I’ve finally been wooed into trying the Rhodia pads for pen and ink reviews. I chose the Rhodia Pad No. 18 ($14.50) with the black cover. The large size (8.25″ x 11.75″) gives me plenty of real estate. The pages tear from the top with a smooth microperf and the cover folds neatly out of the way causing no lefty anguish. It was something that I was concerned about but, in actuality, there is little discomfort since the top folds flat, not the awkwardness of wire rings or other impediment.
The black cardstock covers are super glossy and scratched easily. My cover was noticeably worn in the time it took me to write a few reviews. I don’t suspect the pad will be kept closed much so I won’t notice but if this is something that will bother you, the classic orange covers may hide the wear and tear a little better.
The paper is the posh Clairefontaine 80gsm bright white and I chose the blank (uni) version so that no mater how dark or light my inks were, lines or grid would not distract. I find the dark purple grid lines of the Rhodia paper to be too dark and distracting. The blank paper is a clean, bright white so ink colors show true. I like the soft white of the Rhodia webnotebooks but for ink reviews its imperative to use a bright white stock.
In my writing samples, none of the inks bled through to the reverse side and there was very little show through at all. I could definitely get use out of both sides of the paper. Not one of the materials I tried feathered on the paper though, for some reason, the red Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen ink took an age to dry. I don’t find the Preppy red to take that long on cheaper stocks. All the other fountain pen inks dried quickly. Pencil smudged a little bit but this is probably due to the smoothness of the stock. Pencil wrote beautifully on the paper.
When a review is finished, I can tear it out of the pad and file it. I will probably 3-hole punch the pages and store them in binders by category in the future so that it will be easy to go back and refer to previous reviews.
Overall, I’m quite pleased with the pad. It meets all my reviewing needs and is excellent paper for all types of ink and graphite.
DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Jet Pens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Hi Ana, pencil really does well on Clairefontaine paper. Writes effortlessly well and shows up as dark as the grade will allow (I am a bit surprised though how much darker the Palomino HB appears than the same grade Golden Bear #2 on your sample sheet). As much as I love the Blackwings, the regular blue and orange Palominos were my first love and my first foray into premium pencils. If you reviewed them, I missed it when searching through your archives. I love your wooden pencil reviews, please keep up the stellar work.