What GSM Paper for Fountain Pen? [Clear Your Doubt]

Fountain pens are different from ordinary pens and you must have heard about GSM paper that you should use for your fountain pen. As GSM papers come with different weights, you might wonder asking what GSM paper for fountain pen you need.

That’s why we are here to clarify your confusion with some solid information regarding GSM and its relation to the fountain pen. GSM stands for Grams per Square Meter and GSM paper is related to the weight which you can already assume.

What GSM Paper for Fountain Pen?

There are some issues with a fountain pen for it comes with water-based ink. And that’s why any ordinary paper can bleed easily. Because of the premium texture of the ink, it is different from ballpoint pens and their oil-based ink.

To prevent feathering and leaking of the page or bleed-through, the fountain pen is best applicable to GSM papers. But you have to be careful while choosing the GSM paper. If the paper is under 60 GSM, then there is a chance that the ink of your fountain pen will bleed through.

Then again, paper up to 90 GSM is not always unnecessary, extravagant, or a little bit pricy. Therefore, choose in between 60 to 90 or above 90 GSM papers so your fountain pen can comfortably slide through the pages without any bleeding interruption or obstacles.

Even though the higher the GSM the better the fountain pen works on the paper, too much thickness of the paper is inconvenient. Therefore, a suitable idea is to stay between 60 to 90 GSM papers. Besides, GSM papers are to a great extent only made for fountain pens.

How to Choose the Right GSM Paper for a Fountain Pen?

Your duty is not finished yet because choosing the right GSM paper for a fountain pen is a very important task to fulfill correctly. As fountain pens are of different kinds, finding the right GSM paper for them is a crucial task.

For example, entry-level fountain pens are specially made for the guys who are practicing adopting fountain pens rejecting all the ordinary pens they used to write with before. These entry-level fountain pens have less precision than professional ones. Therefore, bleeding or feathering is normal.

60 GSM Papers: To prevent this bleeding and feathering, GSM paper 60 is important to get. Sometimes, 60 GSM papers do not cooperate with the fluidity and water-based condition of the fountain pen. That’s why going above 60 GSM is a more suitable approach.

80-120 GSM Papers: Pick 80 GSM paper if you don’t like much thickness of the paper. It’s better if you stay between 80 to 120 GSM papers because they really help your entry-level fountain pen to glide on the paper smoothly with its fine nib.

100 GSM Papers: If the 120 GSM paper seems pretty thicker, then just stick to the 100 GSM paper. It is pretty convincing both from the aspects of thickness and quality.

Is 80 GSM Paper Good for Fountain Pen?

There is no certainty that all GSM paper can be friendly with your fountain pen. Manufacturer, quality, and thickness of the paper matter a lot in this case. In the case of 80 GSM papers, a lot of facts will be in mind to consider.

As 80 GSM papers are better than the 60 GSM papers, it should work a little better than the latter. But the difference might not seem very significant. The difference is in the thickness. It also depends on the manufacturer for they determine the quality of the papers.

You will only know if your 80 GSM paper is good or not by examining a few things.

1. Bleeding

It is not appropriate if an 80 GSM paper bleeds. The quality is down to make your fountain pen bleed through. You need to ensure the quality and check the authenticity of the paper. Besides, it’s pretty much unlikely of 80 GSM papers to bleed through since a 60 GSM paper even can tackle the problem with its impressive absorbent power.

2. Feathering

This is a serious problem because the feathering of the fountain pen is loosely connected with the thickness of the paper and tightly connected with the absorbent power of the paper. The spreading of the ink of fountain pens is common since modern pages are mostly indicated for the use of ball-point pens.

However, 80 GSM papers can stand the feathering of the fountain pen. But you also need to choose a fountain pen carefully. A fountain pen with a minimal time of drying agent in it participates well with 80 GSM papers.

Is 90 GSM Paper Good for Fountain Pen?

From the above segment, it is already clear that the more the GSM the better the paper is. From that perspective, 90 GSM papers should work one step better than 80 GSM papers. Besides, it depends on people’s choices mostly.

Ghosting

The problem with 80 GSM paper is they seem to ghosting. Ghosting is revealing the shadow of the ink on the opposite page. This might seem pretty disturbing to some people. Also, others might not take any care of it.

The good thing about 90 GSM papers is they will hardly allow ghosting. Besides, the thickness of the paper helps to mitigate the shadow of ink. This gives a smooth vibe on the reverse of the page while writing with a fountain pen. Unless you press too much on the paper with the nib of the fountain pen, this 90 GSM paper should work just fine.

Is 100 GSM Paper Good for Fountain Pen?

Most people think 100 GSM papers are very well acquainted with a fountain pen. We cannot deny it as well. These papers provide actually good service to the users of a fountain pen. But that does not mean that these papers have no drawbacks. Let’s talk both about its advantages and disadvantages.

1. Less Absorbent

Even though 100 GSM papers are great with the water-based ink of fountain pens, they are less absorbent. That means they take time to let the ink dry. This drawback of 100 GSM papers examines your patience trickily.

However, if you keep patience with the paper you will have less chance to smear or smudge the ink on the page. Thus, you will get a clean and crisp environment on the page while writing. This will also help to boost your confidence level.

2. No Feathering

The good thing about 100 GSM papers being less absorbent is it prevents the ink of the fountain pen from feathering. The thickness of the paper also helps in this matter. As a fountain pen is tricky and does not always cooperate with the paper, its viciousness can only be tamed by the high GSM of the paper.

3. No Leaking or Bleeding

Another good thing about a high-quality 100 GSM paper is, they allow no leaking of the page. Just make sure you are not pressing hard with the nib of your fountain pen on the page. Otherwise, it will bleed through the other side of the page.

4. Luxury and Price

It is definitely a luxury to adopt the practice of writing on a 100 GSM paper. These papers give a soft and thick feeling. They help you to write without making any mess with the ink. So, it’s a luxury in a sense.

Also, you might have to pay a little more when buying 100 GSM papers. As they are a sort of luxury provider, it will cost a bit naturally.

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Final Thoughts

High-quality GSM (Gram per Square Meter) papers are great for fountain pens. But there are varieties within, as we have mentioned all above, and the quality increases from 60 GSM papers to 100 or 120 GSM papers. You need to choose one prioritizing your need and way of writing with a fountain pen.