Stillman & BirnEpsilon Series Softcover Sketchbook, 5.5" x 8.5", 150 GSM (Heavyweight), White Paper, Smooth Surface

The pages of the Epsilon series hold ink very well, and even stand up to washes and watercolor without sacrificing too much of the pages firmness. Paper is nice and smooth, with a cardstock feel to it. Spreads will lay fairly flat after some pressing, and the binding seems okay for the most part. But the cover is very thin, no weight or structure to it at all. I have to keep the sketchbook pressed under other books and weighted objects to keep it closed, other wise the pages bulge and pop open.

This is exactly what I needed for my mixed media journal project, and I'm super happy I found it! Something you won't find even in top local art supply stores. It actually took me a lot to "discover" this journal online too, after I browsed 30+ more models. The paper is just perfect, very smooth, and thick enough to prevent see-through. The "feeling" of this journal in your hands is also special, it speaks quality everywhere, and durability. The pages lay flat perfectly after a bit of a pressure, and the binding is meant for heavy-duty use. And no markings, logos, numbers on the pages, this is for your artwork only. I still can't believe I found my perfect journal!

I am 1/4 of the way through the first drawing in this sketchbook and let me tell you... my life had changed. I only use ink to draw (staedler pigment liners to be exact, also recommend), and I tried just about every other type of paper with no luck. Moleskins, bristols, "paper for pens" and even pads that were far more expensive than this, all bled like they were having miscarriages. For the ones that didnt, they were too smooth for my pens to continually ink. This paper though... Angels probably wipe their asses with it. This sketchbook may as well have fell from heaven. My lines are Smoov as water, and I can pause for as long as I need with no bleeding. I bought this book for a certain purpose, but will be using it for all of my inking needs. You need to buy this. What else do you need to spend your money on? Nothing.

Everything about the book is awesome (except the price, which I am going to pay anyway) paper is perfect and smooth and holds paint, ink, and pen, really well. My pen nib tears the paper slightly, but hasn't caused any real problems.

Excellent sketchbook, it has a nice weight to it and the cover feels really luxurious. I love the flexibility and comfort of bound paperback sketchbooks but most of them fall apart by the time I'm finished with them. This one is different. The paper is nice and sturdy and ink doesn't bleed. However, if you're using darker ink it's slightly visible on the other side of the page, I don't really know why. If you zoom in on the pic you can kinda see the drawing on the other side. That being said I will definitely purchase many more books from Stillman & Birn.

I use this sketchbook every day. I typically use it with a fountain pen, so finding the right paper is very important. The quality of this paper is excellent. It is a good weight and texture, very suitable for fountain pens, and even a light ink wash. Markers do tend to blead to the other side of a sheet, but not to the next page.

For the price the paper quality is just not there. It's thin and a little brittle to the touch. It's not much different than a lightweight cardstock. the size is nice and decently well bound.

Page count is fairly low but this is by far the best quality sketchbook I've tried so far.

I have heard a lot about stillman and birn product. I would say this one is the best sketchbook with good quality and reasonable price. Stays almost flat. Soft cover is disadvantage. White pages(my photos were taken in night so the pages may appear with red tone). I used copic and ohuhu markers on this. It doesn't feather much (does a little tho) and very smooth. It definitely doesn't bleed too much. I used couple of layers but it bleeded very little. Very good for graphite pencil work. Doesn't smudge much. It may be not be a replacement for marker papers. But it is a very good substitute for them unless u want to draw on printer paper.

This sketchbook will leak through when used with copics but blending is very smooth and it looks nice. I like using this sketchbook because I can get by using different mediums with minimal layering. But the one I ordered did come alittle damaged there was a small scratch on the front cover that went down into the first page which wasn't great but I can still use the sketchbook.