Bleeding Ink

[keithbyrd]

I have been doing some journalling and am about fed up with ink bleeding through the pages and preventing me from using each side of the paper!
I have tried different journals but not willing to spend a fortune on them but with a very few exceptions (those being pricy!) they all bleed. I am currently using the Private reserve cartridges. Nibs on my pens are med pt.
Picture below shows the backside of the page I just wrote on!
Does anyone know of a fountain pen cartridge ink that doesn't bleed or has minimal bleeding or another way to solve the problem?

 

[duncsuss]

It's a very real problem - and IMO the blame must be placed on the paper manufacturers for making porous paper, not on the ink manufacturers (who have not really changed that product.)

I tend to stick to the traditional inks - such as Waterman Serenity Blue and Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue - for everyday use. For notebooks, I've tried Rhodia (with mixed success - one batch was great, the other had bleed-through). Folks I know have used Leuchterm 1917. I've settled on Tomoe River paper notebooks, got a few from Hippo Noto during their Kickstarter phase. The TR paper works well, but tends to be pricey.

I've also had luck going the opposite direction - the cheapest I could find at a dollar store. And the company I work for is owned by a Japanese company who issue a diary/notebook each year that behaves very well with my standard inks plus a green Private Reserve ink and Noodler's Red Fox (but I only use those for underlining and check marks.)

And if you are willing to use loose sheets, Staples used to sell "filler paper" drilled for three-ring binders which had some bamboo content (I think it was made in Brazil) and that resisted bleed-through quite well.

I'm sure that if you ask in one of the fountain pen groups on Facebook, or on the Fountain Pen Network, you'll get lots of replies.

And if all else fails - you might have to resign yourself to using just one side of each leaf.

 

[BHuij]

There are some inks that are less prone to bleeding/feathering (R&K Salix is a good example), but it's mostly a function of the paper.

If you want a nice notebook that won't break the bank and has fountain pen-friendly paper, the Rhodia Webnotebook is probably my favorite. If it doesn't need to be a permanently bound notebook, Rhodia probably also makes the least expensive notepads that are virtually guaranteed to be fountain pen-friendly. I use one like this all the time for taking notes and mapping out complicated ideas at work.

 

[Leonardo]

My favorite paper is Midori MD Cream and it's available in both pads and notebooks and not too expensive. I have an auto delivery set up every two months.

It handles fountain pen ink wonderfully and is also great for sheen/shimmer/wet inks.

Give it a try! Here's some writing I did last night on it.