Choosing paper that takes ink well

When you bind your own notebooks, you get to choose the paper, and that turns out to matter more than almost anything else. A beautiful binding filled with paper that makes your pen blot and bleed is a disappointment. Over the past year I have developed a quick testing habit that saves me from that.

The three problems

There are three things to look for when writing on any paper:

• Feathering: ink spreads into the fibres along the line, making fuzzy, hairy edges.
• Bleed-through: ink soaks right through the sheet and marks the page behind it.
• Ghosting: the writing is visible through the sheet from the other side, without actually soaking through.

A little ghosting is normal with thinner papers and does not bother most people. Feathering and bleed-through are much more annoying, especially with wet inks.

Why papers behave differently

Paper is a mat of fibres. How it handles ink depends mainly on two things. The first is sizing, a treatment applied during manufacture that slows down how fast water soaks in. Well-sized paper keeps ink sitting on the surface. Unsized paper, like blotting paper, drinks it in. The second is the weight and density of the paper. Heavier, denser paper is less likely to show bleed-through.

Smooth papers tend to keep lines crisp. Toothy, textured papers give a pleasant feel to pencil and dip pens but can catch on fine nibs.

My test sheet

Before binding a new paper into a notebook, I cut one sheet and make a test page. On it I write a short sentence with every pen I commonly use:

• A fine ballpoint.
• A gel pen.
• A rollerball.
• A fountain pen with a fine nib.
• A fountain pen with a broad nib and a wetter ink.
• A pencil.

I also draw a small block of solid colour with a felt-tip marker and add a quick swipe of watercolour if I might want to paint in the book.

Then I wait a few minutes and look closely, front and back, in good light. I write the paper's name and weight on the corner and file the sheet in a folder. Over time this folder has become a handy reference library.

What I have learned

• Weight alone is not a reliable guide. Some lighter papers with good sizing outperform heavier ones that are more absorbent.
• Paper sold for drawing is often lovely for pencil but too absorbent for fountain pens.
• Some paper is marked with a surface or finish name. Smooth, hot-pressed finishes generally suit fine writing; rough finishes suit painting.
• Humidity matters. The same paper can feather slightly more on a damp day.

Matching paper to purpose

I no longer look for one perfect paper. My everyday journal uses a smooth, medium-weight paper that handles every pen I own. My sketchbooks use heavier, toothier paper. For a small travel notebook I use a thinner sheet, accept some ghosting, and enjoy how light the finished book is.

A small luxury

The test page takes about five minutes. Compared with the hours that go into a hand-bound book, it is nothing. And there is a particular pleasure in opening a book you made yourself and finding that every pen glides across the page exactly as it should.