig. The numbers in this table are for the best paper sample I tested from any given brand.
- Many paper brands have different names to denote different sizes or layouts. For example, you can find Apica CD 11 and CD 15 notebooks or Mnemosyne 181 and 195 notebooks. Both will have the same paper, but may be a different size or ruling.
- Each column is sortable, so if you want to find papers with the highest shading or least ghosting, you can!
- Keep in mind, the overall rating is a combination of all factors and speaks to the performance of a paper, but does not necessarily speak to how enjoyable any given paper actually is to use.
- Many of these papers and notebooks have been reviewed on this site, but almost as many have not been reviewed yet, so if you’re looking for a review of a particular paper and can’t find it, that’s why.
| Paper Name | Sheen (0-5) Higher Is Better | Shading (0-5) Higher Is Better | Bleed-Through (0-5) Higher Is Better | Ghosting (0-5) Higher Is Better | Feathering (0-5) Higher Is Better | Dry Time (0-5) Higher Is Better | Overall Rating (1-5) Higher Is Better |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apica CD11 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3.00 |
| Apica Premium C.D. | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3.33 |
| Awagami Takumi | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3.50 |
| Baron Fig Vanguard II | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3.50 |
| Berlin Notebook | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3.00 |
| Black n' Red | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3.50 |
| Century Edition | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3.83 |
| Clairefontaine Basic | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4.00 |
| Clairefontaine Triomphe | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3.83 |
| Crown Mill Laid Writing Paper | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3.33 |
| Crown Mill Pure Cotton Writing Paper | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3.83 |
| CVS Caliber | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3.50 |
| Exceed Bullet Journal | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3.67 |
| Fabriano EcoQua | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3.67 |
| Fabrino Soft Touch Notebook | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4.00 |
| Field Notes Clandestine | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2.00 |
| Figurare | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4.33 |
| G. Lalo Toile Imperiale Notepad | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3.83 |
| G. Lalo Velin de France | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3.33 |
| G. Lalo Velin pur Coton | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3.33 |
| G Lalo Vergé de France | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3.50 |
| Graphilo | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4.00 |
| Hahnemuhle Diary Flex | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1.83 |
| Hanaduri Hanji | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3.67 |
| HP Premium32 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3.50 |
| Itoya Romeo | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3.83 |
| Jour and Etoffe Couleur Fil | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2.33 |
| Kobe Liscio-1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3.83 |
| Kokuyo Campus | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3.00 |
| Kokuyo Campus CYO-BO Notebook | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4.00 |
| Kokuyo Campus MIO Notebook | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3.50 |
| Kokuyo KB Business Paper | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3.83 |
| Kokuyo ME | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2.67 |
| Krink Notepad | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4.00 |
| Kunisawa | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2.83 |
| Kyokuto Expedient | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2.00 |
| Laconic Cliff | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2.83 |
| Lamy Notebook | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3.67 |
| Lemome Notebook | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4.17 |
| Leuchtturm | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3.50 |
| Life Bank Paper | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4.00 |
| Life L Writing Paper | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3.83 |
| Life Noble | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3.83 |
| Life Via Airmail Writing Paper | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3.83 |
| Logical Prime | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3.83 |
| Maruai Basic Notebook | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1.33 |
| MDS Notebook | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3.67 |
| Midori Color Notebook | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3.50 |
| Midori MD | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4.00 |
| Midori MD Cotton | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4.00 |
| Midori Writing Paper | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3.83 |
| Minimalism Art Classic | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3.67 |
| Mnemosyne | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3.83 |
| North of Rosemont | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3.00 |
| Nuuna Flexcover Notebook | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4.00 |
| Pilot Fountain Pen Paper | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3.83 |
| Profolio Oasis | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3.83 |
| Profolio Oasis Light Notebook | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4.00 |
| Profolio Oasis Summit Notebook | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4.00 |
| R by Rhodia | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3.33 |
| Rhodia Dot Pad | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4.00 |
| Ro Biki Note - New Chiffon Cream | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2.50 |
| Soho Spark Journal | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2.17 |
| Soumkine Notebook | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2.83 |
| Stalogy | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4.00 |
| Story Supply Co | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2.33 |
| Strathmore Writing Pad | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3.83 |
| Tomoe River 52gsm | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3.67 |
| Tomoe River 68gsm | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3.83 |
| Tsubame Note | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4.00 |
| Wild Pages | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2.67 |
| Yamamoto Cosmo Air Light 75gsm | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3.83 |
| Yamamoto Cosmo Air Light 92 gsm | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3.83 |
| Yoseka Notebook | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3.50 |
Did you know I have paper sample packs that include most of these papers? This allows you to try them out before buying an entire notebook! If you’re interested, head over to my shop and pick up a paper sample pack.
Comments 30
Holy cow, this is an amazing resource. Thank you!
Author
You are very welcome, Rebecca. Enjoy!
This is great, John. You are quickly going to become the go-to expert on paper.
Do you know if Baron Fig uses the same paper in their Vanguard and Confidant notebooks?
Author
Thanks, Bruce! I’m not sure if I want that title, but suppose it wouldn’t be that bad. 🙂
As for Baron Fig, I have a Confidant and it has the same paper as the Vanguard II (the good paper) notebooks.
Thank you for this!!
Author
You are welcome, Linda!
Hi John, thx for this! Is it possible to add cost (per 80 pages or so)?
Author
You’re welcome! I do have cost per A5 sheet in my individual review of each paper, but hesitate to include it here since I really wanted it to be about the performance of the paper itself and not so much about the value/performance ratio. Still, I suppose it would be useful so will add it to my list of things to do, either adding it here or maybe making a new post about it.
Wow! I’ve been searching for this kind of resource for months. Thanks for sharing your research. Invaluable!!
Author
You’re welcome, Carla. Enjoy!
So COOL! I love it. Some real surprises on the list like the Black and Red and CVS papers.
Author
Very true, John. There are some papers out there that perform very well that you’d never expect to do so.
Thank you so much for doing these paper reviews! Many people with fountain pens have a hard time figuring out what works for them, so this is really invaluable. 📄 ✨ And the fact you made the table sortable by feature is just awesome!✨
Author
You’re welcome! I was in the same boat as most people and never knew which paper would work best, which is why I started doing all these tests. Glad you find the table and info helpful!
I tend to stick to Rhodia and Claire Fontaine…but lately I have been enjoying my Levenger system….have you tested their paper and have any thoughts on it?
Author
I haven’t tested Levenger paper before. I knew they had the paper system and their own inks (or used to at least), but didn’t know they had their own paper. I’ll have to get some and give it a try!
Happy to send you some if that would help. Email me at mcolen@yahoo.com with your address and how many sheets you need and I can pop them in the mail.
Author
Thank you! Will do!
Hi John, Thanks for the great work! I wanted to point out that your page “How Different Papers Affect Fountain Pen Ink Sheen” claims Life Noble sheens more than Life “L” Writing Paper. Which is right?
Author
You’re welcome! I’ll have to go back and look at my test papers for the other article and see how they look. It may be that the particular inks that I used showed a bit more sheen on the Life Noble versus Life L, while the inks in my standardized test show the opposite. Regardless, both are high-sheening papers that most people would probably have a hard time seeing any difference between.
And I just noticed it rates Clairefountain Triomphe as a high sheen paper while here it is middling.
Author
Keen eye! I wrote the How Paper Affects Sheen article before I came up with a standardized test for papers, which means that some of the language may not be consistent with the “official” ratings on this page. While “a lot of sheen” may not seem to be consistent with the 3 rating it has here, I still stand by my assessment that it is a good-sheening paper.
I do the vast majority of my mail reading and internet surfing on my phone because it’s convenient, and I’m just fat and lazy like that due to mobility issues. Anyway, I was reading the chart and realized that I couldn’t see the last column to read the Overall Ratings. So I’ll have to get on the computer to read the whole thing. But thanks for all the time and effort you put into doing this.
Author
Good to know, David! The chart is made with a plugin, so I’ll have to play with it a bit and see what kind of customization settings it has and if I’ll be able to adjust the column width a bit.
I would be very interested to see some art/calligraphy papers on your list, most particularly Canson Marker paper, which I prefer for showcasing sheen and minimizing feathering/bleedthrough.
Author
Thanks for the suggestion! I’d love to get a bunch of “alternative” papers and play with them and rate them. We’ll see what happens.
Thanks for this resource. It’s interesting that Life, Musubi, and Yamamoto all sell something called bank paper, but it’s not the same stuff. Life bank paper is much more absorbent. Have you tried these other bank papers? Much more sheen and shading.
Have you come across Mohawk Options Navajo Smooth? If not, it’s available through Glodan. Or I’ll send you some!
Author
Hi Steve, Bank paper is literally paper that was developed by manufacturers to be used in banks, which is why multiple companies have a version of it. I have tried the Life and Yamamoto (from their sampler) bank papers. I think Musubi uses Life Bank, but am not positive.
I haven’t tried the Mohawk Options Navajo Smooth (and I wasn’t aware of Glodan). Looks like I need to make a paper order! Thanks for sharing.
Appreciate the resource, but many of the overall ratings don’t add up properly anymore.
Author
Thanks for the comment, R. I did find a few where I had input the wrong value, so hopefully it’s looking better now.