Tomoe River Paper Alternatives for Fountain Pens and Watercolors: Stalogy, Midori, Cosmo Air, etc

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🌿 SHOW NOTES
Today I'm comparing alternatives to Tomoe River Paper for use with fountain pens and watercolors. We'll look at bleed through and ghosting and talk about how Tomoe River has changed.

In my opinion, you probably won't be able to notice a difference between "old" Tomoegawa Tomoe River made pre-2021 and "new" Tomoegawa Tomoe River made in 2021 with the same formula by the same company on a different machine.

However, the latest iteration — Tomoe River S by Sanzen — is more complicated. Some of the Tomoe River S may be from old stock, sold under the new name. Or, you might get the brand new version actually made by Sanzen. I have tested some Sanzen paper and felt there was more bleed through with dye-based inks and paints than I get on Tomoegawa Tomoe River, but I understand they may be tinkering with their production. Stick with Tomeogawa for now if you're able to get it.

At this time, Hobonichi, Galen Leather, GoodInkPressions, Odyssey Notebooks, PaperPenguinCo, Taroko Shop, and Yamamoto Paper are all offering Tomoegawa, either "old" or "new." {Find links below to each shop.}

PaperPenguinCo also offers Sanzen. Taroko Shop will likely be transitioning to Sanzen in August.

If you are particular about this, you might want to ask the shop what their current stock is at the time of your order.

🌿 PURCHASE PAPER SAMPLES

GoodInkPressions at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3khag
PaperPenguinCo at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3k9ar


🌿 WHERE TO FIND THESE PAPERS IN NOTEBOOKS


🌿 52 gsm TOMOE RIVER

This is referred to as “Bible paper thin” but magically resists bleeding with wet media like fountain pens and pigment-based watercolors. Mileage may vary because, as of 2022, it’s no longer made by the same company. Different iterations are available from these shops:

Galen Leather at Amazon (A5): https://amzn.to/3MQzYL5
Galen Leather at Amazon (B5): https://amzn.to/3b1H5TL
Galen Leather at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3khbg
GoodInkPressions at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3k988
Paper Penguin Co at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3k8zl
Taroko Design at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3k9a1
Traveler’s Company Insert #013 at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PU1n1k
Yamamoto at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3khax


🌿 68 gsm TOMOE RIVER

This is very slightly thicker and less shiny than the incredibly popular 52gsm Tomoe River. It’s designed for artists and takes watercolor and fountain pens with less ghosting than the thinner version.

GoodInkPressions at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3k98j
Odyssey Notebooks at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3k9a6
Taroko Design at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3k9a0


🌿 52 gsm VIEW CORONA BRIGHT WHITE

While testing fountain pens, gel pens, markers, student grade watercolors, and artist quality watercolors, I can’t tell the difference between original 52gsm Tomoe River and 52gsm View Corona Bright White. Plain White seems a bit more prone to bleeding with dye-based watercolors, so I’d opt for Bright White.

Paper Penguin Co at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3jwuz


🌿 MIDORI

Approximately 70 gsm. Very smooth but with less coating, so it performs more like traditional watercolor paper than the shininess of Tomoe River.

Midori MD notebooks at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xuuKPj
Traveler’s Company Insert #001 (6.5mm rule) at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PYoojR
Traveler’s Company Insert #002 (square grid) at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3anFAPm
Traveler's Company Insert #003 (blank) at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3GMVy1H
Traveler's Company Insert #017 (monthly) at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QckxzQ
Traveler’s Company Insert #018 (weekly, vertical) at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xBzhkr
Traveler’s Company Insert #019 (weekly, horizontal) at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3zpwNXs
Traveler’s Company Insert #026 (dot grid) (available at Tokyo Pen Shop)


🌿 STALOGY

Reported to be 52 gsm; feels a tiny bit heavier. Very similar to Tomoe River but has less coating, so it dries faster.

A5 Stalogy 365 (368 pages) at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3zgt4vq
A5 Stalogy Half Year (184 pages) at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xkEsFo
Also available in B5, B6, A6, and a range of colors: https://amzn.to/3zTIJkT


🌿 COSMO AIR LIGHT

75 gsm. This is nice for fountain pens, but I don't like the way watercolors look like they were painted with markers.

Galen Leather at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ObT935
Galen Leather at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3khbf
Yamamoto at Etsy: https://shrsl.com/3khao


🌿 OTHERS I TRIED BUT DID NOT THINK WERE COMPARABLE
Apica
Bank Mitsubishi
Gallery Leather
Moleskine
Onion Skin
Peter Pauper Press
Rhodia
Shiraoi

🌿 DISCLOSURES
KeyLimeInk is an affiliate of Amazon, Blick, Etsy, Jackson's, Paper House, and Paper Sunday. Paper Penguin Co sent samples for review.