“Iroful” means “colorful,” — an amalgamation of the English word “color” for the Japanese word “iro” which also means color. The intention of the name is to convey the paper’s ability to show color cleanly and crisply.
The Iroful Notebook ($9.75) is a standard A5 soft cover, 75gsm Japanese paper, made by Sakae Technical Paper, original manufacturer of Tomoe River paper. The notebook features 96 pages. The notebooks are also available in lined and dot grid and the dot grid is also available in a larger 160 page version as well.
So, does this paper hold up to its name and illustrious family name?
The notebook has crisp corners and a tape-bound spine. The notebook is stitch-bound under the tape so it lays flat easily.
The paper is soft warm white, not bright white and the texture of the paper reminds me a little bit of Cosmo Air Light. I have a notebook with Cosmo Air Light in 75gsm and it feels a little thicker than the Iroful which is listed at the same weight.
The powdery feel of the Iroful paper makes it tactile and will slow you down when writing as opposed to slick, smooth papers like Rhodia. The toothiness of Iroful prefers smoother nibs, sharp italic nibs may catch in the fibers of the paper.
I love writing on it with my arsenal of Sailor Pro Gear Slims with fine nibs — it slows me down a bit so I can’t write faster than I can think. My stub nibs work well too but my sharp italic would catch occasionally, even though the writing looks amazing!
There was no bleed through with any pens I tested and all performed beautifully! Lines were crisp, colors were true and dry time was in the middle — not as slow as Tomoe River 52gsm but not as fast as I’d liked, especially in the hot, humid climate of a midwestern summer.
Final Takeaway:
I really like the Iroful paper. I wish the notebook featured a stiffer cover or was available in a hardcover version. I would also prefer round corners since I tend to poke myself with crisp corners or the corners get dinged. So, really my complaint is more with the notebook itself rather than the paper. The paper is lovely and that why I want more notebook options. But for the price, its totally worth giving it a try.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.