Rekindling our connection to print and paper

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

I have always been a paper guy – preferring to sit down with a good book in hand, not a digital device. And on the writing side, at least as far as notes and drafts of articles, etc., are concerned a pen & paper guy. Digital just does not do it for me and, in fact, is not good for note taking and such at all, and that also according to scientists.

The paperless office isn't here yet and personally I doubt that it ever will be, considering how long it has already been talked about. I still prefer printed material, particularly for longer documents and books as, apparently, do many other people, and not just those of my age and I admit that I am getting a little long in the tooth.

Among some young people the typewriter – yes, the typewriter, would you believe it – even the mechanical – is making somewhat of a comeback and the Russian security services have, because of cyber hacks and other such issues, gone back to typewriters for sensitive material, though in their case to the electric ones.

Did you know that we comprehend and recall more effectively when we read or write with paper vs digital communications? Students surveyed have said they perform better when reading on paper rather than a screen. We also have more emotional connection with hardcopy print because of the physical material, even if you are a “tablet reader”, which I am not. Although, due to the fact that I am amassing some old books in PDF form I am considering getting one solely to be able to more conveniently read such rather than trying a 200 or 300 page book on the PC screen. I find that far too tiring.

When it comes to reading – and I tend to do a fair number of book reviews – I prefer paper copy over electronic and, in fact, refuse to review digital copy, especially if this is of a printed book. In the latter case mostly for the reason that you cannot judge the quality of the book from a pre-print PDF, in my opinion. The feel of the book, in my view, is as important, at least when it comes to physical hardcopies, as the text.

When it comes to writing, especially notes and article drafts there, to me, is no alternative to pen and paper. At times this may be just literally on the back of an envelope, other times in my own little note-taking system while at other times it is in proper notebooks. Also, when we use pen and paper, whether notebooks or other forms, such as I do with a stack of specially folded sheets in a wallet, for our thoughts, articles drafts, or whatever, the data is secure in that no power failure or other technical glitch can destroy it. It is safe from anything but fire and the shredder. A main battle tank could run over my notebook and I will still be able to retrieve the “data” from it. There are also no batteries to fail or any such kind of problems. One of the many reasons that I stick to pen and paper for many things.

While being no Luddite, as you can see, with this article being on the Web and typewritten on a PC I have never lost my connection with pen and paper though, thus I hardly, myself, have to rekindle it. Alas, my handwriting is not the beautiful cursive kind but capital letters. I have tried cursive but it is too slow for me and I can print write much faster, thus following my train of thought.

And, as far as reading is concerned, I have, so far, never, owned an e-book reader though am currently considering investing in one to read larger PDF files. In general, however, it is only the printed book that will ever do it for me. There is something about the printed book, handling it and turning the pages and all that. There is something special about it in the same way as there is something special about writing by hand, even if it is just in capitals, as in my case.

© 2018

Meisenbach COMPACT Fountain/Roller Ball Pen – Product Review

Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

This pen, the Compact, is available as a Roller Ball pen or with a fountain pen nib. In fact, they are interchangeable, and it is powered, so to speak, not by a refill as Roller Ball pens normally are but by a standard cheap fountain pen cartridge, available for little money per box of five or ten.

Not only are those ink cartridges cheaper compared to, say, a Parker or Shaeffer pen refill, they are also greener as they are fully recyclable being made entirely and purely of polyethylene.

Today you do not even have the little “pearl” in the cartridge anymore as you did in my childhood and thus it is all polyethylene and this can be made into polyethylene again.

Yes, it is probably true that several cartridges will run out in this pen before a Parker or Shaeffer refill will but it still is going to be cheaper and definitely greener as, so far, none of those other pen refills are recycled anywhere.

Now a little to the pen itself. The Meisenbach COMPACT comes as a Fountain Pen with steel nib, a Fountain Pen with iridium point nib or as an Ink Liner (Roller Ball Pen) with tungsten carbide tip. All have a plastic body and a metal clip.

There is one drawback with this pen as with all wet ink pens and that is that much of the paper we find today, even in most notebooks, is not suitable for this kind of ink and will bleed through.

One slight disadvantage of the Compact to the cartridge fountain pens many may remember from their schooldays, if they are old enough to have used a fountain pen, is the fact that the size of this pen does not allow for a spare cartridge to be carried in the barrel. But that is only a minor inconvenience as one can always have one or two spare cartridges in one's pocket.

The pen is best used with the cap placed at the non-working end of the pen's barrel as it gives a better balance this way.

The best part, aside from writing well, is the fact that the cartridges (refills) are very cheap indeed and fully recyclable unlike, as already indicated, general ballpoint and Roller Ball pen refills.

The Meisenbach fountain pen/Roller Ball pen is not just a new concept but also a fairly green one at that.

OK, someone may say: “It's a pen. What's special about it and green as it is made of plastic, etc.?” What is special and green on this pen is the fact that, as mentioned more than once, it has a fully recyclable refill cartridge and thus is a very sustainable writing instrument, despite the fact that it is made of plastic, with some metal for the clip.

It is true that there are many other pens, ballpoint pens and ink liners, aka Roller Balls, that have refills but – one – most of them are rather expensive and – two – the great majority of those refills, if any, are not being recycled and may not even be recyclable as they are at present.

The only other kind of pen that has probably better green credentials is the true fountain pan, refillable from an ink bottle, or the dip pen.

Karl Meisenbach GmbH & Co. KG has been producing writing utensils since 1880 at their factory in Fischbachtal, an idyllic village of 2700 souls in the Odenwald, ca. 50km south of Frankfurt/Main and thus has a long tradition in making pens.

All plastic components are manufactured in the Meisenbach factory in Germany. Metal components and accessories are bought in addition. However, each piece is „made in Germany“ or „made in Europe“.

© 2014

Don’t write handwriting off yet!

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Writing by hand is becoming fashionable again, and stationery and pens have never looked so good.

There are pens, including and especially fountain pens (again) of all kinds and notebooks in all manner of funky colors and designs. And many of those – pens and notebooks – could be seen at the London Stationery Show held from April 1 to April 2, 2014.

It was – in my opinion – good to see that fountain pens are back again (with a vengeance) and paper notebooks in all manner of forms and those notebooks that are made by Castelli in Italy (and yes, Made in Italy) or Leuchtturm1917 (Made in Germany) are FSC certified and as far as Castelli is concerned all the workers are unionized and thus conditions for the workers thus are good. The same cannot be said in places where many other notebooks and such like are produced, such as in a number of countries of the Far East.

Pen and paper are far from dead. In fact both are having a revival and a ball and there is nothing whatsoever wrong with paper and using it. It does not cause the destruction of the rainforest. It is a myth that must be put to bed or better still buried. Palm oil, on the other hand, does cause serious destruction to the rainforest as do certain farming practices in Brazil and other countries near the equator.

Quality paper notebooks and high quality writing instruments, including and especially fountain pens, are in demand by the new generation of hipsters. What to the Sloane Ranger generation was the Lefax and the Filofax to the new hipster generation is the Moleskine (and similar) notebooks and the fountain pen.

Despite the fact that we are in the so-called digital age pen and paper more than have their place here and with the revelations that our online communications and things that we store there – and even on our computers – are not safe from prying eyes, the letter, the notebook, the pen and the typewriter even, have their place and are even been given a pride of importance – paper and typewriter that is especially – in the Russian intelligence and security community. And if they are concerned with their high grade of encryption I think we all should be. So, let's get back to paper and the pen or typewriter.

The London Stationery Show also had a great number of other green and greenish inventions on show such as notepads made from stone paper. The latter is made from limestone waste from the quarrying industry and thus kept out of landfills.

Just before the beginning of the London Stationery Show the National Stationery Week’s, Get Britain Writing and Get Kids Writing campaigns took off and a long list of retailers and the Post Office are standing behind this.

While one could say that to some extent all of them have a vested interest, the retailers wanting to see sales go up and the Post Office the use of the letter service again, to get back to writing properly is a very good idea indeed. We must also combine that with teaching children not just good handwriting – I can't writer properly myself by hand though – and the proper use of grammar. They are writing a letter not sending a text message on their cell phones. And when it comes to letters; there is still something almost magical about a letter (no, not a bill or some advertising) dropping through the letterbox.

I know that I am extremely old-fashioned as to the use of pen and paper and am always accused of being biased towards paper being a commercial forester by original trade. And I am also very biased towards the old-fashioned fountain pen.

Having mentioned the latter I must mention the fact that Meisenbach pens from Germany have a new rather innovative product on the market which combines the fountain pen (ink cartridge) with the ballpoint pen in one. With this one, when you run out of ink you simply replace the cheap common garden ink cartridge for a few pence and the empty one can go for recycling being made of PE.

Writing and being able to write (properly) matters, if anything more than ever in a digital age. And of course you can never have too much stationery, including notebooks and pens.

© 2014