PAPER

Strathmore-Bienfang 99-Canson-Letraset-Japanese Manga Paper

The right paper is essential to getting the most out of all the rest of your materials. Paper is basically of two types- good, or garbage. As most(or at least some) of your inking will be conducted with sharp objects like Pen nibs, its of absolute importance that the paper is SMOOTH. Manufacturer's of paper in the US label this as "plate" or "hot press"; in Japan you generally dont have to worry as anything remotely intended for manga work is usually good.
Papers labelled as "cold press" or "vellum" are softer, textured papers which love to turn graceful ink lines into feathery bleeding monstrosities. They're also more fibrous, so chances are your pen will get stuck in an irregular part and spew its ink out all over your drawing. These papers are intended more for wet media such as watercolors as they soak up the paint and give it texture(personally I paint on hot press as I like flat colors, but well whatever....), for inking manga pages you want exactly the opposite: the ink to dry flat on the surface.
If you have to buy a cheaper or unlabeled paper, open up the pack and run your finger over the surface. You want a paper where you can feel as little grain as possible, your finger should slide, not rasp. Check it in the light; a glossy surface is a sign that your inks will probably do allright on it. Whenever possible test the paper right in the store, a thick tech pen such as a Micron Pigma is good for carrying into the art store for just that purpose. If the lines stay firm and there's no bleeding, you're good to go(usually).
You'll of course want paper of a heavy weight, any Bristol or generally anything above 140-pound weight will work all right. The lighter papers are fun because they're flexible-you bend too much and your screen tones and pen white pop right off the surface, then you slash your wrists with your pen nib. Yay....heavier is better.
-Bristol-
A name for the most useful type of paper, produced by a variety of companies. Not too light, not too heavy, usually allright depending on the brand.

STRATHMORE BRISTOL
Strathmore makes the most reliable bristols in my experience, at three levels of quality, Strathmore 300, 400, and 500 series. The 300 the cheapest, but until recently could be relied upon to not bleed...somehow recently about half the packs are tricky bastards who'll bleed like crazy, so it's wise to test in store.
Strathmore 500 series is an excellent paper, the surface is actually smoother and more reliable than many brands of illustration board. At over double the price of the 300s you dont wanna waste it. Some may actually find it TOO plate(smooth) so check it first, but once you try it you'll wonder how the hell you ever suffered through the other types.

BIENFANG BRISTOL
A prominent brand that used to guarantee tearing and bleeding(of the paper and your self in frustration...). However, as of a couple of years ago, their cheaper series has been more reliable than Strathmore's 300...I can never find their high-grade series but I've never met any fans of it, sooooo......as with all the widely available brands listed here, the lack flamination on the paper is noticeable; it's smooth, but not glossy like the Strathmore 500 series. Also, has a tendency to warp when applying areas of solid black ink, so beware.

CANSON BRISTOL
The evil of evils....run away immediately. I have never bought a pack of this brand which did NOT turn my innocent little ink lines into bloody, furry monsters. Keep in mind this is their widely available lowest grade of Bristol, so their pricier-end sheets might be worth a run through.

LETRASET BRISTOL
The only Letraset I've had experience was TOO smooth and slick- even waterproof india inks were short lived on this paper as they didn't adhere at all. I also found that the pen nib was so easy to move it was hard to control, a nice contrast to the rip n' tear feel of some other papers but not feasible for doing artwork. Anyone with more experience with Letraset please drop me a line.

JAPANESE PAPERS
Japanese papers are generally of two types- Bristol type and blue-lined paper pre-ruled especially for manga. The former are almost always excellent, but unavailable throughout most of the US as well as mostly being sold by the sheet and uncut(a big hassle).
However, the blue lined type are insanely convenient; they make panel layout effortless and have consistently high surface quality. They are available in a variety of different sizes porportional to printed manga pages(which are NOT, by the way, porportional to the traditional 3x2 US dimensions for comics....) and the blue centimeter guidelines along the edge are non-repro. My only complaint is they are a little too lightweight for my liking; the heaviest I can find is 135 kg. It shouldn't be a problem if you take care of your materials. If you have a way to get these you should definitely give them a try.

to be added:Card Stock, Misc.

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