Paper reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 151 Reddit reviews across 28 subreddits and 55 posts to rank the best Paper brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/fountainpens, r/Watercolor, r/PlotterNotebook, r/ColoredPencils, r/origami. Top-rated brands include Clairefontaine (4.6/5), Tomoe River (4.4/5), Strathmore (4.6/5).
Stats
Reviews151
Subreddits28
Posts55
Brands84
Products45
151 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Clairefontaine
4.6
(14)
"Clairefontaine paper is beautifully smooth and great for fountain pens or gel pens."
"For special notes my go to is Clairefontaine."
"Clairfontaine/Rhodia is great paper."
"Is my personal favourite."
"Another vote for Clairefontaine and I will throw in Rhodia A4+ notebooks."
"Have a look at Clairefontaine Europa Notemaker notebooks."
"Clairefontaine is a workhorse. Economical and high quality."
"I have a couple clairfontaine that I use for my journal."
"If you want to try slick paper, give Clairefontaine's bright white 90gsm paper a go."
"Clairefontaine makes a wirebound 3-hole punched notebook under their Classic series that meets your requirements."
#2
Tomoe River
4.4
(11)
"Is my favourite: it's very thin but holds inks extremely well."
"I just got a notepad of Tomoe river paper, with tear away sheets."
"Tomoe river loose leaf paper."
"I use tomoe river paper for the majority of my planner."
"Smooth, with no feathering or bleeding."
"Tomoe River & Iroful are my favorites for TWSBI Eco."
"Hit in my Sterling Ink N1 planner, trash in my Aura Estelle planner."
"I like Tomoe River and I also use a lot of HP Premium 32 printer paper."
"Had a great reputation, though they’ve had some issues lately."
"Tomoe river paper is thin and FP friendly but pricey."
#3
Strathmore
4.6
(5)
"I really like the Strathmore toned 400 series and the premium drawing pad from Peter Pauper Press."
"Strathmore Bristol Smooth 100%."
"Strathmore heavyweight drawing paper is great for this."
"I often use Strathmore or Canson brands."
"For text blocks I like to use acid free sketchbook paper (Strathmore), 37.5 x 43.1 cm, 60 lb (89 g/m) in weight."
#4
Rhodia
4.4
(5)
"Both are fountain pen-friendly and come in A4 and A5 sizes."
"Rhodia is also very good."
"For everyday writing I really like Rhodia."
"Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtrrum."
"I find Rhodia slightly thinner than Midori MD."
#5
HP
5.0
(4)
"Premium is good because lesser grades may have !dust!, not always, but I'm not going to gamble with getting particles in the air/ink exchange."
"Premium is good because lesser grades may have !dust!, not always, but I'm not going to gamble with getting particles in the air/ink exchange."
"Premium is good because lesser grades may have !dust!, not always, but I'm not going to gamble with getting particles in the air/ink exchange."
"Premium is good because lesser grades may have !dust!, not always, but I'm not going to gamble with getting particles in the air/ink exchange."
#6
Midori MD
4.5
(4)
"IMO, Midori MD and Tomoe River Paper are the best."
"Lots of people swear by Midori MD."
"Midori MD and Tomoe River are my favorites."
"Midori MD is pretty good and accessible."
#7
Kokuyo
4.3
(4)
"Another strong vote for anything by Kokuyo who make Campus!"
"I like better Nakabayashi and Kokuyo Campus."
"Kokuyo has good performance from my usage."
"Kokuyo business paper is the cheapest thin paper for refills IMO."
#8
Fabriano
4.3
(4)
"THE ABSOLUTE BEST is FABRIANO's BLACK BLACK!! Seriously! It's AMAZING!!"
"Fabriano Artístico is a bit cheaper and also good."
"Personal preference Fabriano over Canson. Works better for me."
"Personally, I hate Arches. My go to is Fabriano, Legion or Hahnemühle."
#9
Maruman
5.0
(3)
"My favorites are Muji and Maruman Mnemosyne."
"If you're open to suggestions mine are: maruman (love)."
"Is my personal favorite."
#10
X-Press It
4.3
(3)
"1st choice, Bee marker paper 2nd choice, Bristol Smooth 3rd choice."
"X-Press It Blending Card is fantastic for blending."
"Lots of copic users recommend x-press blending card."
#11
MUJI
4.3
(3)
"My favorites are Muji and Maruman Mnemosyne."
"Nearly everything Japanese is going to be fountain pen-friendly, including inexpensive notebooks from Muji."
"The loose leaf paper from MUJI is good for colour/sheen and non-bleed."
#12
Stonehenge
4.3
(3)
"Black ArtAgain and black Stonehenge Aqua."
"Is a very good paper for block prints."
"Stonehenge is a bit thicker, not my favorite for relief, but works and is thinner than other cotton rag types."
#13
Life
4.3
(3)
"The Life typewriter paper is a joy to type onto."
"Is a Japanese manufacturer but their products are widely available."
"Makes some nice paper."
#14
Iroful
4.0
(3)
"Iroful and Tomoe River are my 2 favorites if you want ink qualities to shine."
"Iroful is my favorite for showing color and sheen."
"Iroful is a little bit too bright-white for me personally to use ALL the time."
#15
Apica
4.0
(3)
"I have recently started using Apica notebooks for my daily journal."
"Some paper recommendations I would have would be, Apica CD notebooks."
"I like Apica, Midori, Mnemosyne, Kokuyo and Rhodia."
#16
Midori
5.0
(2)
"Midori grid paper is excellent."
"Are my favs."
#17
Scott
5.0
(2)
"Scotts is the only thing I'll buy and use."
"I agree. scotts all the way."
#18
Pastelmat
4.5
(2)
"Pastelmat and Sennelier will help you get better."
"A lot of color pencil artists like to use Pastelmat. It takes many layers."
#19
Bristol Board
4.5
(2)
"Bristol board is gold standard."
"I use Bristol board with Prismacolour."
#20
Canon
4.5
(2)
"It’s a cheap but excellent paper that works well with most photos."
"Canon‘s is fine. Also check out red river."
#21
Baohong
4.0
(2)
"Baohong is considered an affordable 100% cotton paper."
"Those baohang papers and Paul Rubens on Amazon seem pretty decent."
#22
Canson
4.0
(2)
"My go tos for cheap, bright white paper for classic cyanotype are Canson XL Multimedia and Strathmore 400 series Printmaking."
"Works really well for getting lots of layers."
#23
Crown Mill
4.0
(2)
"It has a nice texture to it, that is close enough to vellum for most applications."
"I tend to use crown mill, but I also tend to fold them as Victorian letters."
#24
OCB
4.0
(2)
"I usually switch between the ocb virgin transparent ones, since they're not bleached and have minimal taste."
"Have you tried OCB papers yet?"
#25
Oxford Optik
3.0
(2)
"Oxford Optik paper for something cheaper. Midori MD if you want to spend some cash."
"I find Oxford Optik to be pretty similar (you see a slightly broader line width), but much cheaper."
#26
Baryta
5.0
(1)
"Generally Baryta papers are recommended for B&W as they look and feel similar to old-style darkroom prints."
#27
Ohuhu
5.0
(1)
"It is truly bleedproof."
#28
Rendr
5.0
(1)
"Rendr no show marker paper is my go to."
#29
Good Inkpressions
5.0
(1)
"It’s all I buy."
#30
Bristol
5.0
(1)
"Bristol smooth by a loooooong shot."
#31
Yupo
5.0
(1)
"Great paper!"
#32
GoodINKpressions
5.0
(1)
"Love it with cream 68gsm paper!"
#33
Origami
5.0
(1)
"Origamido is really good but expensive"
#34
Arches
5.0
(1)
"I recommend Arches cold press (it’s like painting on butter) - and I like the texture in that because it holds color really well"
#35
Trader Joe's
5.0
(1)
"Has the best eco rating that I have found. It is also super cheap."
#36
Wonderland222
5.0
(1)
"Best paper I have ever used."
#37
Yamamoto
5.0
(1)
"I love any paper done by Yamamota, they use Tomoe River."
#38
Bee Paper
5.0
(1)
"This is my preferred mixed media sketchbook for the urban sketch/line and wash style."
#39
Awagami
5.0
(1)
"It has enough heft and opacity while also flexible. Love it."
#40
Zig Zag
5.0
(1)
"Favorite papers of mine is yellow Zig Zag. Very cheap but superb quality."
#41
Pen and Gear
5.0
(1)
"Pen and gear have $2 notebooks that I use for notes."
#42
Stonehenge Legion Paper
5.0
(1)
"I enjoy cold presses and thick toothy paper like Stonehenge legion."
#43
Strathmore 500 Black
5.0
(1)
"Personally, I like Strathmore 500 Black, Canson Mi-Teintes #524 black."
#44
Dr Martens Bleed Proof White
5.0
(1)
"The standard among most calligraphers is Dr Martens Bleed Proof white."
#45
Smoking
5.0
(1)
"I like the brown and thinnest brown."
#46
Southworth
5.0
(1)
"Southworth resume paper all cotton 16lb in bone."
#47
Amazon Copy Paper
5.0
(1)
"I use this! Amazon Copy Paper and it’s so good, pretty affordable too."
#48
Bunn
5.0
(1)
"I find the bunn flat bottom filters to be an excellent alternative and should be readily available (Walmart)."
#49
Rosmonde Notebooks
4.0
(1)
"I recently tried some spiral notebooks made in India marketed as 'Rosmonde' brand."
#50
Oxford Paper
4.0
(1)
"For taking notes while studying I use oxford paper."
#51
Tant Double-Sided Paper
4.0
(1)
"I recommend Tant paper in 7.5cm, and double-sided paper."
#52
100% Cotton Watercolor Paper
4.0
(1)
"Maybe a good quality 100% cotton watercolor paper?"
#53
Daiso
4.0
(1)
"I just got some Daiso Premium Notebooks, and I have to say they are very good."
#54
Rives BFK
4.0
(1)
"Perhaps printmaking paper. Rives BFK has heavy or light."
#55
Accent Opaque Bright White
4.0
(1)
"Would recommend Accent Opaque bright white in 65lb or 80lb cardstock."
#56
Kami
4.0
(1)
"Kami is one of the standard ones that works with many models"
#57
Maruman Mnemosyne
4.0
(1)
"Maruman Mnemosyne, Midori MD, Clairefontaine, Rhodia, tomoe river,"
#58
Office Depot
4.0
(1)
"I really like Office Depot Professional notepads."
#59
Caboo
4.0
(1)
"Makes really good bamboo-based paper products, although they are not zero waste, but rather low-impact."
#60
Endless
4.0
(1)
"Endless also do some nice paper."
#61
Leuchtturm
4.0
(1)
"Is surprisingly good."
#62
Kokuyo Campus
4.0
(1)
"Which is quite affordable."
#63
Baohong Academy
4.0
(1)
"Baohong Academy, New York Central, and Magnani are brands that make 100% cotton hot press paper."
#64
U.S. Art Supply
4.0
(1)
"Much better than comparably priced mixed media sketchbooks from brands like Canson."
#65
Acid Free Paper
4.0
(1)
"Always make sure it’s archive view or acid free paper, they won’t yellow."
#66
Bockingford
4.0
(1)
"It works great and is inexpensive compared to some others."
#67
FF
4.0
(1)
"Is a nice cream IRL and is a very eye friendly paper."
#68
Epson
4.0
(1)
"Users liked: Easy Setup and Use, Cost-Effective Ink System, Good Print Quality."
#69
Dryad
4.0
(1)
"So far it's held up really well with cyanotype."
#70
Bugler
4.0
(1)
"I use a brand called ROLLING in a Bugler blue pack."
#71
Tul
4.0
(1)
"The disc bound Tul paper is nice with fountain pens."
#72
Walmart
4.0
(1)
"I write in it daily for my masters courses with pilot prera and various diamine inks. No problems with bleed or feathering."
#73
Oxford
4.0
(1)
"Oxford Optik is very nice, it's made to be fp friendly."
#74
Optik
4.0
(1)
"I find optik paper and clairefontaine paper very good."
#75
Ledesma
4.0
(1)
"Sugarcane paper like this is environmentally friendly."
#76
Cougar Natural
4.0
(1)
"Would recommend Cougar natural 65lb or 80lb cardstock."
#77
Springhill Vellum 67lb Bristol
4.0
(1)
"Springhill vellum 67lb bristol is also great."
#78
Vintage
4.0
(1)
"I personally think Vintage is the best all around origami paper out there."
#79
Kozo
4.0
(1)
"I’ve had better luck with it pulling prints."
#80
Muji Notebooks
4.0
(1)
"I like muji notebooks."
#81
Stalogy
3.0
(1)
"Stalogy is ok, Odyssey would be better, maybe some Cosmo Air perhaps."
#82
Zebra Notes
3.0
(1)
"Made in China Zebra notes are the cheapest I can find for bound."
#83
Tuttle Origami Papers
3.0
(1)
"I use Tuttle origami papers, largely because they're widely available."
#84
Kraft
3.0
(1)
"Kraft is good for practice models/a cheap option"
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