I find that Rhodia paper tends to react with the oils on my hand, so it'll end up skipping towards the bottom half of the page. If I wear an artists' glove when I write - no problem at all. I keep one in a pocket in my journal cover.
I’ve found similar issues with Rhodia and oil from your hand. The globe is a good idea. You can also use blotter paper as well. I usually cut one sheet in half and rest my hand on it, it slides down the page with no issues.
I've encountered the same. I usually journal after washing my hands or washing the dishes so the dish soap really gets rid of the oils in my hands so it isn't a huge problem but still a bit interesting.
As others have noted, there are two different types of Rhodia paper. Their 80gsm standard paper (used in their pads) is rougher, but very ink resistant and solid. It will show shading and sheen reasonably well, and it is like a "rougher" version of Clairefontaine's 90gsm Vellum. However, they also started making their "Premium 'R'" paper for their webnotebooks and the like that is 90gsm and is used in things like their webnotebooks, which I think you have there. It's a creamier paper, and it is a smoother paper that also happens to be much more absorbent. It doesn't show shading and sheen as well and is not as ink-resistant, so wet pens can relatively easily bleed through. For fine or drier pens, the Premium "R" 90gsm Rhodia paper is smoother, but for wetter and broader pens, you won't get the same level of ink performance you get from the standard Rhodia 80gsm.
Generally, I'm a fan of Rhodia dot pads. It seems to work for me generally as a workhorse "quick note" type of paper without caring too much about performance. I've not used it (too much) as a big, long-term journaling paper. That being said, part of the fun of "the pen habit" is to find those sweet spots of the right pen, right nib, right ink, and right paper. When you've lined up the right combination, it's a very happy day. More often, I accept some sort of limitation.
In my experience the creme paper in the rhodia notebooks is so different from the white dotpad paper. I don't like their notebooks, because the drag on the creme paper is just too much for me. On the other hand I bound my own journal with the dotpad paper and I love it so much! I'm using it right now as my journal and my pens perform amazing on it.
I use Rhodia and Clairefontaine quite often, its very reasonably priced in the UK compared to Tomoe river which is very expensive and not easy to get hold of. It doesnt tend to show sheen greatly, but its very solid and pretty reliable for most inks - especially in a pocket notebook where you'd maybe not expect sheen or shimmer inks to be used so much. Its not the best paper, but for the cost its fantastic value is my personal thoughts (the Rhodia top bound pads are absolutely perfect for day to day note taking at work)
I'm a huge fan of the Rhodia DotBook. I use one every day for my notes at work. I like having the larger square area and have it oriented with the spiral binding at the top. I haven't had many issues with oil from my hands and it shows ink properties reasonably well.
I really like Rhodia for the price point. It is a brand that is easily able to be obtained where I'm at, which is nice. I find it easier to obtain (in person) than some other brands of fountain pen paper (Clairefontaine, and even, to an extent, Tomoe River). I haven't tried enough Clairefontaine to have a solid opinion on it, but I know that Tomoe River has been a little bit too smooth for my liking. I like having a bit of tooth to the paper instead of feeling like my pen is gliding on ice-paper. I do agree with other commenters, Rhodia can definitely react to the oils on skin, making it a little more rough to write on, but I'm often wearing compression gloves, anyways, so haven't found much of a problem.
I have a big bottle of Diamine Oxford Blue and have been using it for the last 4 - 5 years or so, mostly for official work. Such well-behaved ink and nice sober blue ink for official use, but one of the less talked about inks. Only downside is it's poor water resistance. Otherwise never had an issue with this ink. I never had issues with rhodia papers by the way. As for the bleedthrough problem you had, I couldn't help but notice that the nib laid down a generous amount of ink with a pretty broad stroke width. Broad strokes, wet nib, wet ink all could be contributory factors. I would be waiting for part 2.
I use mostly clairefountaine, but I also use rhodia dotpads. I believe in an early goulet video Brian said Rhodia's paper is made by clairefountaine, and I personally don't notice any difference between the 2, but I have heard other folks mileage vary, or maybe they are feeling with thier eyes lol. Additionally I use loose leaf tomoe river paper for letters, but the dry time is too slow to be practical for journally and notetaking. I prefer the rhodia to tomoe river because of the dry time. I have found a few combos that will feather, mostly noodler's inks, but not exclusively. Wearinguel has a few feathery inks as well. I don't have a lot of pelikan inks in bottled form, but I did have a sample of one of their inks that even feathered for me on Tomoe River. It was one of their green inks, but I don't remember the name. The extra texture of the rhodia vs tomoe river is noticable to me but not bothersome. I like the extra sheen and sparkle of tomoe river as well. Bottom line, I like and use both depending on what I am writing. Hope this helps!
I've never used any Rhodia hardback notebooks, so I can't say. I don't know if the paper is the same as in their different sized notepads, which I have used. I find those similar to Clairefontaine paper so smooth.
I think there's a couple of things going on. The Rhodia Webnotebooks use different paper from their other products and there are several reports of poor performance. They are also fairly sensitive to hand oils which will affect the performance of the ink. The writing feel of the Benu is most likely due to the different paper though, the cream paper is not the same as the white paper.
my most recent journal is a Rhodia A5 and it has Clairfontaine 90gsm vellum paper in. Personally I like Clairfontaine, Tomoe River and Midori MD paper but Clairefontaine Triumph & Midori MD is cheaper in England for me to access so its usually what I go for unless treat myself and order the notebooks from Galen Leather.
I have a love/hate relationship with Rhodia paper. I truly believe the paper suffers from multiple personalities. Someone said that if you want to torture test your fountain pen then try writing with it on Rhodia paper. I think there is something to that.
I use the Rubberband wrapped around over the bottom corner to keep it open at the start. It will be more cooperative once you have used it for a while. Just got recommended your channel so I don't know - have you tried "Scribbles that Matter" STM- 120gsm Notebook? They are also available in A5 and with dotted pages. I think it would handle a fountain pen fine. I have one but I don't use it with fountain pens. I go in with ballpoint pens for the majority. Sometimes Ink Liner Pens like Sakura Micron or Molotow With Rhodia, I have two of these too. But it is their sketchbooks therefore I use an Artist's glove when using them. I haven't run into big issues with them yet except for once where I apparently used a wrong, too-strong masking tape and ripped the edge of the Page quite a bit. Lucky me it was quite fitting to the picture but yeah...Since I'm drawing mainly just for myself, it is fine. I'll fill it and don't know if I'll keep using them. Have a few more other brands waiting on their turn.
I've used a few Dotpads in the past few years and found their paper quality to be average at best. OK for some pens; not for broader or wetter nibs. Maybe something has changed, but it's not a competitive paper on the market now; outperformed by many Japanese papers - including some much less expensive.
Paper is of course highly sensitive to relative humidity; I suspect that is one of the contributing reasons we find some variability in reviews. Professional printers have known this for decades, which is why high end print shops use climate control that regulates humidity as well as temperature and store paper in a stable environment long before it gets used. I suppose fountain pens users could repeat a review across summer and winter and get a different result, it might not be much difference, but it could be enough to explain slight feathering. Also, would a fresh fill of ink differ from the old stale fill, the old fill perhaps being slightly more saturated? I've certainly found that an old fill of my favourite Noodler's inks will perform quite differently from a fresh fill.
My initial thought is that the half-scientific way is to try the equivalent Clairefontaine brand paper(and the REALLY scientific way is waaay too financially implausible) and see what happens. Throw excrement on wall, examine stickiness. On a more anecdotal level, I do find that Rhodia has...bipolar tendencies. Mostly my Yu-sari behaves better, but at times similarly(though still much better), in which case I put it down to Swedish winter dryness, my writing pressure or angle on that day or just the will of Odin as he grows bored what with the lack of mead and slaying in my life(though I've the singing and feasting part covered).
I've fallen in love with Tomoe River Paper, but the last notebooks I purchased have bleed-through and feathering, and it's so frustrating! I love the feel and sound of the paper, but I can't handle the bleed-through and lack of shading and sheen... :(
roll 4 20 sided dice to add to your clarity (helps with confusion), and 2 6 sided dice to help wit disappointment. And have Parker help you feel less disappointment:)
I don't get it either. The only Tomoe River paper I've tried is the old Tomoe River paper and my Lamy Fine and TWSBI Eco EF nibs were scratchy on that paper even though they were perfectly aligned and tuned and felt like butter on Rhodia lined webnotebook.
I use Rhodia because it's the only named FP-friendly paper i can afford and get easily. Fwiw, I prefer a reviewer to come away confused than that they artificially emphatic verdict.
Try Oxford Optik paper (same as Black n Red but cheaper). Cheaper than Rhodia and better. (IMO...) It’s available in multiple formats (A4, A5, refills, stapled notebook, spiral bound, case bound) with lines or squared but maybe not dotted.
I think the inconsistency might be a result of ink maintenance of each pen. Best way to test Rhodia paper, or any other paper with that regard, is using a freshly cleaned, freshly inked pen, filled to the max, and used until empty. Otherwise, build up of ink components would skew the writing results.
Sooooo!!! As a lover of Rhodia paper...I lately have become entranced with other papers...like Iroful...and others. BUT!!! I've yet to dive into Tomoe River. What Tomoe River paper / notebooks have you been using?
I have not had enough experience with Rhodia, but the three notepads I got, I was not impressed, as you said if felt like carpet, and some Moleskines feel like that. I also bought some of the cheap Apica notebooks and they felt a little of the same. My favorite is either Kukuyo Campus or Maruman and Clairefontaine and I do love Tomoe River paper. So I will not torture my pens with Rhodia again. Good Luck. I endorse cat paws on the paper! LOL!!
I feel like it's a lot more fiddly than TR paper... with the right pen amd ink, I think it's AMAZING. But for me, finding the right combo still requires some trial and error whereas I can trust my TR notebooks to handle ALL my pens and ink really well. Once I use up my current Rhodia notebook I likely won't buy another just because I prefer more consistency. * (that being said, I am well aware that there have apparently been some QC issues with TR paper, at least in the 2025 Hobonichi release, so who knows what my next year could bring! I might have to eat my words and shop around again!)
I have some notepad from Rhodia, which I use for quick notes. Otherwise I use TRP notebooks. For me Rhodia doesn't feel nice. It feels almost chalky. The pen doesn't glide nicely and it doesn't show the ink quality very nicely. It's fine for quick notes but for any longer writing, TRP please.
How consistent is the paper in a notebook over time? Is Rhodia the paper-maker, or do they source their paper from others. I have heard that Moleskine gets paper from multiple sources and that the writing experience varies on account of that.
Yes. I’ve heard that, too. My experience of Moleskine indicates that one 16 page section (signature) is great, and the next section is of much lesser quality. So-even in the same notebook, the quality can vary from page to page.
I have the R by Rhodia 90 gsm A4 pad with the black fuzzy cover. It’s nice for writing with standard dry shading and dry shimmer inks- I think it eats sheen and wet, saturated inks will feather in bigger nibs. I have only tried a few samples of the 80 gsm and didn’t find it worth my money. Between Rhodia and Clairefontaine, I would rather use the Triomphe tablets and oddly enough, Clairefontaine SmartPrint copy paper.
To me, Rhodia paper is totally inconsistent. My first notebook was an A6 hardcover, it was smooth and slightly absorbent. Some bleeding though. Next one was an A5 soft cover, and was TERRIBLE. One side was almost decent, the other was like writing on plastic. Not joking… a pen looked Medium on one side and Fine on the other. So glassy that the ink refused to stick. I had two of them… they are in the trash now, and I’m using only Leuchtturm now
I have run into the "amazing rotating Rhodia" myself. The pen suddenly drags on a section of the coating on the paper and is fine elsewhere, it suddenly feathers and/or almost bleeds through in another section or different page, etc. In my reasonable travel neck of the woods (central Maine), Rhodia and Clairfontaine are about all I can get. I need to get to Rock, Paper, Scissors 2 hours south or Bob Slate 3-1/2 hours down in Boston for the Gucci stuff.
Don’t care for texture of this paper. Too slick and smooth. I don’t like the way the nib feels gliding across it..because it doesn’t really glide, it kind of sticks. The only good thing is the vast array of larger sizes.
I don't like Rhodia and TBH I can't understand its popularity when there are so many better options that are better priced, at least in my country. I only have tried a 80 g/m2 dotpad instead of a 90 g/m2 like your notebook, but wet pens bleed through like it happened to you, it does not show shading and I am surprised that you got any sheen at all. For me it is an average quality paper for F nibs; above copy paper but way below any other fountain pen friendly paper I have tried (Oxford Optik, Hamelin, Clairefontaine, Miquelrius & Tomoe River)
Not a fan. If I have to use paper that 'drags' a bit, I use Cosmo Air Light. THAT, is some stellar paper, that shows off ALL the properties of your ink..and some of the crispiest ink lines in the game!=]
I find that Rhodia paper tends to react with the oils on my hand, so it'll end up skipping towards the bottom half of the page. If I wear an artists' glove when I write - no problem at all. I keep one in a pocket in my journal cover.
I just bought one of those gloves for the same reason.
I’ve found similar issues with Rhodia and oil from your hand.
The globe is a good idea.
You can also use blotter paper as well. I usually cut one sheet in half and rest my hand on it, it slides down the page with no issues.
I've encountered the same. I usually journal after washing my hands or washing the dishes so the dish soap really gets rid of the oils in my hands so it isn't a huge problem but still a bit interesting.
As others have noted, there are two different types of Rhodia paper. Their 80gsm standard paper (used in their pads) is rougher, but very ink resistant and solid. It will show shading and sheen reasonably well, and it is like a "rougher" version of Clairefontaine's 90gsm Vellum. However, they also started making their "Premium 'R'" paper for their webnotebooks and the like that is 90gsm and is used in things like their webnotebooks, which I think you have there. It's a creamier paper, and it is a smoother paper that also happens to be much more absorbent. It doesn't show shading and sheen as well and is not as ink-resistant, so wet pens can relatively easily bleed through. For fine or drier pens, the Premium "R" 90gsm Rhodia paper is smoother, but for wetter and broader pens, you won't get the same level of ink performance you get from the standard Rhodia 80gsm.
Generally, I'm a fan of Rhodia dot pads. It seems to work for me generally as a workhorse "quick note" type of paper without caring too much about performance. I've not used it (too much) as a big, long-term journaling paper.
That being said, part of the fun of "the pen habit" is to find those sweet spots of the right pen, right nib, right ink, and right paper. When you've lined up the right combination, it's a very happy day. More often, I accept some sort of limitation.
So very true! It's like an alignment of the planets. The right paper, right ink, right pen...and BLISS.
In my experience the creme paper in the rhodia notebooks is so different from the white dotpad paper.
I don't like their notebooks, because the drag on the creme paper is just too much for me. On the other hand I bound my own journal with the dotpad paper and I love it so much! I'm using it right now as my journal and my pens perform amazing on it.
I use Rhodia and Clairefontaine quite often, its very reasonably priced in the UK compared to Tomoe river which is very expensive and not easy to get hold of. It doesnt tend to show sheen greatly, but its very solid and pretty reliable for most inks - especially in a pocket notebook where you'd maybe not expect sheen or shimmer inks to be used so much. Its not the best paper, but for the cost its fantastic value is my personal thoughts (the Rhodia top bound pads are absolutely perfect for day to day note taking at work)
I'm a huge fan of the Rhodia DotBook. I use one every day for my notes at work. I like having the larger square area and have it oriented with the spiral binding at the top. I haven't had many issues with oil from my hands and it shows ink properties reasonably well.
I really like Rhodia for the price point. It is a brand that is easily able to be obtained where I'm at, which is nice. I find it easier to obtain (in person) than some other brands of fountain pen paper (Clairefontaine, and even, to an extent, Tomoe River). I haven't tried enough Clairefontaine to have a solid opinion on it, but I know that Tomoe River has been a little bit too smooth for my liking. I like having a bit of tooth to the paper instead of feeling like my pen is gliding on ice-paper.
I do agree with other commenters, Rhodia can definitely react to the oils on skin, making it a little more rough to write on, but I'm often wearing compression gloves, anyways, so haven't found much of a problem.
I have a big bottle of Diamine Oxford Blue and have been using it for the last 4 - 5 years or so, mostly for official work. Such well-behaved ink and nice sober blue ink for official use, but one of the less talked about inks. Only downside is it's poor water resistance. Otherwise never had an issue with this ink.
I never had issues with rhodia papers by the way. As for the bleedthrough problem you had, I couldn't help but notice that the nib laid down a generous amount of ink with a pretty broad stroke width. Broad strokes, wet nib, wet ink all could be contributory factors. I would be waiting for part 2.
I use lots of Rhodia and have had no trouble. Agree it doesn’t show off ink properties the best but I haven’t had any bleeding or feathering issues.
I use mostly clairefountaine, but I also use rhodia dotpads. I believe in an early goulet video Brian said Rhodia's paper is made by clairefountaine, and I personally don't notice any difference between the 2, but I have heard other folks mileage vary, or maybe they are feeling with thier eyes lol.
Additionally I use loose leaf tomoe river paper for letters, but the dry time is too slow to be practical for journally and notetaking.
I prefer the rhodia to tomoe river because of the dry time. I have found a few combos that will feather, mostly noodler's inks, but not exclusively. Wearinguel has a few feathery inks as well. I don't have a lot of pelikan inks in bottled form, but I did have a sample of one of their inks that even feathered for me on Tomoe River. It was one of their green inks, but I don't remember the name.
The extra texture of the rhodia vs tomoe river is noticable to me but not bothersome. I like the extra sheen and sparkle of tomoe river as well.
Bottom line, I like and use both depending on what I am writing.
Hope this helps!
Not a huge fan of the notebooks, but I very much like the performance of the DotPads!
I've never used any Rhodia hardback notebooks, so I can't say. I don't know if the paper is the same as in their different sized notepads, which I have used. I find those similar to Clairefontaine paper so smooth.
I think there's a couple of things going on. The Rhodia Webnotebooks use different paper from their other products and there are several reports of poor performance. They are also fairly sensitive to hand oils which will affect the performance of the ink. The writing feel of the Benu is most likely due to the different paper though, the cream paper is not the same as the white paper.
my most recent journal is a Rhodia A5 and it has Clairfontaine 90gsm vellum paper in. Personally I like Clairfontaine, Tomoe River and Midori MD paper but Clairefontaine Triumph & Midori MD is cheaper in England for me to access so its usually what I go for unless treat myself and order the notebooks from Galen Leather.
I have a love/hate relationship with Rhodia paper. I truly believe the paper suffers from multiple personalities. Someone said that if you want to torture test your fountain pen then try writing with it on Rhodia paper. I think there is something to that.
I pretty much use Endless Creative Block, Tomoe River, and Iroful exclusively now. The endless regalia paper is my GOAT paper.
I use the Rubberband wrapped around over the bottom corner to keep it open at the start. It will be more cooperative once you have used it for a while.
Just got recommended your channel so I don't know - have you tried "Scribbles that Matter" STM- 120gsm Notebook? They are also available in A5 and with dotted pages. I think it would handle a fountain pen fine. I have one but I don't use it with fountain pens. I go in with ballpoint pens for the majority. Sometimes Ink Liner Pens like Sakura Micron or Molotow
With Rhodia, I have two of these too. But it is their sketchbooks therefore I use an Artist's glove when using them. I haven't run into big issues with them yet except for once where I apparently used a wrong, too-strong masking tape and ripped the edge of the Page quite a bit. Lucky me it was quite fitting to the picture but yeah...Since I'm drawing mainly just for myself, it is fine. I'll fill it and don't know if I'll keep using them. Have a few more other brands waiting on their turn.
I have not had that with my most recent Rhodia Icepad 6 X 8 1/4.
I am actually in the minority here. I actually like using Rhodia 😂 My Sailor pens are happy ice skating on it!
I hate the glued first page too... but I just grin and bear it for that page as I don't want to waste the space...
I've used a few Dotpads in the past few years and found their paper quality to be average at best. OK for some pens; not for broader or wetter nibs. Maybe something has changed, but it's not a competitive paper on the market now; outperformed by many Japanese papers - including some much less expensive.
I love the Rhodia composition notebook
Paper is of course highly sensitive to relative humidity; I suspect that is one of the contributing reasons we find some variability in reviews.
Professional printers have known this for decades, which is why high end print shops use climate control that regulates humidity as well as temperature and store paper in a stable environment long before it gets used. I suppose fountain pens users could repeat a review across summer and winter and get a different result, it might not be much difference, but it could be enough to explain slight feathering.
Also, would a fresh fill of ink differ from the old stale fill, the old fill perhaps being slightly more saturated? I've certainly found that an old fill of my favourite Noodler's inks will perform quite differently from a fresh fill.
My initial thought is that the half-scientific way is to try the equivalent Clairefontaine brand paper(and the REALLY scientific way is waaay too financially implausible) and see what happens. Throw excrement on wall, examine stickiness. On a more anecdotal level, I do find that Rhodia has...bipolar tendencies. Mostly my Yu-sari behaves better, but at times similarly(though still much better), in which case I put it down to Swedish winter dryness, my writing pressure or angle on that day or just the will of Odin as he grows bored what with the lack of mead and slaying in my life(though I've the singing and feasting part covered).
I've fallen in love with Tomoe River Paper, but the last notebooks I purchased have bleed-through and feathering, and it's so frustrating! I love the feel and sound of the paper, but I can't handle the bleed-through and lack of shading and sheen... :(
Rhodia paper is not easy to get here in the UK.
I use Clairfontaine pads.
I also use small cheap Chinese notebooks from AliExpress.
Rhodia is easy to get online in the UK. If you are high street shopping, try Oxford Optik paper... cheaper and better than Rhodia.
roll 4 20 sided dice to add to your clarity (helps with confusion), and 2 6 sided dice to help wit disappointment. And have Parker help you feel less disappointment:)
😆😆😆
I don't get it either. The only Tomoe River paper I've tried is the old Tomoe River paper and my Lamy Fine and TWSBI Eco EF nibs were scratchy on that paper even though they were perfectly aligned and tuned and felt like butter on Rhodia lined webnotebook.
I use Rhodia because it's the only named FP-friendly paper i can afford and get easily.
Fwiw, I prefer a reviewer to come away confused than that they artificially emphatic verdict.
Try Oxford Optik paper (same as Black n Red but cheaper). Cheaper than Rhodia and better. (IMO...)
It’s available in multiple formats (A4, A5, refills, stapled notebook, spiral bound, case bound) with lines or squared but maybe not dotted.
I think the inconsistency might be a result of ink maintenance of each pen. Best way to test Rhodia paper, or any other paper with that regard, is using a freshly cleaned, freshly inked pen, filled to the max, and used until empty. Otherwise, build up of ink components would skew the writing results.
Sooooo!!! As a lover of Rhodia paper...I lately have become entranced with other papers...like Iroful...and others. BUT!!! I've yet to dive into Tomoe River. What Tomoe River paper / notebooks have you been using?
I have not had enough experience with Rhodia, but the three notepads I got, I was not impressed, as you said if felt like carpet, and some Moleskines feel like that. I also bought some of the cheap Apica notebooks and they felt a little of the same. My favorite is either Kukuyo Campus or Maruman and Clairefontaine and I do love Tomoe River paper. So I will not torture my pens with Rhodia again.
Good Luck. I endorse cat paws on the paper! LOL!!
I like rhodia, but you are right, it is almost sticky when writing
I feel like it's a lot more fiddly than TR paper... with the right pen amd ink, I think it's AMAZING. But for me, finding the right combo still requires some trial and error whereas I can trust my TR notebooks to handle ALL my pens and ink really well. Once I use up my current Rhodia notebook I likely won't buy another just because I prefer more consistency. * (that being said, I am well aware that there have apparently been some QC issues with TR paper, at least in the 2025 Hobonichi release, so who knows what my next year could bring! I might have to eat my words and shop around again!)
I have some notepad from Rhodia, which I use for quick notes. Otherwise I use TRP notebooks. For me Rhodia doesn't feel nice. It feels almost chalky. The pen doesn't glide nicely and it doesn't show the ink quality very nicely. It's fine for quick notes but for any longer writing, TRP please.
How consistent is the paper in a notebook over time? Is Rhodia the paper-maker, or do they source their paper from others. I have heard that Moleskine gets paper from multiple sources and that the writing experience varies on account of that.
Yes. I’ve heard that, too. My experience of Moleskine indicates that one 16 page section (signature) is great, and the next section is of much lesser quality. So-even in the same notebook, the quality can vary from page to page.
I have the R by Rhodia 90 gsm A4 pad with the black fuzzy cover. It’s nice for writing with standard dry shading and dry shimmer inks- I think it eats sheen and wet, saturated inks will feather in bigger nibs. I have only tried a few samples of the 80 gsm and didn’t find it worth my money. Between Rhodia and Clairefontaine, I would rather use the Triomphe tablets and oddly enough, Clairefontaine SmartPrint copy paper.
To me, Rhodia paper is totally inconsistent.
My first notebook was an A6 hardcover, it was smooth and slightly absorbent. Some bleeding though.
Next one was an A5 soft cover, and was TERRIBLE. One side was almost decent, the other was like writing on plastic. Not joking… a pen looked Medium on one side and Fine on the other. So glassy that the ink refused to stick.
I had two of them… they are in the trash now, and I’m using only Leuchtturm now
I find Rhodia offputtingly squeaky! 😬 🐭
I have run into the "amazing rotating Rhodia" myself. The pen suddenly drags on a section of the coating on the paper and is fine elsewhere, it suddenly feathers and/or almost bleeds through in another section or different page, etc.
In my reasonable travel neck of the woods (central Maine), Rhodia and Clairfontaine are about all I can get. I need to get to Rock, Paper, Scissors 2 hours south or Bob Slate 3-1/2 hours down in Boston for the Gucci stuff.
Don’t care for texture of this paper. Too slick and smooth. I don’t like the way the nib feels gliding across it..because it doesn’t really glide, it kind of sticks. The only good thing is the vast array of larger sizes.
I don't like Rhodia and TBH I can't understand its popularity when there are so many better options that are better priced, at least in my country. I only have tried a 80 g/m2 dotpad instead of a 90 g/m2 like your notebook, but wet pens bleed through like it happened to you, it does not show shading and I am surprised that you got any sheen at all. For me it is an average quality paper for F nibs; above copy paper but way below any other fountain pen friendly paper I have tried (Oxford Optik, Hamelin, Clairefontaine, Miquelrius & Tomoe River)
Yes to Oxford Optik !
Not a fan of the Rhodia.
Not a fan. If I have to use paper that 'drags' a bit, I use Cosmo Air Light. THAT, is some stellar paper, that shows off ALL the properties of your ink..and some of the crispiest ink lines in the game!=]
FIRST! Ha! What shitting age am i??!