Comments on: Paperblanks Craftsmanship Standards: Paper Quality Update

By: Zoe

Zoe — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 01:13:54 +0000

I have quite a few paperblanks and I absolutely love them. I wish that I had the money to get every size, color, and design in the journals you make. I am just nuts about the brand that I write stories and also use them as diaries.

By: Lisa McGarry

Lisa McGarry — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 18:03:01 +0000

Hello,

I have been looking for a new “perfect” notebook—a process I go through every once in a while, as needs and wishes do change—and remembered my PaperBlanks Ultra notebook circa 2001. Though it’s lined (a feature I don’t generally opt for anymore), I began writing on a still-empty page to get a feel for whether the dimensions would be generous enough for my current needs and realized that the lines were faint enough that they didn’t bother me in the least. This opens up a lot more notebook options!

From your website, I’ve gathered that there’ve naturally been some changes in the decades since I bought my last Ultra notebook from PaperBlanks, for example the “custom-designed laid paper” now used for the Ultra notebooks (which sounds lovely). And I see that the ruling is described as “thin, dark grey lines.” My question is, are these lines darker (i.e., more noticeable) than those of your much older notebooks? I ask because the hardcover Ultra notebook I’m interested in, “The Waves (Volume 4)”/Item no. 9781439772942, appears to be available only with lines. I’m just curious if they are technically the same as those I see in my much older notebook, which seem more like a light gray.

Some perspective on this rather picky (but still important!) detail would be much appreciated . . .

Lisa McGarry

By: Robyn @ Paperblanks

Robyn @ Paperblanks — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 20:05:03 +0000

In reply to Lindsay.

Hi Lindsay,

Thank you for sharing your feedback. We sincerely apologize for letting you down with the paper in our Dot-Grid Planners.

When we first began developing our Dot-Grid Planners we expected that they would be used like our traditional annual and academic planners. However when we launched them on the market we quickly learned that users require a high-quality paper than can handle wet inks like fountain pens and markers. And so, we have spent the past year researching new paper suppliers to fix this issue in our Dot-Grid Planners (that’s why we haven’t released any new designs).

We are happy to say we have found a paper that will stand up to our high standards and we are working on a launch plan now. We hope to provide an update on this soon and will be sure to make clear which Dot-Grid Planners offer this new text paper when they are released.

All the best,
Robyn @ Paperblanks

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Fri, 10 Jul 2020 19:19:39 +0000

Dear Paperblanks team,
I bought a dharma dragon flexi ultra dot planner and although it says 100gsm, it is no where near as good quality as my last flexi midi which is also 100gsm. I’m a huge fan of paperblanks and as an author – I literally have 30+ of these journals and they feature in my author talks. I have just started bullet journalling and was thrilled to see you had introduced a dot planner. You can’t imagine my disappointment when my fountain pens bled through, but also my uniball eye pens. I didn’t have a problem with these in my two midi even though the paper is 100gsm. This was a really big investment compared to other dot journals and I feel really demoralised. You guys are famous for paper quality – please don’t force me to look elsewhere – I really REA:Ly don’t want to. I’m a devoted fan, but can’t afford a mistake like this. All the best, Lindsay

By: Robyn @ Paperblanks

Robyn @ Paperblanks — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 18:35:44 +0000

In reply to Marsha.

Hi Marsha,

Thank you for reaching out, and our sincere apologies for the frustration caused by the inconsistency in the paper quality. We have heard our customers’ complaints regarding the paper in our softcover Flexis and have recently made a change to a new paper supplier to avoid this in the future. We would love to send you a replacement Flexi with the new paper so you can be one of the first to experience the upgraded paper. If you wouldn’t mind emailing me directly, I would be happy to help further.

I can be reached at apps@hartleyandmarks.com.

Thank you,
Robyn @ Paperblanks

By: Marsha

Marsha — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 14:08:51 +0000

I have issues with your transparency about the paper quality. The Flexis designs I’ve looked at on the website are ALL specified to carry 100msg paper, but there is an actual huge difference between them and you don’t find out until you try writing in them with a fountain pen ink. I had a Flexi Midi Moonlight 176p Unlined that worked really well with a fountain pen, then I bought a Flexi Midi Azure 176p Unlined, and the ink bleeds terribly, and then I bought a Flexi Ultra Black Moroccan Bold 176p Unlined because its paper felt better than its midi version in the shop, but the paper quality was still bad – my ink bleeds, it’s a bit better than the Azure one but it’s nothing like the Moonlight one. I ran out of space in my Moonlight notebook, so now I don’t know what to do. At this point I’ve wasted so much money that I’m considering switching to Rhoda or Clairefontaine, even though they don’t have pretty covers.

By: Christy

Christy — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 16:10:07 +0000

In reply to Robyn @ Paperblanks. Thank you for replying and for the information.

By: Robyn @ Paperblanks

Robyn @ Paperblanks — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 20:30:42 +0000

In reply to Christy.

Hi Christy,

Thanks for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that your recent Grande purchase wasn’t up to par. We are working on making our paper specs as easy to find as possible so you can find out about the paper even if a book is shrink wrapped. We will begin to add the GSMs on our future labels and have included it on the product page for every journal on our website. You can also filter by GSM or size when browsing online so you can find the Grandes with the heavier paper weight: https://www.paperblanks.com/en/catalog/journals/series-all/size-grande/

In terms of batch numbers, we are always happy to look into things as best we can, but the best bet when using fountain pens right now is to check the GSM of the product first. When we do release notebooks with paper designed specifically to take fountain pen ink, we’ll make a big announcement and make sure these products are easy to find.

Our Aurelia Grande is available with the heaviest paper weight of 120, as is Poetry in Bloom (Blossoming Poesie):
https://www.paperblanks.com/en/product/journals/aurelia/pb4400-0
https://www.paperblanks.com/en/product/journals/poetry-in-bloom/pb4612-7

All the best,
Robyn @ Paperblanks

By: Christy

Christy — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 12:33:02 +0000

I tend to use dip pens with fountain pen inks for my journal writing, and I have bought Paperblanks journals quite a lot because they are beautiful and also because they tend to be pretty consistent in their paper quality. I tend to prefer Ultras, which I haven’t had a problem with regarding the paper weight, and I also like Grandes for some translation projects I am doing.
Recently, however, I bought a Grande, the red-orange Faux Leather with gold designs, unlined, and it had very poor quality paper. It was an expensive purchase, so I gave it to a friend who doesn’t use fountain pens, but now I’m leery about buying another one without being able to look at the paper. Most Grandes come wrapped in plastic at the store, so you can’t look into them. I noticed you were telling some commenters above about certain batch numbers or ISBNs or lines that were assured to have a high gsm. Can you tell me anything like that? I’m currently thinking about Aurelia and Blossoming Poesie, but I’d take nearly anything that’s unlined.
Thank you.

By: Robyn @ Paperblanks

Robyn @ Paperblanks — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 18:59:01 +0000

In reply to David.

Hi David,

Thanks for your question. While we don’t currently produce a paper specifically designed for fountain pens, we have received positive reviews about the way our books with 120gsm text paper take a variety of inks. The Safavid Ultra therefore would likely be a good choice for you, however we cannot guarantee any results due to the variation in inks, nibs and hand pressure used.

We are continuing to source paper specifically designed for use with fountain pens and hope to add this to our collection soon.

All the best,
Robyn @ Paperblanks