Paper
Around about 1996 or 1997, the MTU Bookstore changed their original supplier of Engineer’s Computation Pads to a cheaper supplier but still kept selling them at the same price. The pads went from a pleasing yellow green with a smooth finish, to a nasty yuck green with a more pulpy, less durable feel. So I stopped using them because life is too short to waste your time on using paper you hate, right?
When I moved to Minnesota, I went to the University of Minnesota’s bookstore, and I discovered that they had both brands of the computation pads! I made a little involuntary squeal, bought a few pads worth (that’s like, over 20 bucks), and brought it home. When I opened it, it was better than the old yuck paper, but it had some weird dark green flecks throughout the paper, almost like it got covered in ink spots. I looked carefully and compared it to my last 20 or 30 sheets I had of the original good stuff, and I noticed that the new paper was no longer made in the USA, and was ever-so-slightly the wrong shade of green. Viewing them side by side, I was crushed; I was depressed for days. You may think I’m a little weird about paper, but you have to understand that when my company switched from Post-It notes to a cheaper knock-off brand, I had to buy my own and bring them in because the new ones were the wrong shade of yellow.
The new stuff is tolerable, and I’ll use it for graphs and schematics, but I won’t go out of my way to use it instead of regular paper.
The great news is that I recently (a few months ago) came across a third brand of computation pad that I had never seen before, and at first glance I really liked it. I’m getting some and I’ll let you know if it lives up to my memory. What I really want is engineers paper that is in an 8.5×5.5 inch spiral bound notebook form. Hmm, I guess if all else fails maybe I can find some paper I like, write a program to print out the lines for me, and figure out a way to bind it myself.
August 15th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
“You may think I’m a little weird about paper, but you have to understand that when my company switched from Post-It notes to a cheaper knock-off brand, I had to buy my own and bring them in because the new ones were the wrong shade of yellow.”
you phrase it like you’re offering evidence that you’re not really all that weird about paper. the supporting content however suggests a fetish of a very high magnitude. does Peggy know about this?
August 17th, 2008 at 7:43 am
Actually, you’re not the only one. I’m extremely picky about my notebook paper, and so are most of my fountain pen-using friends.
If you’re looking for a smooth, polished feel, look into Clairefontaine, Exacompta, and Rhodia. They are European notebook makers whose notebooks can be found in the States if you know where to look. For higher-end stuff, there’s always Moleskine, as well.
What exactly are you looking for?