Following up on my post about the reed pen, laid paper is what Van Gogh used for many of his drawings. The only laid paper that I’ve tried are a “business” paper that is actually found in an office supply store and a sketch paper made by Arches.

Here is a good article on paper:

https://www.ilab.org/eng/documentation/87-the_paper_of_old_prints.html

Laid paper has a screen texture from the process used to make it. Here is a close up:

(If you google images of laid paper you might get a clearer picture.)

Both papers were nice to work on, but the pen did glide smoothly on the Southworth paper, a watermarked stationery and there was some drag on the Arches paper.

Southworth, Antique Laid, business paper, 24 lb. – ivory – 25% cotton, watermarked.

Arches Laid Paper – sketch – (Ingres) – 70 lb. – 75% cotton