Monday, March 2, 2015

Review: Le Typographe Palm Leaf Notepad - A4 Plain @NoteMakerTweets

Review Le Typographe Palm Leaf Notepad - A4 Plain @NoteMakerTweets (3)
ABOUT
Review Le Typographe Palm Leaf Notepad - A4 Plain @NoteMakerTweets (2)
Size: A4
Color: Yellow/White
Ruling: Blank
Sheet Count: 45
Paper Weight: 100 gsm
Price: $24.47USD (ON SALE!)
Where to buy: NoteMaker
Review Le Typographe Palm Leaf Notepad - A4 Plain @NoteMakerTweets (1)
APPEARANCE
Review Le Typographe Palm Leaf Notepad - A4 Plain @NoteMakerTweets (4)
This gorgeous notepad captured my heart, even in pictures. I usually don't use A4 size, so this size (21 x 30 cm) is quite majestic to me. The pad looks stylish and elegant. The cover and pages have sharp corners that are quite crisp and pristine - I have to be careful not to bend them if I carry the pad around (especially because of the large size). The cover is kraft brown, thick, and firm enough to protect the pages inside a little, but it's not a hardcover so it must be treated with care. The cover has a ribbed/laid-type texture that makes it look great. The cover says Le Typographe in subtle bronze writing and there's a palm leaf in the middle - the same palm leaf that's on the pages inside.

The paper inside is gorgeous - clean, white, with only that palm leaf on top. Each sheet is watermarked with le Typographe. The pad is glued at the top and backed with black card stock.
Review Le Typographe Palm Leaf Notepad - A4 Plain @NoteMakerTweets (5)
PERFORMANCE & FEEL

The pages tear easily from the glue, without ripping or tearing. I really like this because with some other glue-bound notepads, the glue has leached on to the pages and tears it when I try to remove them, or they just tear anyway.

Ok, I didn't want to waste this gorgeous 100 gsm paper by using ballpoints on it. It's definitely made for fountain pens.
Review Le Typographe Palm Leaf Notepad - A4 Plain @NoteMakerTweets (8)
Review Le Typographe Palm Leaf Notepad - A4 Plain @NoteMakerTweets (9)
Fountain pen ink looks beautiful on it - crisp, clean, and matte. Shading and sheen shows up really well. There is no bleed through, feathering, and very little show through. It's really gorgeous correspondence paper. Back to that sheen - ink pools, so it can take a long time to dry and one must be careful for smudging if you're using really wet pens (such as double broad nibs or flex nibs).
Review Le Typographe Palm Leaf Notepad - A4 Plain @NoteMakerTweets (7)
Review Le Typographe Palm Leaf Notepad - A4 Plain @NoteMakerTweets (10)
The paper has a little bit of tooth you can feel when writing, but it feels smooth to the touch. The paper isn't shiny, coated, nor glossy. It's not blindingly bright white. It's great paper for using fountain pens with - ink looks good, and all the nibs I've tested wrote nicely, and the paper performed well. I used a line guide behind the page to keep my lines straight (while writing letters).

PROS
  • Fountain pen friendly.
    • No feathering, little show through, no bleed through.
    • Shading and sheens show up well.
  • Elegant correspondence paper.
  • Clean, pristine paper.
  • 100 gsm paper.
CONS  
  • Watch for smudging with wet nibs.
  • Treat notepad with care so it doesn't get dog-eared and bent!
OVERALL 

I think this is a beautiful pad for writing letters - it's special, elegant, classy, and a pleasure to write on. The paper performs really well with fountain pens and ink looks really lovely on the paper. I very much enjoy this pad. I'd love to try this out in a smaller size (such as A5 - my preferred size)!

Disclosure: I received this item free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. 

5 comments:

Jen said...

I can't say I've ever used toothy paper that feels smooth - seems like that is a contradiction in terms but then again, I use G Lalo, toothy and definitely not smooth. I'll have to give this a try.

Raí Biason Toffoletto said...

Hi Azizah, have you ever crossed with their "Carnet Reporteur"? I was wondering how they would behave with fountain pens, as far I know they are recycled paper but in the description says that don't bleed through...

Azizah Asgarali said...

Haven't tried that one, unfortunately. I'm always curious how recycled paper handles fountain pens! I'll keep an eye out for it.

Azizah Asgarali said...

I know. I mean to touch it with your fingers, it feels smooth, but when you use it, it feels toothy. other papers (like G. Lalo) is toothy but also feels toothy. Hopefully that makes some sense!

Jen said...

Yeah that makes sense. I've just never used smooth toothy paper. Sounds interesting.

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