Review: @PaperMillStore Onion Skin Paper

This rather intoxicating paper was sent to me to try out by Rachel - thank you so very much Rachel! Naturally, I'm now hooked. But I'm glad, because I can now share my affections across more crinkly papers!

ABOUT

Size: 8 1/2" x 11"
Color: White
Ruling: Blank
Weight: 9lb
Sheet Count: Buy in sample packs of seven sheets, reams of 500 sheets, or cartons of 5,000 sheets.
Price: $24.97 for 500 sheets
Where to buy: The Paper Mill Store

APPEARANCE

This onion skin paper at first glance appears to be regular paper. If you get close and look at an individual sheet, you quickly realize it's a lot thinner than regular copier paper is. Its translucency makes you think of onion skin, there's no doubt about that. 

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

Oh my god. This stuff is... just... oh man. You already know how I feel about Tomoe River paper. And if you don't, I'll tell you: I love it. I'm crazy about it because I looooove crinkly paper. I love all things crinkly. I love to pull sheets of this onion skin paper out of the folder I store it in and listen to it crinkle. Then I love to lie it flat on my desk and run my fingers along it. This is getting kinky. You get the picture. I love its crinkle. It crinkles even when it hasn't been written on. It also flops around a lot, and bends and folds easily, so you must be careful with it and treat it kindly, and be gentle with it. Listen to that crinkle...

As for its ink performance? Spectacular. It is definitely fountain pen friendly. I think show through is a given. If you weren't expecting show through on something called onion skin paper, you're a crazy person. (But then, you're reading a stationery blog, so you might be a crazy person anyway.)

It was hard to figure out what was bleed through and what was show through but I think I managed - bleed through was very minimal and only happened in the spots where ink had pooled quite a bit or was very wet. Feathering? Nada. And I tested a lot of pens and a lot of inks on here. Overall? Definitely fountain pen friendly.

Dry times are a little longer than average for wetter inks and nibs because there isn't much paper absorbency - as in, there's nowhere for the ink to go. Dry inks and broad nibs that spread the ink out dried pretty quickly though.

The one thing I always check for when I'm reviewing paper is whether or not it shows off an ink's sheen. I'm happy to report the sheen can be seen on this paper! Whew. 

You can only write on one side of each page, but the paper is so thin that it doesn't really feel like you're using much paper. Ink looks awesome on this paper - sharp, crisp, and it pops off the page. It's really awesome. Nibs with baby butt will be annoying on this paper because it's fairly smooth - although not like Rhodia/Clairefontaine - and it takes some work to get them going.

This isn't "real" onion skin paper - like the vintage type. It doesn't have that textured vintage look that the real stuff has, but it's pretty darned awesome. And this is pretty affordable and behaves very nicely, so I cannot complain. It is not watermarked. 

PROS

• Fountain pen friendly - no feathering!
• Crinkly, lovely writing experience.
• Feels like tracing paper.

CONS  

• Can be bent/dog eared easily.

OVERALL 

YES. If you are at all interested in crinkly paper, if you like a full journal because of the way it feels and sounds (in other words, the crinkles), if you are curious about onion skin paper, I highly recommend you try this onion skin paper! It's so much fun to use! Crack out those fountain pens and inks and go to town - it's a BLAST.