Everyone who begins the adventure with calligraphy wonders how much it is worth spending on necesery tools. You have to answer this question yourself, but let me introduce you to my experiences with paper. When watching videos on Youtube or works of proficient calligraphers you may think that it is possible to write on (almost) everything. It's basically true, I know people that write beautifully even on stones. But this applies to people who have already mastered calligraphy. However, when we start learning, often random paper leads us to despair and discourages us from further attempts. Ink feathers or bleeds; the pen hooks and damages the paper. These are problems of all beginners (but sometimes more advanced ones too). Often the blame is on the calligrapher or nib or ink. But the most common problem is paper.
Before you get discouraged and give up learning calligraphy with a sharp flexible nib try to work with a good paper. I lacked good paper that was prepared for practicing calligraphy with a flexible nib. Unfortunately, even not all expensive papers are suitable for us.
The foundation of learning calligraphy is systematic practising, but the lack of good instruments damages the pleasure of learning. The most important are the three: nib with a holder, ink and paper. I've been looking for a good paper for a long time, preferably with the appropriate rulings already printed. Unfortunately, I did not find anything that suited me. So I decided to design a special paper and propose to other adepts of calligraphy. First with already printed delicate Copperplate guidelines. With a good paper, the pleasure of writing is great. I believe that Archie's Calligraphy paper is worth its price.
Calligraphy pads that are not made of paper resistant to many inks are mostly useless. I checked the range of the best papers available, and then tested them with the use of many inks. The winning paper proved to be perfect in cooperation with 18 out of 19 tested utensils. It is ressistant of feathering and bleeding.
In the mid-19th century, the technology of production of so-called acid paper gained popularity. In the second half of the twentieth century acid paper became the dominant type of paper. Unfortunately, after several dozen years, this paper becomes brown, brittles and breaks down. Currently, many treasures of literature from the past century are at risk of loss in numerous libraries. At the same time, many calligraphers find and buy paper that was produced in the old technology, prior to the second world war and which, although slightly yellowed, is still perfectly suitable for calligraphy. That is acid-free paper. Archie's Calligraphy pads are printed on modern acid-free paper, that is also chlorine free, and which has archive certificate for a minimum of 200 years. Many calligraphers keep not only their works but also pages filled with exercises. Nothing threatens them on our paper. Perhaps one day our grandchildren will find our works in a dust-covered carton and will be able to admire it in all their glory.
