I'm confused.
I recently reviewed the new American made Quo Vadis Habana journal Here
In short, it's a great journal with excellent quality Clairefontaine paper. (90g white) Clairefontaine paper is silky smooth, thick and probably one of the most fountain pen (ink) friendly papers around.
Per Karen Doherty, Marketing VP for Exaclair, Inc:
"The Habana notebooks sold now in the U.S.have been manufactured at our plant in Hamburg, NY. They are made with 90 g white Clairefontaine paper.
We decided we liked the ivory paper better with the Habana covers, and all the other Habana notebooks sold worldwide are also made with ivory paper - so, we decided to go forward with ivory paper. However, that paper also had to be PEFC certified (pefc.org).
The next generation of Habana notebooks will have 80 g PEFC paper. There is very little difference between 80 and 90 g paper. At our annual meeting in June, we spent a lot of time on the paper issue."
Hmmm. Okay.... So these new US made Habanas with the 90g Clairefontaine paper are going to be short lived. I believe Swisher Pens is currently stocking them so you might want to get them while you can.
I had read a comment somewhere from my friend Sophie, (who lives in Canada) that she has 2 Habana journals with very different paper. One was bought in Canada but made in the UK, and the other was purchased directly from the UK. She voiced a concern that the paper was not exactly what she had expected in the larger journal, and that the small journal had different paper - which she liked much better.
Sophie was kind enough to desecrate her journals and send me some pages to compare to the US version.
Let me fist say, that there is a world of difference between these three papers.
Of note - no inks featherd on ANY of the three.
Nothing bled through the white paper except some of my permanent markers. It's a thick, smooth paper that is a dream to write on.
The large ivory Habana paper? I don't like that it's ruled to the top of the page. I also don't like how small the ruled lines are. And the paper quality is awful. It's very thin and has a very odd feel to it. It's got a slightly rough surface, or "tooth" that I never, ever, want to write on again. Several of the inks tested bled through it, including the Diamine Imperial Blue, (not shown) the Noodler's Red Black, (ok - my Lamy 2000 is a bit of a wet writer on the downstroke,) the Noodler's Aircorp Blue-Black, the Private Reserve Arabian Rose, and the Noodler's Squeteague. I would never buy a journal that used this paper, and I'm really hoping that's not what's coming for the US Habanas.
Now the small Habana paper that's shown, It's smooth - not Clairefontaine smooth, but more like Moleskine. smooth. It's thin like the larger Habana paper, (and like Moleskine. paper) but NONE of the tested inks bled through it at all. I'm hoping this will be the paper that's going to be used in the new US Habanas. I would buy a journal with this paper, so I could use all my inks without the bleeding or feathering problems I've had with my Moleskines.
In conclusion, I'm still a bit perplexed why so much variance across the line. Why did they push out the white papered journal with such high-quality paper if they didn't intend on continuing to manufacture it? Perhaps it was an issue of cost - as Habanas aren't cheap to begin with.
Perhaps Karen can shed a little more light on the subject, as us fountain pen users are waiting with baited breath for a product that can truly kill off the much loved but inferior Moleskine.
PS - I prefer the ivory paper in the smaller journal. :o)
4 comments:
I just updated my review to point back to your new post, thanks! ;-)
I just received a response from Karen Doherty, the VP of marketing about the manufacturing differences between the Habana notebooks:
"I checked with both our France and Hamburg plants on Habana notebook product specifics. Here they are:
U.S. Made
- White paper
- Large notebook - 90 g paper
- Small notebook - 64 g paper
France Made
- Ivory paper
- Large notebook - 60 g paper
- Small notebook - 60 g paper
Later this fall, France will start making both the large and small Habana with 85 g paper
French notebooks also include a ribbon, and come in ruled, blank and graph. US-made will only come in ruled.
We will be making a decision soon whether or not to continue making Habana notebooks in our US plant, or import them from France. We have several factors we need to weigh as part of the decision:
1. Later this fall we will importing Rhodia's new Webnotebook, which comes with ivory paper. Do we need two bound notebooks with ivory paper?
2. Manufacturing in the US keeps US workers employed, our plant running at strong capacity, less exposure to future Euro exchange issues re: price.
3. Will consumers recognize the ivory paper as "Clairefontaine paper"? Or, are they accustomed to the "extra white, super smooth?"
4. Even though there are differences of opinion and taste on the ivory paper vs. white paper preference, white paper Habana notebooks are selling very briskly.
A lot to consider in the next few weeks.
Thank you very much for the seriousness and care in which you approached this issue. We certainly listen, and read all the comments."
Hi there...regarding the US Quo Vadis at Swisher, they only advertise one paper weight for both the small and large journals (90g/m) extra white. In you actual experience, are these two the same? also what are the line spacing? In Canada I can only get the French version which is flimsy ivory (60g/m) and extremely narrow ruled (6mm spacing). Are the Swishers' wider? Thanks.
037- The US Made Habanas, (Sold at Swisher) have the following papers:
- Large notebook - 90 g paper
- Small notebook - 64 g paper
The paper in the small Habana is flimsy & bleeds unlike the French made ivory paper which is also on the flimsy side.
I am offhand unsure of the ruling, but in the small Habana, they are pretty narrow....
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