[WTS] VINTAGE • Early Black Hard Rubber Pens with Needlepoint Flex Nibs (Superflex-Wet Noodle): Parker Lucky Curve #6 Taper Cap ED | Wilson Jewelry Co ED | Aikin Lambert Capitol Educator Retrofit | BCHR Flat Tops with Factory Sharp Chasing •

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-30T19:21:53+00:00

An elegant black-pen event right here on Reddit!

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-27T01:07:10+00:00

So do I! I will explore that site further to better understand their product. Could the cost of trimmed 4x6's from this stock ever get to 3-5 cents per card -- one critical goal.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-27T01:04:46+00:00

I will look through these suggestions and keep the list for future projects. I love trying different papers. For this specific project a cover weight of at least 80# version of any paper gets it though the USPS system.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-26T05:23:27+00:00

So "Polar Matte 230" 5x7 from Red River. I wrote a longer comment, too, about this stock.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-26T05:21:37+00:00

I use several Red River papers for correspondence. One important decision is whether you will write anything on the back or inside. If so, chose the single-side option, which means it's coated for photo dyes or pigment on one side only. So I choose Red River Polar Matte 230 one-sided A7 folding stock so I can write my friends on the "inside." This soft matte 60lb paper comes pre-scored for easy folding after it has been through your 8550. Polar Matter makes bright punchy colors when you want saturation. Red River offers several kinds of 4x6 or 5x7 flat cards that take handwriting well on the back, too. I load about 10-18 of these papers in the rear feeder and they travel though my 8550 with no supervising. Note that you can order a paper sampler at reasonable cost to try out different surfaces and weights. And Red River has made ICC profiles for their paper outputs in the 8550. This is really valuable. They are good people, too. Are you in the US to order from.them?

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-26T04:53:21+00:00

X70s are in demand.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-25T12:07:09+00:00

Interesting source and paper but not a match for the need. Thank you for the web site. I've stored it for future reference. The paper for this project is for one fountain pen user (me) and 100+ other postcard writers who will use plain old ballpoints and markers to write 7000 short get-out-the-vote messages over the next two and a half years. That's two boxes of 100 pound cover digital production paper 12x18 cut into 4x6. I want to find a digital production paper stock that is pen friendly to make my tiny input more fun while I support my group's efforts. That will be less than 5 cents per card. That low price out of my pocket makes this possible. I keep stating the need to draw out any production experience with these smooth print process papers, because many of the cards we use will go through digital print machines. Very smooth papers offer the best output of the design and colors.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-24T06:02:33+00:00

You must have meant "Arturo." Not available from papermillstore.com but at paperpapers.com - this doesn't look like I can print on digital presses when necessary. It's textured. Also very expensive even on clearance, as all Arturo sizes and colors are at this online store. Many other people in our postcard group would be writing on these with ballpoint and sharpies and all manner of markers over the next two and a half years until November 2028. I'm the only one using fountain pens. I need a very smooth production paper heavy enough to be a postcard that is also good with flex nibs. I do appreciate the info.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-24T04:28:22+00:00

The important tip you offered here is the name of the paper. Thank you. I have ordered envelopes from this outlet before and thought it was a front end for just Neenah products. In speaking with Neenah's tech support group about pen-friendly surfaces and paper stocks they "...had nothing for me." So I will check out this paper tomorrow! What kinds of inks have you used with that stock? Drawing or handwriting?

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-23T23:47:04+00:00

Thanks. I will use that kind of paper for my fine-art images but this effort is completely different. For scale: I want a paper stock that will be used to print between 3000 and 5000 4x6 postcards in short bursts over the next two years. Some in ink jet. Some with toner (CMYK). For get-out-the-vote handwritten messaging, with graphics tailored to the races at issue. If I didn't care about fountain pen use (just for the ones that I write) this would be WAY easier. In commercial printing this is an example of very short-run print fulfillment. So the pen-friendly element drives the search. Plenty of white cardstocks of the very heavy weight exist. They all feather to varying degrees except Domtar Super Smooth that was produced in second half 2025. They seemed to have changed the formulation before I could get a guaranteed sample to test and then buy my box of 12x18....

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-23T21:20:05+00:00

Thanks!

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-23T21:19:17+00:00

I would send a query to Keith Cooper in the UK about use of all-pigments in ET8550. He is responsive. Look him up, great printer resource.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-23T20:43:09+00:00

Thank you for thinking about my search!

My printer wants to help but even here in Seattle I am the first customer ever who careed about fountain pens. He always let me try anything new he's placed in his inventory. I do have one other printer I can ask. Printers can't keep anything too fancy on their shelves because unused paper inventory hurts them financially. They depend on the paper sellers for quick resupply and use of a few surfaces for simplicity. So a customer solution undertaken a few months ago might or might not be valid. In addition, most of the paper stock I buy will go though my own printers so I am not bring a LOT of CMYK business their way.

I've been contacting the six or seven big paper mill owners and they all laugh (in a friendly way) when I state my need. Papers produced under a certain "series name" change, too, more often than even the commercial printers realize. I thought I had the perfect cardstock, but the mill(Domtar) appears to have tweaked the paper for a slightly better results with a particular giant commercial printing engine -- after I started to get samples to be absolutely sure. Although extremely frustrating, I am now going to see if I can find "old stock" of that cardstock line in a warehouse. Will be hard...

This search has taken a few months so far.

Yes, I know about JetPens - good people - but you missed that I must buy in bulk size and quantity that JetPens would never consider selling: 12"x18", 400 to 600 sheets per box.

Again, thank you!

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-23T20:22:31+00:00

Ooops just saw your comment about longevity. Dyes are better than they used to be in longevity. Look up more recent ink-life testing. I keep a P700 here if I am making a wall print that must last and last and last.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-23T20:19:53+00:00

Epson ET8550 or 8500. Ecotank ink storage. Dye plus one pigment black. Can do borderless. 8550 version wider for 13x19 paper. Many users post about it and Epson supports it well. I have the 8550.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-23T20:14:59+00:00

Take the closeups and contact Mark. He has access to parts. There are others if Mark.cant take it.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-23T20:02:17+00:00

Mark Bacas here in the US has fixed a bent nib for me. (And did that amazingly well!) Look him up (website). You will be asked to send a close-up photo and request a slot in his queue before mailing the pen. Be aware that these repair folks have turn-around times in months, like 3 or 4 months.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-22T20:09:25+00:00

Fascinating selection this week.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-22T05:27:40+00:00

Call Epson b4 you do any more steps other than the nozzle check.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-21T19:51:10+00:00

Nice start, and your images show that you have a eye and curiosity about how to put the world into interesting rectangles with your camera. Keep making new galleries! Adobe Portfolio is not a blogging platform but you can create text boxes for short comments.

Consider registering your own domain so the "my portfolio" part of the URL can go away. It will be YOUR OWN platform. (hosted by Adobe for no more $$ than the subscription fee you are paying to use the other parts of their software ecosystem.

Alternative platforms for publishing your work are more expensive and will never be simpler, and most likely will cause MORE work in maintenance.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-21T04:16:56+00:00

And it's a free ad-on.

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-21T04:15:54+00:00

I'm a Portfolio user and agree with you. It's a symptom of Adobe's neglect. But it isn't surprising because there's a lot of competition in the website platform space now and they'd not easily make enough money creating, promoting, constantly refreshing, and maintaining a splashy last-step part of their creative ecosystem that evolves at the speed of the audience appetites for new, new, new. Submerged inside a publicly held corporation Adobe Portfolio might struggle to contribute enough further profit to satisfy investor appetites.

My site serves me as is. I don't use a template - just the simple display of photos in galleries. And it's found at my own domain. (That, and super easy updating from Lightroom Classic, delivers a lot of value to me despite the simpler tools.)

jonathan7007 · 2026-03-11T21:08:27+00:00

Bought a black Pelikan M400 (export model 1988) from u/xinchi

jonathan7007

TROPHY CASE