Nanami Seven Seas – Old and New Tomoe River Paper Side by Side

I know that comparisons of old Tomoe River paper and new Tome River paper have sort of been beaten to death, but I found myself with an interesting opportunity to share, so here we go. Since I started with my first ink review on the blog way back in 2017, I have been swatching new inks faithfully in my Nanami Seven Seas Crossfield notebook. As it was purchased in 2017 it of course was comprised of old Tomoe River paper (the journal was marked 2nd edition).

In the year 2025, I find I’m only 20 or so pages from the end of the book, meaning I need to order a new one! I have really loved the first one so I decided to order the new version, the 7th edition of the Crossfield and this one has had new paper for the last few editions. (As a side note, I paid $24 for the notebook back in 2017, and today’s is $28. Not bad right?)

So I did what anyone would do, I re-swatched an ink I’ve swatched before on the new paper to see how the two would compare. I picked Dominant Industry Autumn Forest because it’s a Pearlized ink with all kinds of sheen and I wanted to see what the paper would do!

These swatches were done about 3 years apart. On the left is the new paper, and on the right is the older paper. Here’s where I see the differences:

• the big swatch on the upper right – I did a somewhat smaller swatch last time around and it appears a bit darker in color.
• the text – really I don’t see much difference at all here – I keep looking, but I don’t see it!
• the splotches at the bottom – both have a pink sheen to them. I notice that the color seems to have separated more into light/dark on the new paper, and the pink tone seems a little brighter on new (left) vs. old (right.

Here’s some detail shots.

NEW:

OLD:

Clearly this isn’t super scientific because I haven’t created the exact same conditions, but I do think it’s interesting. I’d have to do more samples to check (and I’d be happy to if you’re interested – drop a comment and let me know!) but I’d say the new might show color variation even a little bit better than the old in heavy applications? However in regular old every day writing, I think it looks pretty much the same.

One more:

---

• Papers: Crossfield 2nd Edition Journal ($24.00), Crossfield 7th Edition Journal ($28.00)
• Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80)
• Inks: Dominant Industry No. 11 Autumn Forest ($20 for 25mL)