Staples Sustainable Earth Sugarcane-based 20 lb. Copy Paper Review and Fountain Pen Ink Test

 

Sugarcane paper? How sweet is that? I caught wind of this product last year when I saw it mentioned on The Fountain Pen Network forums. At $9.79, a 500-sheet ream is priced similarly to the revered 80-sheet Rhodia Dot Pad, so I had to check it out. I took a trip to my local Staples and found out they don’t carry this item, so I placed an order online.

It did not disappoint me. This paper has become my go-to for taking lecture notes. The surface is pleasantly smooth to write on. The sheets are thin, but not too thin. I typically experience no feathering and little to no bleed-through, even with my wettest pens. Check out this sample of my notes, which were written with a TWSBI Eco 1.1mm stub nib and Waterman Harmonious Green ink:

Looks pretty good, right? No, I’m not talking about my sloppy handwriting.

Here’s some information about this paper:

Sheet count	500
Paper weight	20 lb.
Paper color	Cool white
Ruling	Blank
Acid-free?	Yes
Size	8 ½ x 11” (US letter)
Brightness rating	92
Recycled?	No (but sustainable)
Hole punched?	No
Edible?	No, probably not, even if “sugar” is in the name.

Yes, the paper is blank. “But Mary,” some of you might be thinking, “how can you stand taking notes on that paper?” Writing on blank paper doesn’t bother me, but for those of you who prefer guidelines, it’s easy to print them. I’ve printed lines, dot grids, and a Cornell notes template before for various classes.

If you’re not a fan of loose-leaf, you can always hole punch it and stick it in a binder. Or you can get fancy and make your own notebooks by taking it to a print shop for binding. My school offers comb binding for just $2.

The sustainability is one of my favorite features of this paper. Sugarcane crop waste is a highly sustainable source, meaning it is created as fast or faster than it is used to make products. No trees were harmed in the making of this paper! That’s great news for those of us who are trying to save the planet.

Let’s get to the ink test. This time I alternated between a Zebra G dip nib and the various pens I already had inked up. As a side note, in my first blog post, I tested additional writing utensils like pencil and highlighter, but I decided not to today. I assume most of you are primarily interested in how the paper performs with fountain pen ink. However, if you want to see a certain utensil in my reviews, please let me know!

From top to bottom: Noodler’s Black American Eel – Jinhao fine, J. Herbin Perle Noir – Zebra G, Pilot Iroshizuku Take-sumi - Zebra G, Waterman Intense Black – Esterbrook 9556 firm fine, Waterman Harmonious Green – TWSBI Eco 1.1mm stub, Sailor Jentle Yama-dori - Zebra G, Waterman Inspired Blue - Zebra G, J. Herbin Violette Pensee - Zebra G, Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses - Zebra G, Noodler’s Black Swan in English Roses - Zebra G, Sheaffer Skrip Red - Zebra G, J. Herbin Bouquet d’Antan - Zebra G, Organics Boron - Zebra G.

The back of the page looks pretty good, with a couple spots of bleed-through where I put down too much ink. That’s the nature of dip pens. I frequently write on the back pages of my notes with fountain pens with no problem.

No noticeable feathering from any of the inks. Woo hoo!

This paper brings out a coppery brown sheen in the Waterman Intense Black. I tried to capture it in video:

I was surprised and disappointed the famous sheen of Sailor Jentle Yama-dori didn’t really make an appearance on this paper.

Even when fully flexing the Zebra G nib with Waterman Inspired Blue, the ink did not bleed through. Isn’t the shading beautiful? This is one of my favorite inks.

Sailor Jentle Yama-dori behaved just as well when put to the flex test.

Whoops, I spilled some ink. Let’s pretend it was on purpose. For science. This splash of Sheaffer Skrip Red bled through the page. That came as no surprise to me!

Overall, the Staples Sustainable Earth Sugarcane-based Copy Paper gets a solid A rating from me. It’s thin and light enough to carry around a sizable stack in my backpack. I always have enough paper on hand for long lectures. If you’re looking for a thicker loose-leaf paper of the same size, I recommend HP Premium Choice Laserjet 32 lb. copy paper. The paper is extra heavy weight and super smooth. Fountain pens work just as well on it as the sugarcane paper, with the added benefit of no show-through because of the thickness of the page.

Have you tried this paper? What did you think of it? What’s your favorite loose-leaf paper to write on? Drop me a comment!