Paper
Clairefontaine paper
The paper most other paper gets compared to, in a stapled softcover that costs less than a sandwich.
How this page is funded. Buying through a link here earns us a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change what we recommend or the order we recommend it in, and we have not hands-on tested these products — see how we choose and the full disclosure.
Clairefontaine's own listing describes its paper as 90 g/m2 white velvet vellum with remarkable opacity and strength. That single line is more specification than most of this category publishes, and the paper behind it has become the reference other papers are measured against.
The remarkable part is not the quality. It is the price: the 1951 range puts that paper in a stapled softcover that costs a fraction of any hardcover journal.
Quick picks
Ranked for the beginner buying their first setup. Every pick names who it is wrong for.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No image Clairefontaine 1951 A5, lined 90 g/m2 vellum in a stapled softcover, which is the cheapest place to find paper this good. | The best paper per dollar | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now. How this is funded |
| 2 | No image Clairefontaine Age Bag A5, clothbound The same brushed vellum in a clothbound cover with 192 pages, which is the version to actually carry. | Clairefontaine paper in a book that lasts | Check price on Amazon #ad No live price right now. How this is funded |
1. The best paper per dollar
Clairefontaine 1951 A5, lined
90 g/m2 vellum in a stapled softcover, which is the cheapest place to find paper this good.
#ad No live price right now. How this is funded
This is the paper that makes the case on its own. 90 g/m2 coated vellum is the benchmark the rest of the market is measured against, and here it comes in a stapled book that costs less than a takeout lunch.
The softcover is the compromise. It will not survive being thrown in a bag for a year the way a hardcover will.
If you want to know whether your bleed-through problem is the ink or the paper, buy one of these and write the same page again. The answer is usually immediate.
| Paper weight | 90 g/m2 white velvet vellumSource: Clairefontaine 1951 A5 (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
|---|---|
| Maker's claim | Remarkable opacity and strengthThe maker's own wording on its listing.Source: Clairefontaine 1951 A5 (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Size and extent | 5 3/4" x 8 1/4", 96 pages, linedSource: Clairefontaine 1951 A5 (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Binding | Staplebound softcoverSource: Clairefontaine 1951 A5 (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
What it does well
- Published 90 g/m2 weight at a very low price
- The reference paper for fountain pen use
- Cheap enough to keep several
What it does not
- Softcover, so it wears in a bag
- 96 pages goes quickly
- Slow drying, like all coated paper
Skip this if you need a book that survives daily carry — buy the clothbound version instead.
2. Clairefontaine paper in a book that lasts
Clairefontaine Age Bag A5, clothbound
The same brushed vellum in a clothbound cover with 192 pages, which is the version to actually carry.
#ad No live price right now. How this is funded
Twice the page count of the 1951 in a binding that survives being carried. For most people this is the Clairefontaine to own.
The paper is the same family and behaves the same way: ink sits on the surface, lines stay sharp, drying takes its time.
There are no page numbers and no index, so if you want a bullet-journal structure you will be drawing it yourself.
| Paper | 90 gsm brushed vellumSource: Clairefontaine Age Bag A5 (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
|---|---|
| Size and extent | A5, 192 pages, linedSource: Clairefontaine Age Bag A5 (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Binding | ClothboundSource: Clairefontaine Age Bag A5 (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Numbered pages | Not published |
What it does well
- Published paper weight
- 192 pages in a durable clothbound cover
- Lies reasonably flat for a sewn book
What it does not
- No page numbers
- Slow drying
- Lined only in this edition
Skip this if you want a dot grid or a numbered page system out of the box.
What velvet vellum means in practice
The surface is extremely smooth and heavily sized, so a nib glides rather than catching, and ink stays exactly where it lands. Lines are sharp with no feathering, and even a broad wet nib produces a clean edge.
The same properties make it slow to dry. There is no absorption to speed things along, so ink dries by evaporation alone. A right-handed writer will never notice; a left-handed overwriter will notice on every line.
Which one to buy
| Book | Format | Buy it for |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | A5 staplebound, 96 pages, lined | The cheapest way to own this paper. Wears in a bag. |
| Age Bag | A5 clothbound, 192 pages, lined | Twice the pages in a binding that survives being carried. |
If you are testing whether your bleed-through problem is the ink or the paper, buy the 1951, write the same page you were complaining about, and compare. It is the cheapest diagnostic in this hobby.
The one real limitation
Both books above are lined only. If you want a dot grid — which is more flexible, and which most of the current market prefers — you are looking at Rhodia, the same group's other brand, or at Dingbats and Leuchtturm.
Why we lead with this paper
Because it is the cheapest way to remove a variable. Almost every question a beginner has — is my pen faulty, is my ink wrong, why does this look fuzzy — is answerable in thirty seconds by writing the same sentence on paper that is known good. That makes this the single most useful purchase on the site after the pen itself, which is why it is one of the three items on start here.
Questions people actually ask
What GSM is Clairefontaine paper?
Clairefontaine's own listing states 90 g/m2 white velvet vellum for the 1951 range, and 90 gsm brushed vellum for the Age Bag range.
Is Clairefontaine good for fountain pens?
It is the paper most others are compared against. Heavy sizing keeps ink at the surface, so lines stay sharp with no feathering even under a broad wet nib. The trade is slow drying.
Which Clairefontaine notebook should I buy?
The 1951 for value — a stapled softcover at a very low price. The Age Bag for durability: the same paper family, 192 pages, in a clothbound cover that survives a bag.
Does Clairefontaine make dot grid notebooks?
The two books we recommend here are lined. For dot grid in the same group, look at Rhodia, which shares the paper tradition.