Fountain Pen (ink) Friendly Fabriano Classic Artist's Journal - An unofficial review., originally uploaded by biffybeans.
An artist I admire on Flickr, Jessica Doyle, recommended the Fabriano Artist's Journal to me. It's a pricey book - from Blick, it was $20 for the 5x7 book. (I had a 30% off coupon)
To make it simple, let's just say that NOT ONE of the above used inks bled even a little bit in this book. It's an acid free sketching paper, and it has a little bit of tooth. Every single pen with every single ink wrote butter smooth on this paper. EVERY ONE. I did a quick drawing on the reverse side of the paper, and unless you really look for it, you can't see the opposing side through the paper.
What a glorious little book. While it doesn't exactly lie flat, you can crease the spine and force it relatively flat.
It comes with a ribbon bookmark ala Moleskine. The signatures seem securely sewn together.
The only thing that makes me really like this book vs LOVE it, is that the cover is a heavy cardboard, which seems to me could get pretty beat up, pretty easily.
192 pages, alternating between white & cream in color.
From the Blick site: "The paper is a great paper for ink, pencil, or pastels. It's mouldmade, acid-free, and lightfast."
Purchased 06/22/08 Blick
On my adventures with Rita (Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen)
We went to Perkins & ate eggs and talked about Reptilian Alien Agendas (Lamy Safari M Noodler's Black)
We talked about how every possible decision creates an alternative universe, that it's all infinite. (Lamy Safari w/ .07 Cursive Italic nib custom ground by Pendemonium. Diamine Imperial Purple Ink)
But I sometimes think there are an infinite number of souls. (Lamy AL Star 1.1 Stub. Waterman Blue-Black probably mixed with the residue of Noodler's Black)
She said that every country but Israel & the USA have declassified their UFO files. (Lamy 2000 EF Noodler's LeColour Royale)
That the TV show the X-FIles was the way that the government was introducing the concepts to us of alien existences. (Lamy Safari EF Noodler's Aircorp Blue-Black)
She gave me Reiki on a wooden bridge near a circular pond that had trout in it. (Esterbrook J 9556 nib Diamine Imperial Purple)
She said that we were Native American sisters in another lifetime.
I petted a lot of dogs on the nature trail. (Pelikan M200 F Noodler's Red-Black)
3 comments:
Hello,
Thanks for the great and very comprehensive review! I've been contemplating one of these for a while and you have helped me make a decision. The potential problem with the cover could be largely eliminated by using the lightweight plastic material that libraries use to cover their paperback books. It won't look too elegant but it will preserve the covers for years.
No problem Geoff - They are great books... :o) If you dig through my list on the left, I've actually reviewed several of their products. I like them all except for the book with the colored paper, and that's only because I don't like using colored paper - not that there was anything wrong with it.
Hi again,
Well, I went out and bought one of these journals and used it for the first time last night. I heartily endorse all your comments. I used a Safari with Fine nib and Noodlers Black. What struck me this morning when looking at the pervious night's entry was how good the ink looks on the page. Iy's unlike anything else I've used (Rhodia, HP 32lb, etc.).
BTW, I put my money where my mouth is and used some plastic on the covers. The result looks a little ugly (perhaps I should have used another type!), but serviceable. However, I'm sure the concept is sound!
Many thanks again for putting me on to this item.
Geoff V
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