frequently asked questions
Paper & Notebooks
What paper do your notebooks use?
Each notebook is built around a specific paper, chosen for how it handles ink. The current lineup:
- Meringue 65 gsm — An uncoated paper with high opacity for its weight. Delicately smooth surface, warm off-white tone.
- Tomoe River S 52 gsm — Ultra-lightweight, made by Sanzen, who took over production of the line in 2021. Distinctive drape, and a surface that holds ink on top rather than absorbing it.
- Dandelaid 80 gsm — Uncoated bright white laid paper with a traditional watermark and laid texture. Absorbent and quick-drying.
- B7 Tranext 83 gsm — A coated paper that renders shading and sheening clearly. Our replacement for Cosmo Air Light, which has been discontinued by the mill.
- Mitsubishi Bank Paper 87.9 gsm — Dense structure with strong resistance to feathering and bleed-through. Ivory tone, so inks read slightly warmer than on white stock. Carries the "three diamonds" watermark.
- Gmund Blocker 80 gsm — Notably opaque for its weight. The manufacturer states that Blocker in 100 gsm matches the opacity of a typical 170 gsm paper. Compared to Bank Paper, Blocker is thinner, whiter, and smoother.
Each product page specifies which paper is used. You can also explore our full Paper Performance guide for side-by-side test results.
Isn't 52 gsm too thin for fountain pens?
No — and this is the most common misconception about fountain pen paper. Weight is a poor predictor of performance. What matters is how the sheet is sized and surfaced: whether ink sits on top or wicks into the fibers.
Tomoe River S at 52 gsm handles wet nibs better than many papers twice its weight, because the surface is engineered to resist absorption. A heavy uncoated sheet with poor sizing will feather where a light, well-sized sheet will not. Thin papers do show more ghosting — you'll see writing from the reverse side — but that's a visibility question, not an ink-control one.
Will fountain pen ink bleed through or feather?
Every paper we stock is selected for fountain pen performance, so feathering and bleed-through are minimal across the lineup. Tomoe River S and B7 Tranext hold ink on the surface, which is what produces their shading and sheening.
Choosing a Notebook
How do I know which paper is right for me?
It depends on your pens and what you want from the page.
- Shading and sheening inks — B7 Tranext, and Tomoe River S. These hold ink on the surface, where color variation develops as it dries.
- Broad nibs, wet writers, or heavy ink flow — Bank Paper and Gmund Blocker. The densest, most bleed-resistant options.
- Mixed pen use through the day — Meringue and Dandelaid handle fountain pens, gel, ballpoint, and felt-tip without favoring any one.
- Fastest dry times — Dandelaid and Meringue. Absorbent, which is the tradeoff for less dramatic sheening.
If you're unsure, write to us with your pens and inks and we'll make a recommendation.
I'm left-handed. Which paper should I use?
Dandelaid and Meringue. They are absorbent, so they dry fast and are less likely to smear under the side of your hand.
The papers that hold ink on the surface — Tomoe River S and Tranext in particular — are the slowest to dry. With a wet broad nib, Tomoe River can stay wet for twenty seconds or more. That's the tradeoff for how well it renders ink. Underwriters and anyone using a fine nib with a drier ink will find it far less of an issue than overwriters with wet nibs.
How long does ink take to dry?
Dry time depends on the paper, the ink, and how much ink your nib puts down — a fine nib with a dry ink on Dandelaid may set in a couple of seconds, while a broad nib with a saturated ink on Tomoe River S can take twenty seconds or longer.
Absorbent papers like Dandelaid dry fastest. Papers that hold ink on the surface — Tomoe River S and B7 Tranext — dry slowest, which is precisely why they show shading and sheening so well.
Do your notebooks work with gel pens, rollerballs, and ballpoints?
Yes. Every paper in the collection is tested with fountain pens, rollerballs, gel pens, ballpoints, and felt-tip pens, and the results are published front and back on our paper performance page.
One note on the lightest papers: ballpoints require pressure, and on 52 gsm Tomoe River S that pressure will emboss through to the following page. It doesn't affect writing, but you'll feel it.
Can I use markers or brush pens?
Our papers are chosen for writing instruments rather than heavy marker or brush pen work. If you want to use markers, Tranext and Mitsubishi Bank Paper resist bleed-through best. Alcohol-based markers will go through any of them.
Inks
Do you make your own ink?
Yes. The Paper Mind x Anderillium is our house series — colorways developed by us and handmade by Anderillium, available nowhere else. Each comes in a 1.5 oz (44 ml) glass bottle with a wide mouth, which makes filling easy and lets dip and oblique pen users work straight from the bottle.
The current series, in order of release:
- Osiris Green — A medium olive green with subtle shading.
- Prometheus Orange — A warm burnt orange.
- Narcissus Purple — A very dark purple.
- Rán Blue — A very dark blue black.
All four are well-behaved and clean out of pens easily. Browse the full series in the Anderillium x The Paper Mind collection.
What kinds of ink can I use in your notebooks?
All of them. Our papers handle dye-based, pigment, iron gall, and shimmer inks. Papers like Tranext and Tomoe River S show shading and sheening most clearly, since those effects depend on ink pooling and drying on the surface.
A note on terminology, since it's often muddled: dye inks are dissolved in solution, which is why they flow like water and can't clog. Pigment inks hold solid particles in suspension, which is what makes them water-resistant — and what makes it important not to leave them sitting in an unused pen. Shimmer inks suspend mica particles and behave the same way.
Do shimmer inks need special care?
They need more attention than standard inks, not different pens. The mica particles settle, so shake gently before filling. They can accumulate in feeds, so flush more often than you would with a dye ink, and avoid leaving a shimmer ink in a pen that will sit unused for weeks. Fine nibs pass less shimmer through than broad ones.
Ordering & Shipping
Where do you ship?
We ship within the United States and internationally. Available destinations and rates are shown at checkout.
Do you offer free shipping?
Domestic orders of $99 or more ship free. Below that, rates are calculated at checkout based on weight and destination.
How long will my order take?
Orders are typically processed within 1–2 business days. Delivery time depends on the method you select at checkout. You'll receive tracking by email as soon as your order ships.
Do international customers pay customs or duties?
Import duties, taxes, and customs fees are set by the destination country and are the recipient's responsibility. They aren't included in the price or shipping cost at checkout.
Can I change my shipping address after ordering?
If the order hasn't shipped, write to us at contact@thepapermind.com as soon as you can and we'll update it. Once it's been handed to the carrier, we can't redirect it.
How do preorders work?
Payment is collected in full when you place the preorder.
Ship dates on preorders are estimates, not guarantees. Production and shipping timelines on specialty paper goods move, sometimes by weeks, and we'd rather give you an honest estimate than a firm date we can't hold. We'll keep you updated if anything changes.
Preorder pricing can't be combined with other discounts or promotions.
Can you notify me when something is back in stock?
Yes — use the notify button on any sold-out product page and we'll email you once it's available. You can also browse everything we've recently restocked.
Finding Us
Where can I see your products in person?
Society of Thumbs — 1398 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110 A screen-free creative studio in the Mission, where we keep a dedicated selection of Paper Mind notebooks, Anderillium inks, and Rossi 1931 note cards. Open Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm.
We also exhibit at:
San Francisco Pen Show — August 27–30, 2026, Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel, Millbrae San Francisco Stationery Fest — March 18–21, 2027, same venue
[Note] The pen show is about a month out. If you're taking a table, this entry earns its keep right now — and it's worth an email to your list as the date approaches.
Do you sell wholesale?
Yes. The simplest route is Faire, where our full wholesale catalog is listed with standard terms and reorder handling.
If you'd rather work outside Faire, email contact@thepapermind.com and we'll set something up directly.
How do I get in touch?
Email contact@thepapermind.com. We respond within 1–2 business days.
We're a small operation based in San Francisco, California.
Returns
What is your return policy?
Unused and unopened merchandise may be returned within 14 days of receiving your order. Returns are subject to approval — please contact us before shipping anything back.
Final sale items and gift cards are not returnable.
What counts as unused and unopened?
The product needs to be in the condition it arrived in, with packaging unopened. In practice that means a notebook you've written in, a pen you've inked, or a bottle of ink you've opened can't be returned — we can't restock any of them.
If an item arrives defective, damaged, or isn't what you ordered, that's a separate situation. Contact us with photos and we'll evaluate it and make it right.
How do I start a return?
Email contact@thepapermind.com with your order number, your name, the items you want to return, and the reason. We'll respond within 1–2 business days.
If your return is approved, we'll send the shipping information and instructions you'll need. Package the items carefully so they're protected in transit. Once we've received and inspected the return, we'll let you know whether the refund is approved. Approved refunds are issued to your original payment method within 2 business days of receipt, though your bank may take additional time to post it.
Who pays return shipping?
You're responsible for return shipping costs, unless you received the wrong item, the item was damaged in shipping, or the item is faulty.
My order arrived damaged.
Inspect your order when it arrives and contact us immediately with photos so we can evaluate the issue and make it right.
Finding Us
Where can I see your products in person?
Society of Thumbs — 1398 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110 A screen-free creative studio in the Mission, where we keep a dedicated selection of Paper Mind notebooks, Anderillium inks, and Rossi 1931 note cards. Open Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm. (Check their website for updated hours).
We also exhibit at:
San Francisco Pen Show — August 27–30, 2026, Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel, Millbrae San Francisco Stationery Fest — March 18–21, 2027, same venue.
Do you sell wholesale?
Yes. The simplest route is Faire, where our full wholesale catalog is listed with standard terms and reorder handling.
If you'd rather work outside Faire, email contact@thepapermind.com and we'll set something up directly.
How do I get in touch?
Email contact@thepapermind.com. We try to respond within 1–2 business days.
We're a small operation based in San Francisco, California.