Issue No. 07 · Vol IIThe Specimen EditionMay · MMXXVI

A field guide · From the editors

Paper, but obsessive about it.

Specialty paper for hand lettering, calligraphy, and marker art. Sourced from small mills in Japan, Korea, and Germany. Vetted by working artists, not search engines.

Free samples ship with every first order. You never guess.

Build your starter setRead the paper guides

47

Papers in stock

60%

Repeat artists

3

Mills, hand-picked

Issue Vol. 07 · The Paper Files

Six papers,
six origins.

Each sheet on our shelf earns its spot. We test it. We use it. We stock it by hand. Below sits a quick study of six staples — the ones our artists keep coming back to.

House Edition · No. 07№ 07 / 12

№7 Hexpaper

Our flagship sheet. Three years in the making. We tuned the surface for slow, even ink uptake. The result is no feathering. No ghost. No bleed. We press only twice a year, then we stop.

Origin
Pressed in Tokyo
Weight
82 gsm
Best for
Brush pen · Dip nib · Alcohol marker
Study 0252 gsm

Tomoe River

Tissue-thin and cult-loved. It holds wet ink like a sponge. Dries clean. The classic journaling base.

Origin
Shizuoka, Japan
Best for
Fountain pen · Fineliner
Study 0385 gsm

Midori MD

Cream stock. Smooth tooth. Built for daily writing. A studio staple for working calligraphers.

Origin
Tokyo, Japan
Best for
Pencil · Fountain pen · Brush
Study 0430 gsm

Hanji Mulberry

Hand-pressed mulberry fibre. Long grain, soft sheen. East Asian roots, modern hand.

Origin
Andong, Korea
Best for
Sumi ink · Brush
Study 05120 gsm

Gmund Cotton

Pure cotton, heavy bite. Loved by letterpress shops. Soft white. No glow under studio lamps.

Origin
Bavaria, Germany
Best for
Letterpress · Hand lettering
Study 0640 gsm

Iyo Kozo

Wild kozo fibre with visible texture. It drinks pigment slowly. Pressed by one family for two centuries.

Origin
Ehime, Japan
Best for
Watercolour · Sumi
Selected from forty-seven sheets in stockRead every study →

From the artists who use our paper

A Letter from the Studio
Hexpaper No. 07 changed my daily practice. Each morning I draw one slow line. The paper holds the ink and lets me hear my hand again.
Maren OstrowskaBrush CalligrapherKraków Studio12 yrs at the desk
Hexpaper RegistrySection viiProvenance
On Sourcing

Mills, marks, & makers

We work with six paper houses across three countries. Each one trains its makers for years. Each batch passes through our hands first. No middlemen. No mystery rolls.

JPEst. 1914

Tomoegawa

Shizuoka, Japan
House note
Tissue weight. Fountain-pen ready.
Stocked
Tomoe River, 52 gsm
JPEst. 1825

Awagami

Tokushima, Japan
House note
Hand-pulled washi. Mulberry fibre.
Stocked
Bamboo & Kozo sheets
KREst. 1962

Jangji Atelier

Jeonju, Korea
House note
Layered hanji. Slow-dried.
Stocked
Triple-ply mulberry
KREst. 1978

Cheong-ji Mill

Andong, Korea
House note
Cold-soak fibres. No bleach.
Stocked
Letter & journal weights
DEEst. 1584

Hahnemühle

Dassel, Germany
House note
Cotton rag. Archival to 200 years.
Stocked
Hot-pressed bristol
DEEst. 1784

Schoellershammer

Düren, Germany
House note
Smooth finish. Marker friendly.
Stocked
Layout & illustration stock

Curated by Mira and the Hexpaper team. We visit each workshop twice a year. We taste-test every fibre.

View the full registry

Field Notes·The Journal

Notes from the paper bench.

Three short reads from our editors. One on the physics of feathering. One on brush and dip pens. One on the long road to Hexpaper No. 7.

Read the full journal →

  1. No. 01

    Essay

    8 min read

    Why ink feathers on some sheets, and sits flat on others

    A 100 gsm page can drink ink fast. A 70 gsm page can refuse it. The cause is older than the pen. We pulled it apart in our test room.

    By Mira Okuda·March 04, 2026

    Read the field notes →

  2. No. 02

    Field Guide

    6 min read

    Brush pen meets dip pen, a quiet pairing guide

    Brush pens love a soft, wove finish. Dip pens want a hard, sized sheet. Match them wrong and you lose the line. We pair each pen with three papers we trust.

    By Idris Veldt·February 18, 2026

    Read the field notes →

  3. No. 03

    House Story

    5 min read

    The making of Hexpaper No. 7, our spring limited run

    We pulped forty-three trial sheets. We picked one small mill in Echizen. The final weight holds our house ink without blooming. It took two winters.

    By House Editors·January 22, 2026

    Read the field notes →

More on paper. Less on hype.

Browse all entries →

P.S. — A note for new readers

Try the paper before you commit.

We tuck a free sample pack into every first order. Five papers, no upsell, no fine print.

Hold them in the light. Ink them with your own pen. See how they feel under a brush.

Pick the one that suits your hand — we’ll ship the rest when you’re ready.

Build your starter setRead the paper guide first
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