At thebottom of this page you will find links to what I have learned so far about stone paper; how it inspired a little project; a review of three different stone paper products; and a surprising bit of information I learned about a ubiquitous form of traditional paper that will surprise you as much as it surprised me.
Traditional Paper
Paper has been around for roughly 3000 years. It’s changed a lot over three millennia but the basic formula has remained the same. Wood to pulp. Pulp + Chemicals over time and eventually you’ll get paper.
A mid-19th century paper mill, the Forest Fibre Company, in Berlin, New Hampshire
The scale of papermaking today is immense. We probably - and I'm just shooting from the hip here - create and consume more paper in one year than we created and consumed over the majority of the time we have been making paper.
Stone paper is the latest in a long line of innovative paper products. Unlike traditional paper which is made from plant fibers - mostly trees - it is made from crushed stone and a polymer binder.
Many People Aren't Aware Stone Paper Exists
Stone paper is an interesting product. At least it interests me.
It shares many of the same properties of pulp paper - you can fold it, write on it, burn it, etc - but it also has several unique additional properties. For example, it’s waterproof.
It isn’t a complete substitute for paper. It's more expensive than traditional paper and liquid ink pens - like fountain pens or gel ink - don’t adhere to it particularly well.
But once I started experimenting with stone paper I wanted to use it more.
It's one of those inventions, like pressure-sensitive adhesive before it was added to small pieces of paper and became Post-It notes. That adhesive was accidentally invented by Spencer Silver and it wasn't until six years later when Arthur Fry finally came up with a useful application for that product. Before then it was a solution in search of a problem. But the right person with the right problem had to see that adhesive before it became the product we all use over 30 years later.
Arthur Fry, inventor of the Post-it Note. Demonstrating his own personal birth of Athena.
And that got me thinking about a Steve Jobs quote:
I think Henry Ford once said, ‘If I’d asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, “A faster horse!”
Here’s a reenactment of what he goes on to say:
A successful product is one that people buy. People only buy something when they feel the value of that product outweighs the pricing.
But sometimes a product needs be seen by the right audience before its true value can be unlocked. Steve Jobs didn't know people would use the iPhone to learn to play guitar, or unlock their car, or make movies. But he did know that getting the best product he could make into the hands of the right people would show what could be done, what was possible, with a smart phone.
Stone paper is like that. If you give it out to enough people, you will find someone who will find a use for it.
In general, the biggest factor hindering wider adoption of stone paper is the price. Pulp paper is everywhere and inexpensive. Like an electric vehicle, stone paper needs added value to justify the higher initial price.
One way stone paper adds value is with performance.
For everyday needs, pulp paper is cheaper and will work adequately. But not in harsh environments. This is where stone paper proves its worth. Say you’re a mechanic working on an oil platform. It’s an oily and greasy gnarly marine environment, but stone paper is unaffected by all that.
If you get stone paper dirty, you can wash it.
Here is a video I made to demonstrate stone paper being washed and reused.
Water proof paper. Who knew?
Another value implicit with stone paper is environmental.
Stone paper production requires no trees, water acids, or bleaches. It can also be made from recycled materials and can itself be recycled into new materials. Pulp paper requires everything stone paper doesn't and an ordinary sheet of paper made from wood=derived cellulose can survive only four to six trips through the recycling process.
A final measure of value is its novelty.
Stone paper was only developed in the closing years of the last century. It is still new and the limits of what it can and can’t do are still up in the air.
I discovered that stone paper is great for metalpoint sketching - a technique used by Leonardo da Vinci - because no time-consuming surface prep is necessary.
Time for More Innovation
Think about it. Toilet paper wasn’t commercially available until the 1850s. For 95% of the time paper was in existence no one exploited that use. (Fun fact: Instead of toilet paper, ancient Romans used a communal xylospongium - a sponge on a stick - for TP duty. Let's just say they had their fair share of intestinal parasites.)
We are still coming up with new uses for traditional paper. Imagine what uses people will come up with for stone paper? I'm just one person who noticed its use for silverpoint. Imagine what other people will discover?
They just need to be shown what it can do.
The Report
What Is Stone Paper- a primer on stone paper and what makes it different from traditional paper
Silverpoint & Stone Paper - using a 14th-century drawing technique with a 21st century stone paper product.
Stone Paper Review - an overview of three different stone paper notebooks from three different companies.
The Dangers of Thermal Paper - an aside on a different paper product we handle every day. I only found out about the deleterious effects of receipt paper as a result of my dive into stone paper.
I first heard about stone paper in September 2018. A targeted advertisement for the Karst hardcover notebook “with paper made from stone” popped up on my Facebook feed. After constant badgering, I eventually relented and purchased one of their notebooks.
I got bit by the stone paper bug soon after. What follows is my review of three stone paper notebooks in the order in which I acquired them.
KARST
Karst sells its paper and itself as a design-oriented premium paper company. It showcases their products using contemporary design-aesthetic photography coupled with inspirational quotes - the Instagram look. Much like their paper, which is 80/20 calcium carbonate/HDPE resin, they use the same ratio on their company positioning, with the main focus being design and environmental bona fides second.
Dot Grid Hardcover Notebook
Dot Grid Hardcover Notebook
Close your eyes and imagine Jony Ive’s voice - you’ve heard him expound on materials and production methods in various Apple announcement videos. Now read this copy from Karst:
We like to think of Karst products as complementary tools in a world of digital devices. Luxury stationery that slips into your lifestyle, constructed by some of the world's best bookbinders and printers to make notebooks that feel part of your everyday life, rather than just writing tools. Our design is simple, functional and beautiful. We don’t want our products yelling at you with over-embellishment; we want them to collaborate with you through quiet refinement. Each aspect, from colour, to size, to aesthetic is thoughtful and intentional, designed to provoke your creativity.
If another paper company's copy oozed that quantity of farcically pretentious self-importance it would be understandable if your eyes rolled back far enough for you to visually examine your throat.
Casting shadows on stone paper with Hringpoki guitar picks
I’ll tell you right now though that Karst stone paper notebooks are really quite nice. A comparable A5 Moleskin will run you around $20. The Karst product is $10 more and has fewer pages but the stone paper feels amazing. You can get it wet and none of your notes will be lost, and environmentally speaking the production of the Kart notebook has a 60% lower carbon footprint.
But really, it’s the quality and feel of the paper that will get you hooked on using it in place of a traditional paper journal. Because stone paper has a slight bite, it feels more scribe-like than the experience of writing on standard pulp paper. Yes, I did just say writing experience. Sorry, but it feels different and interesting. And again, there are plenty of things you can do with stone paper that you can’t with pulp paper.
One of my discoveries, and so far I think I'm the only one who has shared this, is that stone paper is great for silverpoint sketching. Normally with this technique, you have to first prepare the surface - and while it's not one of Hercules' twelve labors, it is burdensome. Not having to is a nice benefit if you are into silverpoint. (The discovery inspired me to make two special styluses for the express purpose of sketching on stone paper.)
Discoveries aside, Karts’s notebooks are quite expensive. It would be silly if I didn’t look for a cheaper alternative. And I did find one.
OXFORD
The 8.5 x 11 inch Oxford stone paper notebook is the least expensive stone paper notebook of that size that I have been able to find. I purchased a two-pack on amazon (60 sheets per notebook) for $16 (referral link).
REALLY soft paper that you can easily poke through.
My excitement before receiving the Oxford notebooks quickly melted into disappointment when they arrived. While Karst's paper felt thick and luxurious the Oxford paper felt engineered for a price point. I assumed that the stone paper would be as thick, as bright, and feel as good as the stone paper from Karst. It’s not, and I guess I should have expected that. Good résumé paper is more expensive than printer paper for a reason. However the Oxford stone paper notebook, while having a decidedly non-premium feel, was still very expensive vis-à-vis traditional paper.
Yet it felt like cheap vinyl and it tore - especially by the perforations on the side - easily. Don’t even try to write on this paper with a sharp pencil because the tip will snag and poke through. It was rubbish to write on compared to other stone paper products and cheaper pulp paper alternatives.
Therefore the value proposition of the Oxford stone paper notebook is poor. At $16, it’s inexpensive by stone paper standards but is eyebrow raisingly expensive when compared to this 6-pack of 70-page traditional spiral-bound notebooks for $9.00 (referral link).
Not as nice as other stone paper offerings and worse than traditional paper all with a price premium. What’s the point? I don’t usually return products, even if they don’t entirely live up to expectations, however, I had to return these notebooks because I just couldn’t see using them for anything - other than waterproof paper airplanes which are not big on my list of things to do with expensive paper.
Maybe if this had been my first exposure to stone paper I would have a different opinion. At the same time, I don’t think I would have been as intrigued by stone paper if this had been my first experience.
Which leads me to my latest stone paper acquisition.
A GOOD COMPANY
The stone paper by A GOOD COMPANY is more than just stone paper - though the paper is of exceptional quality. What sets it apart and elevates it above the competition is its holistic product development approach. From conception to production to how it's transported the folks at A GOOD COMPANY have created the most thoughtful stone paper product.
Before I get into what I mean by that, let me just say that I think the stone paper notebooks and sketchpads they make are superior to the other stone paper products I’ve used. Period.
The paper feels, to steal a phrase, insanely great. The leather - which is vegan - is buttery soft. And the offerings in terms of the sizes and types of paper - try finding a stone paper sketchpad anywhere else - can’t be beaten. They also have a growing number of non-paper products made to similar exacting standards.
I don't know if it was their intention but when you open one of their packages, you get a brief whiff of freshly sharpened pencils. You might say "meh," but I say "yeah!"
Now, when I say A GOOD COMPANY produces things holistically I mean it. Their stone paper notebooks are more than the sum of their parts and can only be fully understood and appreciated by reference to their company’s ethos.
We refuse to take shortcuts, and we obsess over every single step in the journey of our products, from how they are made to how they end up on your doorstep. We always walk the extra mile to improve our products and our processes, to ensure that we always are as responsible as we humanly can be.
They take into account more than the cost of raw materials or what a carrier charges for shipping. They calculate as close as they can the entirety of all the inputs that go into making it possible for you to possess one of their products. And before you go all "Colin the Chicken" on me, hear me out on why I think this is an important point to make.
What does all this gushing mean?
Take the A5 sized notebook I mentioned earlier. Let’s say you go to a store and buy a Moleskin. The price you pay doesn't include the totality of the costs incurred. For example, who pays for damage done to wildlife, land, and water from acids and bleach that leaked from the paper mill? Who covers the cost beyond fuel, salaries, and equipment in carbon emissions from shipping? Maybe the factory operates like a sweatshop?
Those costs are not contemplated by the price paid at checkout. But they exist. Eventually, they will have to be paid. After the mill closes maybe the EPA will have to step in to try to remediate the land. Do you know that the pulp and paper industry is the third-largest industrial polluter for air, water, and land in the United States? Studies show that it releases well over 100 million kg of toxic pollution each year.
A GOOD COMPANY states clearly that they consider ALL costs when pricing their products and that when given "the choice between different courses of action, we will always take the route that makes our company and our products better and more responsible. We will always climate compensate our shipments, even if that comes at a cost. We say firmly no to cheap but harmful materials, such as BPA-plastics.
We evaluate our suppliers & partners on more than just the cost."
Let’s compare and let's also say for comparison that the stone paper is comparable quality. The Karst notebooks come wrapped in un-recyclable cling wrap. They come packaged in standard shipping packaging material. And they arrive via standard shipping.
A similar notebook from A GOOD COMPANY isn’t wrapped in plastic. The packaging is ALSO made from stone paper. And they use climate compensated shipping. They are also completely transparent about where their factories are, their power sources, and even employee work shifts.
So, even when compared to the stone paper products from Karst and others, A GOOD COMPANY comes out on top and lives up to its name. That is added value if you care about the world you want your children to inherit.
A Thoughtful Touch
And the product quality is unmatched while also having a price comparable to traditionally manufactured goods like a Moleskin and other high-end stone paper products like Karst's. Even what A GOOD COMPANY charges for climate compensated shipping is less than what other companies charge (and orders over $50 get free shipping).
So when it comes down to choosing which stone paper product to get there’s no doubt which company and product I prefer. Not only do you get a fantastically made (did I mention just how smooth the vegan leather is? I did, but it's worth mentioning again) product but you get one that has also been thoughtfully made and thoroughly vetted.
IN CLOSING
A couple of years ago I designed, funded, manufactured, and sold a ceramic bowl that looked ecologically and was made in an ecologically conscious way. It was called The South Bowl.
For one person, it was quite the undertaking, and if I’m honest, not entirely successful. But that experience taught me about the difficulties that arise when you try to make a quality product that is climate-conscious and environmentally sound. I also learned how hard it is to impress upon people the value of a thoughtfully designed and produced product; especially when lower-priced conventionally made alternatives exist.
Stone paper will not replace traditional paper. But I do hope that the kind of innovative and responsible thinking displayed by A GOOD COMPANY becomes the norm and I applaud them for leading the way.
I first heard about stone paper in September 2018. A targeted advertisement for the Karst hardcover notebook “with paper made from stone” popped up on my Facebook feed. I was intrigued but didn’t immediately order the product because $30 for a notebook is a lot of money no matter who you are.
But I kept on seeing those Karst ads on my feed and finally on Black Friday they took 10% off and I got a dot grid hardcover notebook for myself and a pocket journal for my son.
Karst Stone Paper Notebook
The Karst notebook was my first experience with stone paper. I'd compare the quality to moleskin notebooks (I’d say it’s probably better made). It is rather pricy and in looking for less expensive stone paper alternatives I found out that not all stone paper is equal (more on that later).
I got bit by the stone paper bug and was curious to learn more about this product.
What is stone paper made from?
Stone paper is made from calcium carbonate and plastic - marble debris from mining and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), either virgin or recycled. The calcium carbonate is ground into a fine powder and mixed together with the HDPE in an 80/20 mix.
Virgin HDPE granules
This results in "paper" that is quite durable. Stone paper shows resistance to oil, tearing, and water. Furthermore ink tends to resist running if it subsequently gets wet. So it's great for outdoor environments like construction sites.
Stone paper feels grippier than traditional paper. The texture is similar to ultra-fine grit modeling sandpaper. I like writing on it with a pencil or a pen but would not recommend using a fountain pen type of liquid ink - probably depends on the quality of the ink you use - because what I said before about the ink not running, might not be completely the case with this type of ink. . It does have some very interesting potential with the use of alternative writing instruments. (again, more on that later).
Is stone paper really environmental?
This product is touted as being good (or at least better) for the environment than traditional paper. Karst says, "It's made without timber and water, without chlorine or acids, without waste, and uses only a third of the carbon footprint of traditional paper."
However stone paper is 20% HDPE plastic which has to come from somewhere. That somewhere is natural gas. This is a local issue for me. Currently under construction just outside Pittsburgh in Beaver Township is the Shell ethylene cracker plant. That plant will turn the shale gas from the Marcellus into ethylene, from where HDPE is derived. Future stone paper products could very well be made from natural gas extracted right here in Pennsylvania.
So overly boosting the environmental aspects of stone paper runs the risk of being nothing more than green marketing without actual environmentally responsible practices.
Thankfully, the stone paper products sold by A Good Company have considered this and have real green credentials. In addition to the above noted manufacturing benefits, their notebooks have undergone Cradle to Cradle certification and they use carbon offsets to compensate for the CO2 emitted from the production and shipping of their products. They also use in house designed stone paper shipping bags that can be reused or recycled.
Stone paper is also photodegradable after a year to a year and a half of exposure to the sun. But if there's no sun, there's no degradation so if it's in a landfill it's locked there. It's also not clear, where the HDPE goes if it is left to photodegrade. Do the HDPE microplastic particles persist in the environment? I don't know. I'd like to though.
What stone paper products do you recommend?
I have used stone paper produced by three different companies - Oxford, Karst, and A Good Company.
