Paper: the other factor when writing

An often overlooked element in writing: paper. Especially when you’re used to using ballpoints. Ballpoints seem the thrive on bad paper. The rougher the fibers, the better! Anyone who has ever tried their hands at a puzzle in the newspaper knows what I’m talking about. And if I do have to write on cheap fibrous paper, a ballpoint will be my first choice.

It’s different with a fountain pen. Yes, the fountain pen, smooth writer, is eager to deliver ink. Give it paper that soaks up the ink and things get ugly. Instead, you want smooth, coated paper. Not too smooth—try writing on the cover of a glossy magazine to find out what that means.

Don’t go blindly for expensive paper either though. Moleskine notebooks are trendy and freakishly expensive, but don’t get remarks too well on the FP Geeks website; the paper is too thin. At the other side of the spectrum, I got some $5 notebooks at Staples that did very well.

You can’t go wrong with brands like Rhodia and Clairfontaine, and apparently Leuchtturm 1911 is also very good. Personally I have good experiences with “Markins by CR Gibson” notebooks, but far less with Eccolo. Experiment, don’t be afraid to get hurt, and try out a lot!

Why use a fountain pen?

Recently, during a course, one of my fellow students remarked: “is that a fountain pen? Wow. I didn’t know they were still used.” It was not meant as a stab or anything, just an expression of curiosity. Why use, in this digital day and age, a fountain pen?

Paper is not dead

Yes, as much as I’m a computer geek, I’m not adverse to using paper. It excels for making quick notes, sketching, and writing personal notes. Personal! Who doesn’t prefer a small gift with a personal note over an email or tweet with an impersonal “and here’s an Amazon gift card” attached to it?

Paper can be folded and wrapped. You can drop it, step on it, driver over it. Your choice of paper can be personalized, and reflect the importance of what you write. For this, I’ll just use the thinnest yellow notepad from Staples. For that, I’ll grab my hand-scooped pulp free Japanes paper that comes it its own delicate bamboo box.

But a ballpoint writes on paper…

And with paper, comes the pen. While a ballpoint pen can be used to advertise status—there are many expensive ballpoints to be found—its consistency becomes a weakness when you are looking for personalization. Ballpoints always write with the same stroke, regardless of how you hold the pen, or even what brand it is. The only choice you have is the color, and even that is limited: black, blue, maybe red and green… sometimes purple.

Compare that to fountain pens! Even the most conservative brands usually offer eight to ten ink colors, but there’s no reason to stick to that. Practically every color is available. But it doesn’t stop with the color. Drying time, saturation, shading… with some research you can find an ink that behaves practically in any way the way you want it.

But it doesn’t stop with the ink. The writing part of the pen, the nib, comes in many shapes and sizes. You have the choice of thin or broad, of strokes with a consistent thickness or having it very with the angle or pressure (or both) applied to the pen.

And finally, there’s the comfort factor. Using a quality pen (and that doesn’t mean expensive!) on good paper is a silky smooth experience that is incredibly better than writing with a ballpoint pen.

Want to try one?

The Nemosine Singularity (Paramount Goods is the producer of the pen) offers amazing writing for very little money. For $15 you will get a simple cardboard box, but it contains everything you need: the pen, a couple of cartridges, and even a converter (a gizmo that allows you to use bottled ink instead of cartridges). I have two of them; pick the fine nib if you’re used to ball points (and if you’re writing small) or the medium nib if you write a bit larger or like a bolder style. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great pen to start out with.

Once you’re running out of cartridges, consider getting a bottle of the excellent Waterman ink. Yes, it’s conservative, some might even call it boring. But it is also sold at economic prices ($10.50 per bottle), and Waterman makes very well behaving inks; it’s very hard to go wrong with it.

Give it a try!