New Arrivals: Clairefontaine Looseleaf Sheets Are Back, in both Individual Sheets and Booklets

Two years ago we brought in an old favorite: Clairefontaine French-ruled paper in looseleaf individual sheets and booklets. This particular product holds a special place in my heart - especially the double booklets - because it was the first fountain pen-friendly stationery product from my time abroad that I “smuggled” back into the country and hoarded because you could rarely find it in the U.S. These days, “Seyes” paper is somewhat more widely available but still unusual, so I’ve tried to keep it in stock when I can. We recently procured another large supply in both A4 and A5 formats, with A4 available in both formats and A5 (17 x 22cm) available in the single sheets.

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You can read more on why I love this particular ruling here, but needless to say I rotate it through most of my notebooks and use it for a variety of notetaking, drafting, and letter-writing projects. I’ve tried to curate the shop in a way that we can offer French-ruled paper in all available formats. A few notes on the individual sheets:

• A4 paper comes in packs of 50, 100, and 200-count sheets. Individual sheets are hole-punched for various three-ring binder layouts. The double-sheet booklets are not pre-punched.

• A5 paper comes in packs of 50 and 100 sheets. As those familiar with Clairefontaine French-ruled notebooks know, the “Seyes” ruling is slightly larger than traditional A5, at 17 x 22cm. That said, it’s fairly easy to trim to fit A5 binders from Plotter, William Hannah, Levenger Circa, Staples Arc, etc., if that’s what you’re looking for.

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Clairefontaine “A5” has odd dimensions. You can find double-punched notebooks that fit the paper as-is, if that’s your thing, but they are uncommon in the U.S. Most people I know use the A5 paper for letter-writing or notetaking, or they trim down the margins, which is easy to do. (See below.)

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I used the Plotter blue sheet as a guide and trimmed these by hand with scissors because I’m snowed in and don’t have access to my office paper cutter. Trimming the top and left margins leaves a perfectly proportionate A5-sized Plotter refill!

Clairefontaine looseleaf paper is priced anywhere from $6.50 to $21.50 per pack, depending on size and quantity. The T.G.S. Curated Shop has additional formats available, including spiral, staple, and clothbound notebooks. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized reseller of Clairefontaine products.

Paper Review: Clairefontaine Is My Personal Benchmark for Fountain Pen Friendly Paper

Everyone has a personal benchmark, or reference point by which they measure most things, whether it’s pens, inks, paper, or something else entirely. For me, whenever I’m evaluating any sort of paper, my comparison starts with Clairefontaine.

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In an era where new specialty paper brands hit the market on a seemingly weekly basis - each touted as having “special properties” or “even more ink friendliness than ___” - it’s easy to overlook the basics. Brands such as Clairefontaine and Rhodia (which come from the same family of companies but have slightly different paper formulations) have been churning out excellent all-around paper for a very long time, and if what you’re looking for is quality, relatively cost-effective paper that’s easy to find and capable of handling most pens and inks, I often suggest that new users start here. Specifically, the reasons I love/recommend this paper include:

• Versatility. Clairefontaine Paper comes in a wide range of formats and rulings. Honestly, the idea for this post struck me yesterday morning as I was unpacking a recent shop order and found myself floored by the variety of products that kept emerging from the box. Clairefontaine makes pocket notebooks, reporter-style notebooks, A5 notebooks, A4 notebooks, legal pads, top-spiral legal pads, looseleaf paper - you get the picture. While I count myself a paper aficionado, and consider experimenting across product lines part of the fun, if you prefer to focus on the pens and/or inks you can stick to Clairefontaine and find pretty much any paper format you might need within that line.

• Consistent Quality. What I love about Clairefontaine is that you don’t need to think about whether it’s going to offer you a baseline-level of fountain pen friendliness. Although most people lump them together as “Clairefontaine/Rhodia”, I’ve generally found Clairefontaine to be more consistent across batches and the product line as a whole.

• Cost Effectiveness. Whether it’s those of us who use fountain pens on a daily basis at work, or prolific journalers who can fill a 100+ page notebook in a matter of weeks, most people have to pay attention to the cost of this hobby on some level. While they’ve had to raise prices over the past couple of years, Clairefontaine paper is still some of the more reasonably priced fountain pen friendly stationery on the market. As I write this, notebooks containing Clairefontaine paper range from $5.50 to $23, depending on size and page volume.

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Clairefontaine paper is famous for how well it handles ink. The bright white version showcases color and shading fairly well. It also holds up to extremely wet pens and inks, though as discussed further below, that may affect dry time.

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As you can see, there is zero bleed-through from handwriting. It took me FOUR passes with a q-tip - basically until the paper soaked through and began disintegrating, before I saw any bleeding whatsoever from the ink swab. Even then, it only bled along the “weak spots” in the paper (i.e., where the ruling was printed).

That’s not to say that Clairefontaine doesn’t have it’s drawbacks, and any well-rounded review should point them out. First of all, dry time can be an issue, especially with wet and/or super-saturated inks. What makes Clairefontaine paper so ink-friendly is the fact that the paper is coated to minimize feathering and bleed-through, so it takes longer to dry because the paper doesn’t absorb as much ink as other brands. As a result, many left handers find that that ink frequently smears, and certain Noodler’s and Organics Studio formulations will literally never dry on this paper. On a similar note, because this paper tends to feel very smooth, I find it less satisfying to use with pencil. While to me this is more of a tactile issue, some people claim that graphite smears more easily on Clairefontaine and other coated papers. YMMV.

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Clairefontaine’s 1951 Collection, with it’s school-days-retro vibe, has been incredibly popular.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I always keep Clairefontaine paper close at hand. I opened my “notebook stash drawer” in my office desk yesterday and three Clairefontaine products jumped out at me: (1) a packet of French-ruled looseleaf sheets, which will be returning to the shop soon; (2) a “Pupitre” legal-style A4 pad; and (3) a spiral-bound A4 French-ruled notebook. I started with Clairefontaine paper way back in college, when I first got into fountain pens, and at this point I consider myself a lifer with this brand.

In the interest of full disclosure (though most readers probably already know this) we do sell Clairefontaine directly via our own shop, though my love of this paper predates my status as a retailer by decades. You can generally find this paper at most pen retailers worldwide.

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Further Reading

I’ve previously reviewed a few specific iterations of Clairefontaine Paper, including my favorite French/Seyes-ruled layout, which is what got me hooked on quality stationery all those years ago. For a broader look at how different brands compare, and what I consider to be “fountain pen friendly”, check out our “Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper” post. This particular article has a vibrant comments section, from which I’ve already picked up several new suggestions on additional brands to review and/or carry in the shop. Please add to the conversation if you don’t see one of your own favorites represented!

New Arrivals: New Styles from Clairefontaine, Plus Restocks on Old Favorites!

I arrived home to a huge shipment (8 boxes) from Exaclair this weekend, including restocks on most Clairefontaine favorites, including the larger Triomphe writing pads, French-ruled notebooks, and the incredibly popular clothbound “1951 Series”. We are also restocked on the Quo Vadis Habana, my favorite of the bound journal/notebooks, which features Clairefontaine dot grid paper. But that’s not all!

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Enough of the Restocks: What’s New? Triomphe Notebooks, Dot Grid Journals, Reporter-Style Pads and More!

We’ve been wanting to expand our selection of Clairefontaine for some time - I generally find the entire line to be excellent, especially given the often-rare combination of fountain pen friendly paper and an accessible price point. There’s a lot to be excited about, as new arrivals include:

• Triomphe Notebooks, in both white and ivory paper, lined or blank! These were recently released - the Triomphe paper is incredibly fountain pen friendly and popular for personal correspondence, and to have it available in notebook form is an exciting development.

• Clairefontaine Classic “Pupitre” Reporter-style Writing Tablets, which feature perforated pages of Clairefontaine’s classic 90g white paper, ruled or grid. We have these top-bound spiral pads in four different sizes including pocket, classic reporter, A5, and A4.

• Clairefontaine “Forever” A5 Spiral Notebook. Featuring 100% recycled paper, these spiral notebooks are lined and entirely micro-perforated, so that you can remove pages for ease of filing/discarding/scanning, whatever you may like. More notebooks need to be perforated for easy page removal!

• My Essentials A5 Bound Journals, which are threadbound notebooks featuring a slightly more absorbent (and quicker drying) dot grid ivory paper. These are a perfect solution for bullet journaling, with a table of contents and numbered pages.

• Life.unplugged Pocket Duo Notebooks, which are slightly smaller than a Field Notes and feature lined 90g fountain-pen friendly paper. Sold in packs of two: one colored and one black notebook.

Happy Shopping!

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The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

Stock Update: Clairefontaine French-Ruled Paper Went Fast

Just a short note here for those of you hoping to land some of the Clairefontaine French-ruled looseleaf paper: I’ve sold through a huge chunk of my shipment over the last three days! The reaction to this particular product has been bigger than anything I’ve ever tried to do before in the shop, and I’m going to order more of it immediately. The problem is, since it’s an import product, it will likely take a while. As of now, we are completely sold out of the A4 single sheets, and very low on both A5 single sheets and the 100-packs of A4 booklets. If you were looking to get your hands on some, don’t sleep on it.

You can check out our entire offerings of Clairefontaine products here. Note that we’ve also recently added lined wirebound notebooks in the A5 size.

By shopping with us directly, you are supporting original content, pen reviews, pen show events, etc. from The Gentleman Stationer. If you would like to support us even further, please consider checking out the T.G.S. Patreon Program, which offers access to online meetups, exclusive discounts and pre-orders, and more!

The Paper Product That Started It All! French-Ruled Looseleaf Sheets and Booklets Are Finally Here

Yes, as you might have guessed, it’s Clairefontaine French-Ruled (Seyes-ruled) paper, but not in notebook form. I finally managed to source looseleaf sheets of this paper in both A4 and A5 size, taking me back to when I could travel freely and schlepped suitcases full of this paper back from France because I couldn’t find a reliable source that stocked it in the U.S. You can read more about my love affair with French-ruled paper here, including how I first discovered it and why I like using it so much.

As part of my initial order - which had to be imported as part of a special order through Exaclair, Clairefontaine’s U.S. distributor - I managed to get my hands on single sheets in both A5 and A4 size, as well as the coveted Clairefontaine booklet-style A4 double sheets, which combine four pages of writing into a versatile format that I love to use to make flowcharts, outline oral arguments for my legal practice, draft longer documents, and more. I’ve been down to my last pack and have been using them only sparingly. (If nobody buys any, at least I’ll have a personal lifetime supply! For a stationery addict, there is nothing more satisfying that looking at a warehouse full of hundreds of packs of high-end paper. but I digress.)

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Availability and Pricing Information

Ok, so I bought a LOT of this paper. Feel free to stock up. When I’ve had it readily available, this has served as my default looseleaf paper for most of my writing, and I used to burn through packs of it regularly. I personally can’t wait to get this back in my rotation, and I’m working on a large work project right now that’s going to be the perfect use-case for these double booklets. If this sells well, there are other formats and options I can stock, including colors such as pink and blue, but I started relatively small since an import order requires me to purchase large quantities, and this is still very much an experiment.

As of this morning, looseleaf French-ruled paper is live and available for purchase in the T.G.S. Curated Shop. One of the reasons I love Clairefontaine paper is that it’s relatively inexpensive for how good it is. The single sheets are priced at $6.50 for a pack of 100 A5 sheets, and $9.50 for 100 A4 sheets. The double sheets (or booklets), are priced at $6.50 for 50 sheets, and $10 for 100. Finally, a note on shipping - I know it’s expensive relative to the price of a single pack, but paper is heavy and nearly always needs to go USPS Priority or UPS. From a value perspective, it’s probably best to purchase 2-3 packs of this to make up for the shipping charge, or to do a couple of major stock-up purchases per year and hit the free shipping threshold, currently set at $75.

By shopping with us directly, you are supporting original content, pen reviews, pen show events, etc. from The Gentleman Stationer. If you would like to support us even further, please consider checking out the T.G.S. Patreon Program, which offers access to online meetups, exclusive discounts and pre-orders, and more!