Editing The Pen Addict 671/transcript (section)

== Nostalgia for traditional catalogs ==

* I don't know if Fountain Pen Hospital still does a catalog. I know Farnese does. Yeah, Goldsby, I think, still does the traditional catalog. Okay. Yeah. I mean, I miss those. Yeah, for sure. Back to my childhood. I know. I know. And yeah, like pretty much if people aren't like deep into the paper stuff like we are, almost none of this stuff is made for writing. We just happen to find writing implementations for a paper that's used for other things. And, you know, the reason why a lot of these papers are going away is like you're saying, like the industries that their main purpose of, their main moneymaker is, you know, selling for these catalogs, not for people wanting to buy, you know, like pallets to bind into notebooks for fountain pen people. Right. Totally. Yeah. We're like microscopic in the paper industry just because, yeah, I mean, it is really, yeah, it's different than like fountain pens. Like we're the direct, you know, customer for that. We're just like, this is some weird offshoot for other. Like I remember talking to Mitsubishi paper mills in the USA and they had no idea they even made the paper that I was trying to sell. Like we don't, we're, we're like so far to the right of the decimal point on whatever like accounting spreadsheet they have for like usage. Right. Like it just does not even register. So like we can, we can get mad and upset like the Tomoe river disaster, which is just seems like it will never go away. It's like, they do not care about us. I love it. I love you Tomoe river paper, but we do not register. Although I guess Hobonichi was probably a big enough client to where that did register. It's like, Oh, they use it for different stuff, but it's never, it wasn't enough to keep the factory going and keep the printer going. Right. Yeah. Yeah. So I want to, I want to talk about a couple of new papers that I'm looking on the paper mind homepage that I'm not familiar with. So you have a dandelade notebooks and the trantex notebooks. Can you tell me about those papers? I see they're both a Japanese based papers. What are some features here? What are you liking about these? Because I have not tested either of those types of papers. Sure. Yeah. So like dandelade, this is as the name kind of suggests, this is a laid paper. So there's sort of like a lattice like watermark on there. And it's a textured, like natural paper. It holds fountain pen ink really, really nicely. Like for an uncoated paper, like, you know, I can do like all my ink swatching on there and there's like no bleed through or anything, which is pretty unusual for an uncoated paper. So it's super nice to write on. It's, you know, if you like bank paper, I think you might like it. It definitely doesn't have quite as much crispness. It's a thicker paper for its weight. But it's, it's, it's really a beautiful paper to, to write on. Yeah. I, I really have been loving it. And then. So on this, let me ask you real quick. Is this mostly a white page? It looks like a white page, but maybe has a little bit of a tone or a tint. I can't totally tell. It's, it's a bright white laid paper. Yeah. And then it comes in rolled and blank at the moment. Gotcha. All right. And so the other one. Yeah. Try next is, um, this is extremely close to Cosmo air light. It's a little bit more bright white, but the performance is almost like exactly the same. I did a video comparison of that and like the feel on the page, the way that the ink looks on the page, it's like almost identical and it's just as good with fountain pen ink. Um, you definitely still get that, that line spread that you have with Cosmo air light. So that's something to be aware of. Yeah. If you don't necessarily like that, I like it. It's like, Oh, my extra fine nib is now like a fine.
* This feels more luxurious than normal.
* Yeah. No, it's, it's paper. So interesting to me. I love this stuff. Like, um, like just the feel of paper and the way people use it. And the particularness each of us might have where if I'm, if I'm liking my extra fine lines, I kind of want them to stay there, which is why I like paper. It's like a very rigid, like line specific, um, output that you're getting on the page. And then you use, you know, like Cosmo air light is like, well, this is different. Why, why is this happening? Like, is this, you know, a feature to someone like this? And it turns out like, you know, Cosmo air light and papers, you know, related to it. Like, I think I'm, I'm interested in trying this. I think they're great for fountain pens because they're just so color accurate, you know, like more than like a bank paper, like people that like ink love like the Cosmo air light types of paper or the era full or now the, the tran next. Um, yeah, you know, you're going to get, if you like a lot of ink on the page and you like good color representation, like, man, some of these papers are like, I see why they're so popular. Right. And is that kind of what you're getting from here? Yeah, totally. I mean, if you're an ink person, yeah. Cosmo air light and tran next, like they're really the best for that. And it's, you know, it's funny. I did a, I haven't, I filmed it, I haven't edited it yet, but I have like a, my top five like green inks and I did a comparison like on dandelade versus tran next. And some of the colors look like completely different. And, you know, I know the tran next is going to be the, is like the more accurate ish color, but it's funny how much that, that changes it. But yeah, I mean, there's just so many different qualities, like dandelade, like if you're a left handed person, that paper dries really fast. Whereas like Cosmo air light or tran next, you know, it's, it can be easier to smudge paper with that. So it's just, I don't know. Paper is so weird. Like, I feel like when I think I've like understood some concepts about paper or something changes. Yeah.
* Humbled again. If I write a review on paper, I could probably take the same word count and just caveats of like, like there's so many exceptions and so many like specificities about each paper type that what I'm seeing and feeling based on what I'm using could be vastly different than what you, the output that you get. But we're going to have the same general concept, say maybe like, you know, ink brightness or feel on the page and things like that. But yeah, it is so like situationally dependent. And I, I, I love that like our community likes to explore this stuff and tries to figure stuff out until like you said, the rug gets pulled.
* Yeah, exactly. And then we have fewer sources now, like not everyone's making paper anymore. So we have fewer sources to get like the good stuff, which I think that's what like the paper mind is to me. Like it's a very specific curation of papers that like you've explored and you're able to explain and you know, one paper might be good for one type of user, another for another type of user. So is that kind of, kind of like the gist here for, for the paper mind and are you going to keep exploring and keep trying to find like new papers and other things? Yeah, definitely. I've got, you know, a couple in the works and you know, like the, the line isn't where I expected it to be because every time I lose a paper that I've been making, it's like, well now I can't do the different sizes and the different variations that I had planned. So I kind of go back to like my core, which is, you know, the A5 size, because that is the most popular size. And just see, do people like this new paper? And then from there I can, I'm hoping I will be able to expand the line and offer more variations. Um, yeah, that's kind of the plan. Yeah. Well, can you explain or, or, you know, describe to me your, your binding style? Because it's very consistent across the products. It's a style that I love and it seems to be very purpose, purposeful, uh, and what you've, what you've produced in across the different types of notebooks, you get the similar type of binding, right? Can you just elaborate on that a little bit? Yeah. So for most of my stitched bindings, they're all Smith sewn. Um, and then I like a naked, um, spine essentially. So it's just, you know, the individual signatures, the stitching, and then there's like, you know, book binders mesh or mole over the back of the spine. And that just allows the notebook to be more flexible. Um, I do have, you know, hardcover notebooks as well. And, you know, I work with the binder to say like, you know, we need this to be looser in like the book binding world. Um, there's a term, it's not the greatest term, but it's literally called throw up where like how like the, the book like opens, like, you know, um, and like, I want that to be completely flat. Whereas like, if you have like a really tightly bound book, like the paper will kind of like come into the, the book a bit and won't be flat. So I, I really prioritize that because like writing comfort is number one, like the idea behind the notebooks is I don't want them to like get in the way of your writing and your sort of thinking on the page. Like there's nothing more annoying than fighting the tools you're working with. Yeah.
* Yeah. I think it's, I don't know. That's one thing I can't explain for someone who likes to ramble about just like the minutia of all this stuff. I can't explain why I like the soft cover details and binding. Um, like I don't, I like that there's no overhang on the cover, right? Like, like a lot of hardbound books or I have a little more overhang, literally nothing wrong with that, but I just have like a stylistic preference for like, like everything's like right on the edge and the binding is, is very, you know, pliable. I don't know. It's just something about it. It's one of my like just favorite notebook constructions. I really, I really like these a lot. And the fact that you can get a lot of different papers in it. All right. So I want to, we'll probably dabble in some paper some more as we go. Cause I have a lot, uh, a lot more specific questions, but we're going to get into some of your videos. Uh, but first I want to thank our good friends over at Penadex this week for sponsoring the Pen Addict. So this episode of the Pen Addict is brought to you by Penadex, your digital stationery companion for all things Pen Addict. Whether you're logging your daily writers, planning your next pen show, or just trying to remember which shimmer ink you've already brought twice, Penadex has you covered. It's beautifully designed for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. And it has several new experiences that are all Pen Addicts will enjoy, such as tracking your full pen and ink collections with fields for nib type, material, color, and more. Building your wishlist of grail pens and inks. Your daily usage calendar to log which pens you're using each day. And the usage stats for, and beautiful ink color spreads, even right from the home screen widget. So I've been using Penadex for a while, and what I really like is the continued building of the app that Connor Rose, the app developer, does. He has added a stationery shop page for locations all over the world where Penadex users can find stationery shops local to them or within a short driving distance. Also, something I need to use in the latest version is really digging into the nib details where you can add in specific nibs, nib details, nib grinds, and tie that into your collection there on Penadex. So if you're headed to a pen show this summer, Penadex also includes a full pen show planner with customizable checklists, itinerary planning, and a budget tracker so you don't overspend before Saturday. And for travelers and shop explorers, what I mentioned earlier is the new stationery store map. It's hand curated international guide to independent stationery shops. You can explore from within the app or online at stationerymap.com. So even if you don't have an iOS app, you can still see all the pen stores from one convenient web page. Penadex is built by a solo developer who's been part of the Penadex community for over a decade. You can download Penadex for free on the iOS app store or visit Penadex.com. That's P-E-N-E-D-E-X.com. And if you're a pen shop owner and want to be added to the stationery store map, just email hello at Penadex.com or tap submit store info at stationerymap.com. Our thanks to Penadex for supporting this episode of the Pen Addicts. All right, let's dig into the YouTube comments. Just kidding. Like no one wants to read the comments, but your recent video, I actually shouted out on the podcast a couple of weeks ago. The best and worst of 2025 fountain pen brands tier list. And I love this video. And I think you got a lot of views and lots of comments in there that I purposely did not read after like the first couple. And I was like, okay, good. Everyone's behaving. And then I'm not going to read the rest because it's not only going to get downhill from here. Tell me about putting together that video and just the reception you got on that.