Something WEIRD is Happening | PaperTess Designs 2025 Unboxing + Swatches

Tell me I'm not the only one... what is HAPPENING with the 2025 Sanzen paper? I was never a fan of the 2024, but at least the bleed through wasn't awful.
I can't even tell you how excited I was to receive this planner. Don't get me wrong, the planner is beautiful, and Tess did an amazing job, but the Sanzen paper is allowing feathering and bleed through.
I have seen other creators mention the same thing about their 2025 Hobonichis, so I'm thinking it could have been a manufacturing error for the Sanzen paper in general.
I am off on a mission to find ink that will work! I will keep you posted!
Stay cozy, and happy planning 🤍🐻
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[@lillabjornco]

QOTD: Have you noticed a difference in the 2025 Sanzen paper?! 🤔🤔

[@bujowithsarah]

I personally haven't ordered my 2025 planners yet (I always regret pre-orders lol 😆), but I have noticed other ppl noticing something similar 🤨

[@lillabjornco]

@@bujowithsarah That was probably a smart move haha! Interesting that you've also seen people notice the difference, thanks for sharing 🥰

[@darkmoore05]

I don't have THIS planner but a 25 Hobonichi Cousin and I could swear the paper is worse. Especially when it comes to peeling stickers back up. The 25 paper rips suuuuuper easily

[@lillabjornco]

@@darkmoore05 Oh no! I am so sorry to hear you're experiencing ripping on top of everything else 😪 Another commenter mentioned that Hobonichi actually made their planners with 47gsm TRP instead of 52, so I am wondering if this is the reason. May I ask what your thoughts are moving forward? I am really struggling to know what to do 😅

[@darkmoore05]

@lillabjornco It would make sense that the ripping comes from the paper actually being thinner. I eas pretty annoyed, when I set up my monthlies. I am going to use the planners I have (I ready adapted the pens and inks I'm using for this year because the Sanzen paper is definitely different than the original) for 2025 but might reconsider for 26. So far, I have had good experiences with the Wonderland 222, which I use as my work planner. If their paper quality hasn't deteriorated, I might have to switch over completely. (They also have TR paper)

[@syddlinden8966]

Interesting the ballpoint and roller ball pens show more than the fountain pens. Makes me think writing pressure has a bigger impact on ghosting and bleed thru than ink type. I'm wanting to try a hobonichi cousin in 2027 (have other planners to use up first) but if the paper issues continue I'll have to scrap that idea and try hand binding my own notebook with trp of a guaranteed weight... Keep making noise about the paper quality y'all! These planners got big in large part because of the paper quality and companies need to know we are holding them up to established standards!

[@lillabjornco]

I thought that could be the case initially, which is also why I did more of the long-form journaling. But in the end, it was my fountain pen that caused the biggest issue 😪😪 I completely agree with you about talking about the paper. TRP has such a monopoly over the market, and we can't just accept anything!

[@MyMagicalPlanner]

I think it’s the paper honestly I have a video coming out next week where I tested the paper in my Hobonichi cousins from this year, next year and the old paper in the 2021 as well as the Sterling ink this year and next…so I feel like it’s universal to all the tomoe river paper planners since my test are similar

[@lillabjornco]

No way! I'll be sure to watch that when it comes out. Does the new SI paper also have this much bleed through?

[@MyMagicalPlanner]

@@lillabjornco unfortunately the one I have did. I tested every pen and marker I could think of and was really surprised with the results. My guess is that there isn’t a real close competitor so no push to make sure the paper quality stays high…or that’s my fear. I’ve also heard a lot of variations on quality within books exspecially the hobonichi so while the test page might be a bust it doesn’t mean the whole book is necessarily that bad.

[@lillabjornco]

@@MyMagicalPlanner I think you're absolutely right! I wish there could be a more mainstream TRP competitor/alternative. I really like the Kokuyo THIN paper, but of course, it's only used in Kokuyo planners. Thanks for sharing 🥰

[@Emendezen]

This is exactly how I feel as well. I believe it is the paper and not so much "a bad batch". I didn't buy Hobonichi this year, but went for Sterling Ink and it sucks! I am so sad. What pen am I supposed to use then? LOL

[@MyMagicalPlanner]

@@Emendezen it’s so hard but I love the layout and don’t know of another like it with a different but similar paper. I did find a few pens that worked well on the paper still. Fountain pens exspecially the fine point ones like a pilot penmanship (it’s only $10 and a amazing pen) work pretty well still depends a little on the ink you use and the nib size but that one is really good. The uni jetstream and sarasa dry also did well. I tested 25 pens/markers and those were my best results (video comes out next Friday but maybe I need to release it sooner)

[@Emendezen]

I am glad to see that it is not only a few of us feeling like the Tomoe River paper now performs badly. I feel like we used to be able to use ANYTHING to write on Tomoe River paper and it would be fine. I have always used my Hobonichis for water coloring and mixed media. Never had an issue. Now, even a ball pen either ghosts or bleeds through. I am so bummed. I decided to leave the Tomoe River paper planners aside, because it is obvious that the paper has changed, and now I will look into the Mohawk paper planners like Colibri, Planner envy, etc. This sucks! :(

[@lillabjornco]

I am so sorry to hear that you’ve experienced something similar - especially with the watercolours 😢 I’m having to look at TRP alternatives as well, but there are very few alternatives if you want a Japanese planner. I see other commenters suggesting Take a Note because they use a higher gsm. Thanks for sharing ☺️💞

[@ilananl1004]

Same here! I'm hoping they will look into making planners with Cosmo Air light

[@lillabjornco]

Yessss!

[@bujowithsarah]

The bleed through omg 😵 I have never seen TRP perform like that before

[@lillabjornco]

Okay, right?!? It's such a shame 😪

[@PlanYourOneLife]

Good review! This planner reminds of the Aura Estelle A5 Weekly planner. I have been hearing about the new Sanzen paper having bleed through and feathering with the 2025 Hobonichi 5 year Techos.

[@lillabjornco]

I almost purchased the Aura Estelle! I chose PTD because I preferred the font haha 🤣 I can’t believe how many people are experiencing issues with their paper - I hope it gets fixed somehow

[@allgoodthings1438]

The way you were so excited omg 🥺🥺

[@lillabjornco]

HAHA I know 🥲🥲 Not like I was thinking about this planner daily or anything ... 😪

[@alexplansnz]

I've found so far (not all my 2025 lineup has arrived yet), that compared to my 2024 hobonichi cousin, the Kinbor planners for 2025 are a LOT better. I will be interesting to see how the Wonderland222 goes. I wanted a Papertess, but i couldny justify the cost with errors - am I being petty 😂? I also have a Take a Note A5 coming and I LOVE the paper in those.

[@lillabjornco]

I have a 2025 Kinbor weeks, and it’s awesome! I did a swatch test and it held up really well. I might look into a larger size as well 🤔 haha I totally understand not wanting to buy a planner with errors. I think since it didn’t affect the actual dates I don’t care to much 🤣🤣 I’ve seen other commenters mention the Take a Note so I’ll def look into it! Thanks for sharing 🥰

[@allgoodthings1438]

Looking forward to seeing which inks you come up with 💖

[@lillabjornco]

I'll keep you posted! Should I do a KZbin short or a full video do you think?

[@Are3.14]

These are so cute! I love how you look at the spelling mistakes as a way to make journaling on it less pressured, it makes complete sense to me and it's so comprehensive!!

[@lillabjornco]

Aww, I am so glad that resonated with you! 🥰🥰

[@blakeley-shea]

I received my Sterling Ink 2025 planners & notebooks and when I saw this I went straight to my SI planners to check…and it was fine. I did order a PaperTess A5 as well for the first time this year but I’m still waiting on it to arrive and as soon as I do I’m going to try it and compare to the Sterling Ink ones and let you know how it does. I’m praying it’s the same bc I REALLY wanted to switch over to the PT A5 for 2025 as I want to see how well it will work for me having the months, weeks, days consecutive.❤

[@lillabjornco]

I am SO glad to hear that the SI planners are not experiencing the same issue! 😅That is the exact reason why I bought my PT too (the nestled monthlies/weeklies), so I hope that mine was just a bad batch or something. I really appreciate you keeping me updated, if you find the same issue, I think I might have to purchase a SI 😳 Thanks so much 😊💗💗

[@blakeley-shea]

@@lillabjornco I know! I legit had a mild heart palpitation lol but I was really really looking forward to trying out PT layout with everything together. I did reach out to Catherine from SI and asked if she would possibly consider doing something like this in the future and she was sooooo sweet and said that she loves hearing feedback and takes everyone’s suggestions to heart whether she implements them or not. So maybe she will one day but I will absolutely CRY if my PTD planner has these same issues as I am a fountain pen lover and use them in my dailies. Fingers Crossed it’s only a certain batch…🤞🏼. ****Also, I literally had to edit this really quickly bc I got a notification that my PTD planner was out for delivery by 7pm est today!!!****

[@lillabjornco]

@@blakeley-shea NO WAY! What a coincidence! Good luck, good luck 🤞🙏 Also, oh my gosh HAHA sorry for the near heart attack 😅🤣 Catherine is so lovely, I'm really hoping she does too!! My Kaweco Perkeo is my ride or die fp right now, and I honestly don't know if I'll even be able to use it 😪

[@tortagialla]

I have tested the 2025 midori hibino which is sanzione paper and didn’t seem bad but lots ghosting like the paper is less than 52gsm - they don’t state the gsm and hobonichi has gone down to 47gsm… it seems like it is a lottery and paper is in consistent in general. But I understand ink and pen can change things so we just have to find the right combo 😅😅😅 so anxiety inducing!

[@lillabjornco]

I had no idea that the Hobonichi has gone down to 47gsm!! I know the PaperTess was listed as 52gsm, but now you have me curious 🧐 I completely agree, it definitely is a lottery … actually, more like Russian Roulette 🤣🤣 Thank for sharing 💕

[@tortagialla]

@@lillabjornco Yes, you’ll notice that midori hibino and hobonichi just say tomoe river s paper but don’t note the actual gsm on their websites - sneaky!

[@lillabjornco]

@@tortagialla So sneaky! Thanks for letting me know! 😇

[@nyek1246]

I'm curious where did you know that Hobonichi changed to 47gsm for 2025, cos if they made that much change, Hobonichi would definitely point that out. And I received mine, they seem the same. Though I think the main problem would be with the TMR S manufacturing, there seem to be batches that are not good.

[@tortagialla]

@@nyek1246 I wouldn't have noticed myself, although some people have one of those tools to measure actual gsm. But it was on instagram where someone was testing the paper and went to a fair and talked to the hobonichi reps and it was confirmed by the HQ. Then I heard the same thing mentioned on penaddict podcast I believe... and when I checked the website - you'll notice there is no mention of the actual gsm of the paper in techos. I suppose you can actually email them and confirm because from my experience, Hobonichi customer service is very responsive! I actually think they don't want to make a big deal about it.

[@planwithkellye2926]

I agree. My 2025 hobo cousin hon has tons of bleed thru as well.

[@lillabjornco]

Ugh, I'm so sorry to hear you're also experiencing bleed through! I just posted a new video that shares everything I know about the "bad batch"

[@Leey03]

I just received my papertess B6 yearly and the paper absolutely does this same thing. I'm so sad because I'm a fountain pen user and my two main inks bleed so much :( I was so looking forward to using this planner for this year because I love the layout. Have you tried contacting papertess just to let her know the issue?

[@lillabjornco]

Oh no! I’m so sorry you’re experiencing the same issue! I actually just posted a full video about everything I know so far about this “bad batch”. I did contact Tess, and I put her reply in that video as well. Basically, she’s looking into it, but it’s too late for her to do anything really. Is this your first year trying a planner from PaperTess? 😇

[@ilananl1004]

It's horrible when you loved the TRP for soo long. I didn't like the Sanzen paper either when they started producing that in 2021 but it has gotten worse ever since. I treasure my stack of old TRP notebooks and hobonichi's. I've bought every old unused ones i could find online. I will date them myself. I am using a Sweet Freckled Design weeks i bought in 2022 now and feel very restricted. Mildliners bleedtrough and only ef nibs with dark inks in fountain pens are somewhat ok but the ghosting when writing on both sides is distracting. Only ef or 0.28mm nibs pens max. But maybe not a dark ink if you are bothered by the ghosting. And i never been with the old paper... If i want color i use colored pencils now. But i'm still sad and kinda mad that they are allowed to call it Tomoe River paper (just because they bought the name) because it really isn't.😢 I bought a B6 Papertess and am scared to use it. Also bothered by the small weeks boxes and a lot of inconsistencies in the planner, but that's unrelated to the paper. I really hope Papertess will come out with more notebooks and planners in Cosmo Air light paper. Because after this i'm done with Sanzen paper and i hope the independent planner makers are as well so we can be excited again about our planners next year and not disappointed/distracted by the paper quality!

[@lillabjornco]

That is so disappointing to hear that you had to switch to coloured pencils!! I feel like we shouldn’t have to restrict ourselves because of a paper not doing its job! I completely agree, how can we call this TRP if it doesn’t perform the same at all?! I really hope that other planner companies start to change their paper types. I’ve never tried Cosmo Air Light paper, is it good?

[@TheKoffeeVerse]

I really like the layout of that planner. It's a shame that the paper is not living up to its potential.

[@lillabjornco]

I completely agree! I am currently quite heartbroken about it because it's stunning 😪

[@strange144]

I ordered one of her players as well, I wonder if it's all TRP that is affected this way??? I also ordered one from Twines and Paper and I'll be eager to test but damn this sucks. I have a few really old Hobos, I'm also going to be doing some tests.

[@lillabjornco]

I’ve been doing more research and I think I’ll likely post a video about it, but it is a Sanzen problem!

[@plandsandtravels]

I tend to use Uniball One and Fine fountain pen. The ghosting I can live with. I got PTD instead of Hobonichi this year and I don’t regret it, especially when I look at the pens I use. For me, I prefer the way the paper feels to my touch in the PTD than the Hobonichi. I am hopeful that the feathering won’t be an issue with the inks I use as I prefer dry inks.

[@lillabjornco]

I preferred how it feels too, but I honestly can’t look past the bleed through 😢

[@LenaMellow]

So great until the blanket pages awkwardly in between the weeks. Then the bleed through killed it. Maybe test Creffective Paper planner for us?

[@lillabjornco]

I’m going to be posting a follow up video, but it looks like Sanzen is the issue!

[@mollymollie6048]

There’s been a lot of discussion (and a lot of pictures with comparisons from TRP-S 2024 and TRP-S 2025 for some specific Hobonichi’s with some serial numbers of Cousins, and a lot of the 5 Years in particular being unusable.) You may be part of the now known “bad batch” of TRP-S that was received by Hobonichi this year. As far as I know, Hobonichi is “looking into it” and haven’t made a decision about it. I would contact Paper Tess definitely to express your concerns, and maybe ask others in the community who have tested their books this year (or other planners using TRP-S) to see if some are having problems and some are not. I can say that my Sterling Ink A6 Vertical Forest/Gold performed excellently with pen tests including the Zigg and fountain pens. Normal ghosting, no bleed through. Looked wayyyy better than yours is looking. I thought it felt better to write on than my 2024 Hobonichi Cousin, also (which bleeds a little with the Ziggs). My Sterling Ink A5 came today, so I’m going to test it tomorrow probably and I’ll let you know if I have any issues. Check out the Hobonichi forum on Reddit for more info (I know, Reddit…but it is apparently a very real problem, particularly with some Cousins and most of the 5 years.)

[@Emendezen]

I am not so sure it is a "bad batch" - it feels like it is the paper itself. I bought from Sterling ink a couple of notebooks and I am so disappointed because the paper either ghosts terribly or it also bleeds through. Tomoe River Paper used to be known for performing great with all fountain pen inks, water color, acrylics etc. I have been using Hobonichi since like 2013. This year, with the new sazen it's bad! My sterling ink notebooks can't even hold fountain pen ink now. I doubt it is a Five year techo issue, it feels like it is the new sazen. I am so sad so now I have looked into the USA made planners. No more tomoe river paper for me. The sazen is considerably bad.

[@lillabjornco]

Thank you so much for all of this! I did reach out to Tess and am waiting on a response 🤞 I’m so glad to hear your SI is performing well, I would love to know about the A5. It’s really unfortunate that so many of us are experiencing bleed through, and I really hope something is done about it 😞 TRP has such a monopoly over the market, I wish there were other competitors! I love Kokuyo THIN paper, but obviously it’s only for Kokuyo products 😅

[@draganascrafts]

@@lillabjorncoI am using a 2024 SI common planner and so far I haven’t had any issues with bleeding or feathering but now that I’ve seen people complain about 2025 planner paper, I’m wondering if the 2025 common planner will have the same issue.

[@lillabjornco]

Have you ordered a 2025 SI common planner?

[@draganascrafts]

@@lillabjornco yes I have, I’m still waiting on it but I’ll do the pen test the moment it arrives

[@AnLiPDo]

😮 the bleed through! The feathering! I was ready to buy the A6 before the pen test. In my 2022 B6 PPTD planner the paper was perfect, last year she launched the 68gsm notebook and I had the same quality issue. Sorry to see it’s happening again. At some point there is a global issue with TRP and her supplier. Now I hope Take a note will perform, this is why I prefer their 68gsm paper.

[@lillabjornco]

I know!! I was shocked 😳 are you using the Take a Note planner for 2025? How has their paper been?

[@AnLiPDo]

@@lillabjornco it is a pre-order and should arrive mid-october so fingers crossed. In 23 and 24 no complaint, thicker , no ghosting, no feathering so I hope it stays that way 😅.

[@lillabjornco]

Would you be willing to update me when it arrives? 😅 I’m kind of scrambling right now 🥲

[@AnLiPDo]

@@lillabjornco of course I’ll let you know 😉

[@lillabjornco]

Thank you!! 💞💞

[@myepictbr6968]

I believe 2025 Sterling Ink planners still use the same batch of Sanzen paper as their 2024 ones. This might explain why there are no similar issues with the paper that have been plagued other trp releases this year.

[@lillabjornco]

That’s really good to know! Thank you 😊

[@Planner-ingPlatypus-kq6nf]

I had seen comments here and there about a “bad batch” of the Sanzen paper. So not every planner from every company, which makes it a hit or miss, unfortunately. I’m so sorry!

[@lillabjornco]

Oh gosh, that’s even worse 🤣🥹 Welp, I’ll see if there’s a possible work-around for all my fellow bad-batch peeps 🥲

[@AllTheArtsy]

i guess the paper is adorable and prevents you from being too pressured.... 😅 sorry couldnt help it

[@lillabjornco]

Hahaha good one!

[@pbudinsky1]

Oh no😢

[@lillabjornco]

I knowwww, I’m heartbroken 😔

[@sushanart]

😇🩷🙏🙌

[@atrotsiuk]

I'm so sorry, this looks terrible! It's so sad because it looks like something unusable.... 😥

[@lillabjornco]

I know 😞😞 I reached out to Tess and am waiting to hear back 🤞

[@shazlyvan]

RIP TRP 😐

[@lillabjornco]

The inconsistency is CRAZY! I’m hoping a manufacturer comes out with a new fountain pen friendly paper that’s better 😅🤞