Reviews
Which Staples Canada Notebooks Work with Fountain Pens?
Staples Canada fountain pen paper, tested across four store notebooks: coil, composition, Hilroy and hardcover journal, with CAD prices and notes on bleed.
What to take away
- The Staples Canada coil notebook is the weakest of the four for fountain pen ink, with show-through on wet nibs and occasional feathering.
- Composition books and Hilroy school notebooks are the safer cheap picks, though a new print run can behave differently from the last.
- The Staples hardcover journal line takes a medium nib and a standard ink without trouble.
- No Staples Canada notebook states its paper weight, so each purchase is a small gamble.
Four Staples Canada notebooks side by side
Staples Canada and Bureau en Gros in Quebec stock the same four candidates: the basic Staples coil notebook, the Staples composition book, the Hilroy school notebook, and the Staples hardcover journal. Prices run from a few dollars to the mid twenties, and the paper changes a great deal across that spread.
The coil notebook is the cheapest and the thinnest. A three-pack often works out to two or three dollars a book, and the sheets feel light in the hand. The composition book costs a little more and uses a sewn binding that survives a backpack. Hilroy is the Canadian school brand, and its paper varies by line. The hardcover journal is the premium option, usually fifteen to twenty-five dollars.
A US counterpart covers Target notebooks handle ink, and its method is worth borrowing. The Canadian shelf is thinner and the prices are in different money.
Criteria that decide whether ink behaves
Paper weight, surface sizing and binding do most of the work. Paper density, measured in grams per square metre, is the number that predicts bleed and show-through, and higher values resist ink better (paper density). Staples Canada does not print that number on any of these notebooks, so the table below uses observed ranges and should be read as illustrative.
| Notebook | Typical price (CAD) | Sheet weight, estimated | Show-through with a wet nib | Feathering | Binding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staples coil notebook | $2 to $3 per book in a pack | Light, near 55 gsm | Common | Occasional | Wire coil, tears out cleanly |
| Staples composition book | $2 to $4 | Medium, near 60 to 70 gsm | Sometimes | Rare | Sewn |
| Hilroy school notebook | $2 to $5 | Varies by line | Sometimes | Occasional | Stapled or sewn |
| Staples hardcover journal | $15 to $25 | Heavier, near 80 to 100 gsm | Uncommon | Rare | Sewn, opens flat enough |
Sizing is the second variable. A sized sheet keeps ink near the surface, which sharpens the line but slows drying. Porous paper pulls ink in fast and bleeds at the edges instead (Ink). No single notebook wins on every line, so read the matrix as a set of trade-offs rather than a scoreboard.
How each notebook behaves under a fountain pen
The coil notebook is where most people start and most people get burned. A fine nib with a dry ink can work. A medium or broad nib soaks through within a line or two, and the reverse of the page becomes unusable. Writing on one side only turns a cheap book into an expensive one.
The composition book is the steadiest of the cheap options. The paper takes a medium nib with mild show-through and little feathering, and the sewn binding keeps pages where you left them. That holds for the run I bought, not for every run. Drying time on cheap notebook paper still runs longer than a coated sheet allows, so slow the pace.
Hilroy is the wild card. Some lines behave like the composition book, and others feather under a wet nib. Buy one, test it, then buy the rest of the run.
The hardcover journal is the only one that feels made for this. It handles a medium nib, a stub and most dye-based inks. Left-handed writers may still smudge slower inks (left-handedness), so a quick-drying ink helps.
Where each notebook is the right choice
- Staples coil notebook: lecture notes in pencil or a fine-nib pen, plus drafts you will throw away.
- Staples composition book: a daily journal or a work log where you write on both sides.
- Hilroy school notebook: school lists and grocery notes, cheap enough to lose.
- Staples hardcover journal: meeting notes you keep, or a pen you want to show off.
What no Staples Canada notebook solves
None of these books carries a paper specification. The same product code can be filled with different stock between print runs, and the label will not tell you.
That is the shared limitation. A good result last year proves nothing about the book on the shelf today. If you want predictable paper, you pay for a brand that publishes its gsm figure, or you test before you commit. A five-tool starter kit is enough to run that test at home.
A page test takes about a minute:
- Write a full line with your wettest pen and leave it for two minutes.
- Turn the page and read the reverse side under a lamp.
- Check the line edges for feathering with a phone camera.
- Write your name and the date inside the cover if the book passes.
Common questions
Do any Staples Canada notebooks use fountain pen friendly paper by design? No line is marketed that way. The hardcover journals come closest, but the paper weight is not published, so results vary.
Is Bureau en Gros stock different from Staples stock in the rest of Canada? It is the same company and largely the same products, with French labelling and Quebec pricing.
Should I buy a better notebook instead? If you write daily, yes. If you are testing inks, the cheap books are useful because they show a fault fast. Our Canadian fountain pen retailers guide covers who ships better paper within the country.
