Posts filed under Paper Reviews

Paperian Make-a-Memo Sticky Notes Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

In my stationery life there is a tug-of-war between me searching for solutions for my "scattered small pieces of paper" problem and my indulgence in scattered small pieces of paper. This product allows me to indulge in that vice. Wee papers everywhere. Huzzah.

The Paperian Make-a-Memo Pads come in a variety of formats. There are to-do lists, shopping lists, ledgers, planners, and this handy review sheet. As a frequent reviewer of both stationery and books, it was the format that seemed most useful to me. It has five stars at the top for coloring in a review score and spaces for the date and a description. I found them immediately handy in reviewing the notes themselves.

Paperian Make-a-Memo Sticky Notes Sticky

Each pad contains 40 sticky notes. The paper is good quality, better than standard office sticky notes. It is coated in a way that makes liquid ink slow to dry, so it works best with ballpoint, rollerball, or pencils.

Paperian Make-a-Memo Sticky Notes Writing

On the downside, the sticky isn't very sticky. If you want truly sticky sticky notes, these aren't them. However, I prefer gentler adhesive, especially if I'm using them in books or journals. Archivists hate sticky stuff! If I need a small piece of paper to stay put, that's what cute washi tape is for. (I have to justify my washi stash somehow.)

These wee memo pads cost $3.60 each at JetPens, which is a fantastic deal. It's right in that "I need to add a few dollars to get that sweet free shipping" range, and they're cute and useful at the same time. Perhaps a miss if you need super sticky notes, but if you're as addicted as I am to scattering your notes across a debris field of tiny paper, these are a fantastic addition to one's desk.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Sarah Read and filed under Paperion, Paper Reviews.

Midori MD Cotton Notebook Review

When you are talking about paper for pens - especially fountain pens - the word “cotton” isn’t exactly the descriptor I’m looking for. Midori has changed my thought process, though, as their Midori MD Cotton paper defies my preconceived notions of the name.

Midori MD Cotton uses 20% cotton pulp in its paper formulation, designed to give the page a softer feel with any writing instrument. While yes, the Cotton page may provide a slightly softer writing surface compared to standard MD paper, that’s not the reason you should consider buying it. You should consider buying it because it performs well with most inks, including fountain pen inks.

I’ve been a long-time user of Midori’s standard notebooks. In fact, they are some of my favorites, and I’d rank them as highly as any other paper product in my rotation. How does the classic MD compare to MD Cotton? They each have their pros and cons.

For starters, MD Cotton paper has a whiter page. It’s not stark white, like Clairefontaine Triomphe, but compared to Standard MD there is a clear difference. I think that is the Standard MD’s biggest drawback. I don’t mind it, but it is a non-starter for some. But be careful, this exact Midori MD A5 Square Cotton Paper Pad has a whiter page than the Thick version, which I am not reviewing today. (Midori’s entire Cotton lineup is confusingly sized and formatted, so pay close attention.)

*Lines are finer on the Standard MD (left,) although it may be tough to see in the image above.*

With fountain pen nibs and inks, my lines are wider on Cotton than Standard. This is a result of the softness of the Cotton page, which is by design. It’s not as soft or cushioned as something like Cosmo Air Light, and I didn’t notice it much when writing. But when I compared Cotton side by side to Standard, the difference was clear - especially for someone like myself who likes fine lines.

*Ink is a bit more visible through the back of the Cotton (left.)*

Both papers handle feathering and bleeding well, as in there is almost none. The Schmidt Rollerball ink did bleed through the back of Cotton where I filled in the square, but wasn’t bad otherwise. Cotton does have more ghosting, so Standard is a better choice for writing on both sides of the page.

Cotton does show ink color better given the whiter background, but it’s not the runaway I would have expected. I still see good color variation in the dual-shading Sailor Manyo Fuji ink I swabbed on both.

*Color is a bit more saturated on Cotton (right,) but both pages have a good range of shades.*

The only outlier in comparison was with pencil graphite. My Blackwing Extra Firm is completely fine on the Standard MD page, but on Cotton it is more like “oh heck yes.” The slight texture of the Cotton page doesn’t affect fountain pen nibs negatively, but is a huge bonus to pencils.

That Midori MD Cotton is as good with fountain pens and inks as it is with pencils says a lot. If I had to pick only one of these papers for personal use I’m sticking with the Standard MD, but for the more inky inclined, I think Cotton makes a great choice. I’m certainly going to keep using it for doodles and drawings, if not writing.

The A5 Square Cotton Paper Pad is $16.00 for 176 pages, which is priced well for a premium paper product like this. And if you need a larger - or weirder - format (what is F-size, anyway?) then Midori is sure to have you covered.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Midori, Paper Reviews.

Plotter Letterpress Refill Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

If you've listened to The Pen Addict Podcast in the recent past, you've probably heard Brad talk about his Plotter Planner and how he uses different paper refills to create a unique notebook with lots of different paper options. Plotter is a binder and refill system that is owned by the same company that makes Traveler's notebooks, and that should be enough to let you know that the bar for usability, quality, and aesthetics is high.

Similar to the Traveler's notebooks, you first pick a size, then a cover, and then all of the paper refills and accessories to pack inside. All of the options are made to last and are pleasant to use. With Plotter, instead of a standard notebook that is strapped into a leather cover by the binding, these notebooks use a 6-ring binder to hold paper refills in place. This is great because you can combine different types of paper, add or remove accessories, and even reshuffle the order of everything whenever you want. The possibilities are endless, and I can see how trying just a little piece of this system can be addicting.

But a notebook or planner system relies heavily on the quality of the paper, right? No one really wants to use a planner that has mediocre paper at this price. Luckily, the paper that Plotter uses to create these notebook refills is fantastic. Before taking the plunge on an entire notebook system, I chose to dip my toes in the water with a single paper refill that Brad sent over.

The Letterpress Printing version of the paper I'm using here isn't for sale anymore, but it's still a good representation of the other options that you can pick up today. I'm using the Bible size paper, which measures in at 6.7"× 3.7" (170mm X 93mm). It's tall and narrow, similar to the larger Traveler's notebook size.

Aside from the Bible size, you can also use standard A5, Narrow, and Mini.

A5: 8.3" × 5.8" (210mm X 147mm)
Bible: 6.7"× 3.7" (170mm X 93mm)
Narrow: 6.7"× 3.1" (170mm X 78mm)
Mini: 5" × 3.15" (127mm X 80mm)

I think the Bible size is a pretty happy medium in between a standard A5 and pocket notebook (like a standard 3.5" x 5.5" Field Notes or the Mini Plotter size). It's tall, but still skinny enough to easily fit into most pockets or bag pouches with no problem. That extra inch or so provides just enough additional space to make the page feel larger, even though it's not technically that much more two-dimensional space than a pocket notebook. I'm struggling to see where I'd prefer using the Narrow size, but I'm sure I'll eventually be able to find a perfect use for an even slimmer paper size!

Once you have a size picked out, there are still a few more choices to make. With the layout, you have several options that you can mix and match to make the perfect notebook. Every size refill offers the same layout options, except that the blue grid paper isn't available in the Narrow size.

Plain
2mm Grid
6mm Ruled
To Do List
Drawing Paper
5mm Dot Grid
Blue Paper 2mm Grid (not available in Narrow)
Chart Grid

So many options to make the perfect notebook! Keep in mind, these are just the memo refills, not the Diary refills (calendar based).

The cream-colored paper is smooth to the touch and provides just a tiny amount of feedback to your fingers as you write. In my case, the letterpress ruling means that there's no ink used to create the ruling — the ruled lines are debossed into the page. Even though the lines are debossed, I can't feel them with my fingers or when writing over them. It's really subtle and well done, while also providing a soft guide to keep my writing perfectly horizontal. The lines can be nearly invisible in certain light, though. This can be a good or bad thing as the lines can easily disappear if you don't need them, but it can be a bit of a struggle to find the lines when you need to draw a straight line or find the guiding line when writing. That said, it's still a really cool feature, but the standard ink-based rulings are perfectly fine and more dependable.

Since this is a binder refill, I think it's reasonable to expect that you can write on the back side of the page, and show-through isn't an issue with this paper. You can certainly see ghostly outlines of the inks through the page, but it's not noticeable enough (for me, anyway) to keep me from writing on both sides of the page.

The paper is Midori MD Cotton, which is made by Designphil, parent company of Plotter. It's thin and smooth, but handles fountain pen inks remarkably well. There's no feathering or bleeding, and dry times aren't affected. It's a great paper that is a joy to use.

At the end of the day, the Plotter system isn't cheap. But, what they offer is a high quality product that you can customize to your heart's content. If you can envision yourself using these refills, you can rest assured that the product will deliver for you. Thanks to Brad sharing, I think I'll have to start planning out my Plotter configuration soon!

(Brad purchased the paper from PLOTTER at one of several pen shows he attended in the past.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!