An Introduction to the Midori Traveler’s Notebook Part Two: Paper Refills

In this second part of my introduction to the Midori Traveler’s Notebook I’ll be looking at paper refills. In this, the standard sized Midori, refills are 11cm x 22cm. I shall be concentrating on refills made by Midori. Other companies make compatible refills and it’s perfectly possible to make your own: I’ll touch on that in part three.

From what I can tell, these are the paper options that are available: plain, lined, grid in standard paper; plain sketch paper; plain lightweight paper; kraft paper. I’ve tried all but the sketch paper. (I’ll write about that another time.)

Standard paper

Each refill has a soft cardboard cover and a slightly thicker paper inside cover with a title box.

The standard thickness paper is extremely good quality and wonderful with fountain pens. It’s not entirely cheap but it isn’t outrageous either.

It loves fountain pens. There is quite a bit of show through but no bleeding or feathering. Dry times are reasonable. It behaves every bit as well as Rhodia paper (high praise) but it’s not as shiny and feels softer. I prefer this paper to Rhodia.

Lightweight paper

This is very thin paper so there is a lot of ghosting but I’ve been able to use both sides without any problems. The thinness gives the paper a delicate and organic character.

This has become my daily journal because it is absolutely a delight to use. The paper brings out all the shady properties of every ink. Even less than inspiring inks get a chance to shine. Dry times are quite slow but this isn’t paper on which you should be dashing off quick notes. It’s paper that must be savoured, on which you can enjoy the simple pleasures of writing with pen and ink, with which you can take the time to set out your thoughts, feelings, ambitions and plans. It’s paper to take delight in.

Not everyone is going to like this paper. It’ll be too thin for some, or slow dry times will rule it out for others. But I absolutely love it.

Kraft paper

This behaves well enough with pens but I’ve just used it for sticking all the bits and pieces I didn’t used to know what to do with.

The refills carry on the high standards set by the cover. Too often you buy a good looking “luxury” product only to discover the quality of the looks don’t carry over to actual use. This isn’t the case here. The refills could stand on their own merits.

If you missed Part One you can find it here.

You can read Part Three, Making it Your Own, here.

Thank you so much to The Journal Shop for sending me all this stuff to use, keep and write about. They are a great shop with excellent customer service and they have a huge range of Midori products. I’ve tried not to let their generosity influence my views.