Do you really need extra-fine paper for ink and pen? | Wearingeul Impression & Jacquere Paper Review

Not so long ago Wearingeul was kind enough to send me a gorgeous set of ink and shimmers for review, but there was more. They also included some of their most popular paper products since I was curious about how the ink set would react to them. In this article, I’ll show you some close up and my experience using their two lines of paper - the Impression and Jacquere.

Disclaimer: The products listed in this review are provided to me free of charge without any further monetary compensation, therefore these opinions are my own.

Impression

The idea of using swatch cards has been pretty much solely for documentation purposes - to compare the similar ink shades that you have to those you would like to purchase in the future. The fountain pen community has been creative with this “task”, from writing samples to blobs of ink to a whole art piece on a piece of paper just to showcase how well the shades, sheen and shimmers react to different types of paper.

The Impression Color Swatch lines come with a bunch of formats: loose 16 Round Color sheets, 10 Ink Bottles Color sheets, and single Smiling Cat Swatch cards. The sheets are in A5 sizes, while the cards are pretty much business cards for your ink, and both are made from 200gsm paper. It’s thicker compared to other fountain pen friendly paper. I do prefer this kind of supple paper compare to super slick and oil coated such as TR. Impression paper takes inks really well, with no signs of feathering and bleeding through the other side.

The Smile Cat cards are the star of the line for good reasons: aside from the great paper quality, Wearingeul also inspire people to be a bit more creative with their swatches - there is a hidden smiling cat “imprint” on the paper that would not absorb the ink, and the cat face really reminds me of that Cheshire cat in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with that distinctive smile of his.

Jacquere

Jacquere is a finer style of paper: being lighter at 140gsm, a lot smoother compared to Impression - it feels really close to Rhodia and TR in terms of writing experience. It takes wet nibs and ink blobs really well, without any signs of feathering or bleeding. I do like Jacquere a bit more than Impression since it’s more pliable and also because of the format of the products: this one comes in a few sizes such as the vertical or horizontal bottle swatch cards, loose grid sheets and a 100-page lined notebooks. The writing experience is a joy in and of itself, because the spring bound does help with laying the pages down flatter than sewn or staple bound counterparts.

Overall, Wearingeul has made a really good move focusing on the nerdier side of the fountain pen hobby with these two paper lines: we love to zoom in the smallest minutiae of how an ink shows its characters on the page and how the smallest differences can become the reason why you like your favorite ink colors even more.

Thanks again to Wearingeul for sending me these samples and I look forward to seeing their future projects and undertakings.