It’s not hard to appreciate the virtues of thick, strong, smooth paper. Now that I write with fountain pens, I value them even more — what better way to showcase my lovely J. Herbin inks? For the past year, I’ve been using my fountain pens for everyday deskbound tasks like writing and note-taking and lists. (The next step, as I mentioned earlier, is taking them out of the house.) And I’ve been able to integrate them into nearly everything I do at my desk, with one strange but stubborn exception: Post-it notes.
I don’t use post-its that often now that I’ve begun to incorporate a Rhodia mousepad into my quote-unquote time management system. But I’m always looking for ways to prevent myself from overlooking the little things I need to do or keep track of each day, and bright yellow Post-its are a still an integral part of that arsenal.
Post-it brand post-its are actually pretty sturdy. But they’ve got this strange sort of sheen overlay that’s just death for fountain pens. Even Herbin ink performs badly; it’s splotchy and there’s lots of feathering. Here it is in a fine-nibbed Pelikano:
And here it is in the same pen on 90g Clairefontaine:
In the grand scheme of things, of course, this is hardly a big deal. (For whatever reason, my Phileas, whose medium nib is comparatively thin, performs somewhat better on post-its.) I’m still curious, though: what does the sheen accomplish? Does it make the post-it stronger or less susceptible to water damage? At this rate, you’d be better off writing on cheap printer paper. Maybe I’ll have to try the 4X4 Post-its that get such good reviews on FPN…
6 Comments
Inkophile
Several months ago a mechanical pencil found its way onto my desk. Sometimes margin notes just need to be erased, you see. Turns out the MP works great on Post-It paper, too. It may not have the charm of a fountain pen, but it does have its uses.
Brian Goulet
Perhaps Clairefontaine should make post-its!
Sara
I mentioned this on Twitter but I thought I would post a note here too…
)
3m & Avery both makes a glue stick with the temporary adhesive found on temporary sticky notes.
I snagged a stick and now any paper can be used as a post-it.
(It’s great for recycling partially used papers too!)
Ruby
IIRC, the sheen is a residue from the adhesive. If you write further down, the ink should adhere better.
Aaron
This got me curious so I had to give it a try. I used Noodler’s Black and Navy Blue, in Lamy Safaris, on the super sticky post-its, and have no problem. The area where the sticky part is does have some residue, but, if you move down a little these two inks seem to work good. The dry time is instant with no feathering. Sorry I can’t give you some pics.
Leah Hoffmann
Thanks for the tip, Ruby! Now that Aaron’s tried it out I will have to see for myself.