Paper Mind Passepied Cream Paper Notebook Review

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

It’s been a while since I’ve done a notebook review (not including the Yamamoto Bullet Jotter Notebook), so I dug through the review bin to pick out the Paper Mind Passepied Cream Paper Notebook.

The Passepied Cream Paper Notebook is a Japan-made, hardbound A5 notebook with a Japanese linen cover. I am reviewing the navy lined version, but blank is also available in a light grey linen cover.

The back of the notebook is minimally branded with “paper mind” and “made in japan” in silver.

A closeup look at the linen cover.

The insides have grey end papers. Also included is a sheet of pink blotter paper.

Per their website, Passepied Cream is made by the hundred-year-old Hokuetsu-Kishu Paper Company, and was designed as a book paper with high opacity. The paper weight is 84.3 gsm; for comparison, Leuchtturm is 80gsm. As the name implies, Passepied Cream is a cream-colored paper and not bright white.

Both the Leuchtturm 80 gsm (left) and Passepied are similar in color.

The notebook opens fairly flat, but I don’t consider it truly “lay flat” if I have to press it down.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, when I review notebooks, I do my writing samples in the back of the notebook. This way, I can still use the rest of the notebook starting at the front.

The paper is very smooth, but I never felt like my nibs were sliding uncontrolled. I picked a wide range of nibs so that (1) I could see if there was any feathering, (2) if the paper felt equally good to write on with different nibs, and (3) to see how it handled different ink qualities, like shimmer, shading, etc.

Writing samples starting with a Masuyama needlepoint to Medium.

Writing samples with Broad nibs. I also included flex and ground nibs, as well as a stub.

Passepied handled the shimmer from Wearingeul I am a Cat with no problems.

A side by side comparison with writing on just the front (left) and with writing on the back (right). There is hardly any ghosting.

You can barely see the writing on the other side, where broader nibs were used.

Zoomed in view of the minimal show-through.

Happy Fountain Pen Day! The first Friday of November is FPD and this is the 14th one! This is also the broadest, wettest pen I have inked up, making it the perfect pen to do another writing sample!

Once again, there really isn’t any ghosting or show-through, even with that Sharpie of a stacked nib!

Swatches of Robert Oster x Empire State Pen Show Central Park Twilight (shimmer), KWZ Sheen Machine (sheen), Pennonia x Amarillo Stationery Amarillo Antiguo (brightness), Hosia Ink Studio Mung Shing (chromashading) and Sailor Ink Studio 150 (shading/chromashading).

You can easily see the turquoise shimmer of Central Park Twilight, as well as the purple-red sheen of KWZ Sheen Machine.

Amarillo Antiguo is easily visible (its bright yellow tones weren’t affected by the cream-colored paper). Both Mung Shing and Sailor 150 shaded beautifully on the swatch, and you can still see all the colors in the Mung Shing writing sample.

Even with the heavy swatches of ink on the other side, the ghosting is minimal. You can see that the paper has wrinkled a touch, but it really handled all that ink!

I really enjoyed testing out the paper and look forward to using it for my next writing project. The Passepied Cream Paper Notebook sells for $29, which is close to what a Leuchtturm1917 A5 sells for in the US at around $26.

(Disclaimer: The Paper Mind Passepied Cream Paper Notebook was provided to The Pen Addict by The Paper Mind at no charge. All pens and inks used are my own.)

iA Notebook Review

What do you get when a software company who puts a lot of thought and care into their product ventures into the analog world? A notebook built with the same philosophy, executed well.

I admit I was hugely skeptical of the iA Notebook. I used their wonderful distraction-free writing app, iA Writer, in my early days of blogging, and have always held a soft spot for its design and functionality. Translating that experience into a physical good, though? I’m glad they were up for the challenge.

The core feature of the iA Notebook are the watermarked pages. Watermarks are typically an identification marker of the paper maker, usually only seen on the page when held up to light. iA has taken that concept and made the watermark functional by using those subtle marks as the lines on the page. Yes, this is a lined notebook.

Can you make out the subtle lines?

While great in concept, they are challenging to see when writing. Notebook pages aren’t backlit, so you need good lighting to stay on the lines. I often found myself tilting my head to ensure I could see where I was writing. Luckily, they are spaced at 10 mm apart, so you have plenty of room if you wander.

I tested all kinds of pens, pencils, and inks on the paper, and it held up well to most of it. The 81g Araveal White used in this notebook is slightly textured, and uncoated, giving it performance characteristics of a dry page. That means inks dry fast, but you lose some of the character (shading, sheen,) that fountain pen inks are known for. The ink gets into the top layer of the page, but didn’t bleed through to the back, and didn’t feather on the top.

The finer the nib, the more I enjoyed the ink experience, which is odd to say. Lines from wet nibs seemed to be oversaturated, while the finer nibs gave my lines more color balance. It’s like the lighter application of ink didn’t have a chance to get deep into the fibers, and was allowed to show off the ink characteristics.

One of the best inks to test paper absorption is the rollerball ink of the Schmidt P8127, and it wasn’t great. This water-based ink wouldn’t be my choice for this paper, as it did have some feathering. Fineliners were not great either, as the dry paper didn’t allow the ink to grab well from the plastic tip, giving them a pencil-like feeling. Alcohol ink Sharpies showed off how the ink absorbs into the top layer of the page, but didn’t immediately blast through the back and on to the next page. Gel and ballpoint inks were nice to use, and pencils felt great.

Cotton swab ink swatches.

Taking away any performance preferences, the build of the iA Notebook gets an A+. It’s solid, with thick front and back covers, and a cloth/mesh binding. It’s an object, as well as a notebook.

If the design gets an A+, I’d rate the paper as a B. As I mentioned earlier, it’s usable for many types of pens, but not universally great. It doesn’t have the all-around performance that you get from top Japanese brands like Maruman and Midori, and it may be more in the Leuchtturm zone for fountain pens, which is good, but not elite.

One note on the 10mm line spacing: If you stay committed to the lines, and don’t use the back side of the page due to ghosting, you are giving up a ton of writing real estate. At this cost per acre, that’s tough.

Ghosting. Not sure I’d love writing on both sides of the page.

The watermark lines of the iA Notebook are its killer deign feature, and, along with the packaging, turned it into the design award winning notebook that it is. But it has to be functional, too. I’d much prefer it as a standard blank page notebook, but then iA wouldn’t get to show off the cool features and construction they have here. I love it as an object, there are better choices for performance.

At $79, the iA Notebook is on the upper end of the pricing spectrum. Is it fairly priced given the design and quality of the product? Probably. It’s close. I’d personally love to see if they could create a blank page option and get the price down to a still expensive $49-$59, but that’s just me wishcasting. I think iA knows their market for this, and they are leaning into what the company has always been about: design.

(I purchased this notebook from iA at full price.)

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Midori MD Notebook Cover A6 Goat Leather Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

I just feel like my notebooks are happier with little coats on. It's cold where I live. And sure, maybe that's just an excuse for more cool notebook covers. But any excuse you can find to pick up the Midori MD Goat Leather Notebook Cover is a good excuse, because it's a good notebook cover.

This cover is made from natural, vegetable tanned goat leather. The natural leather ages and patinas with use, taking on the story of its journey with you. I've been excited to start to see some character develop in the weeks I've been using this one, but so far, it still looks brand new. Because it's also very durable. I'm happy to patiently await the development of character, though. The leather is very lightweight and flexible, but durable.

The design of the cover is very minimal and simple. It's plain on the outside, and the inside has two folder-style pockets for the notebook cover to slide into. Those two sleeve flaps have slits in them that serve as pockets for wee papers. And there is a slim pen loop built into the back cover's edge. The edges of the leather are neatly finished, and the surface is smoothly pebbled. Some variety will appear in the leather, since each piece is unique. That's all for features. There is no closure, or bookmark, or any other accessories. It isn't over-designed, but it does its job well.

The cover is designed to fit the Midori MD A6 notebook, but it fits a variety of A6 notebooks, including the Hobonichi Techo A6 and the Hobonichi A6 blank books. The cover also comes in six other sizes to fit the variety of Midori notebooks available. A6 books with wider spines will be a bit of a tighter fit, but I've been pleasantly surprised by how many notebooks are compatible with this cover.

I've been using the A6 Midori notebook in this cover as my craft project tracker, which has been getting a lot of use as my holiday gift crafting has amped up. It's been a pleasure to use, and the pen loop keeps my writing tool handy at all times.

That being said, these are not inexpensive notebook covers. The A6 one sells for $85 on JetPens, which is a little on the high side, especially since it doesn't come with a notebook insert. That will set you back another $12.50 or so. It will probably last forever, though, and using it is a pleasure.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!