Recently I received a package of new products from the good folks over at Levenger, and one of the things included in there was this sample of their new Levenger Recycled 120gsm Circa Refills. I’m always a sucker for new and improved paper from them, so this was quite a nice surprise, and to the best of my recollection, I have not seen anything recycled like this from them before.
As you can see from the photo of the label above, these new Circa refills have a few good things going for them. First, and in their own words, the refills are quite “substantial” at 120 gsm, which is noticeable at first touch. As compared to lesser 90 and 100 gsm papers, you can definitely feel a difference, with the paper being noticeably heavier and stiffer. The second thing of note is that this new product is made from 60-70% recycled pulp and printed using soy-based ink. Between all of those things, you have a hefty paper that is designed to handle just about every ink, AND it is also more environmentally friendly than many other papers, so whats not to like? Lets take a look at how the paper handles when you actually write on it:
Usually with any recycled products such as this, I have my reservations when it comes to how its going to handle different types of inks because I have had some pretty bad experiences in the past. With this Levenger recycled paper, there were absolutely no performance issues though. For the writing sample above, I selected some of the more inky and wet writing pens that I have used, and not one of them had any issues on this paper. They all wrote well, with no feathering and absolutely no show through on the back of the paper. The only difference I noticed with this paper in comparison to the their standard paper is that it is just a shade rougher when you drag the tip or nib of your pen across it. Personally I tend to lean towards smoother papers, however the slightly more rough or toothy feel on this paper is more preferred by others, so it really comes down to personal preference. Either way I would definitely recommend this Levenger Recycled 120 gsm paper for anyone that wants a high quality and environmentally friendly option to fill their Levenger Circa notebooks with. Thanks again to the folks at Levenger for sending this over to review and and to be able to share with everyone here.