Dressco Onion Skin Paper Letter Set, Pale Blue

This Dressco Onion Skin Paper Letter Set in Pale Blue from Japanese paper merchant TAKEO pairs 20 sheets of KateJo onion skin letter paper in a smoky pale blue with six white Araveal envelopes, plus a ruled guide sheet, so you have everything you need to write and send a handwritten letter. Onion skin paper is a very thin, lightweight writing paper with a softly crinkled surface and a translucent look, named for its resemblance to the papery outer skin of an onion.

The A5 letter sheets (21 × 14.8 cm) are blank. Slip the ruled guide sheet underneath and its lines show through, so your writing stays straight without lines printed on the letter itself. TAKEO notes that the paper works well with pencils, pens and fountain pens, and the gentle crinkle gives each stroke a distinctive feel. Because the paper is translucent, writing shows through from the back, so you may prefer to write on one side of each sheet. A sheet folded once fits the 16.2 × 11.4 cm envelopes.

Here the letter sheets carry the color: a soft, smoky light blue that stays quiet under ink. The envelopes are made from Araveal-FS in white, an uncoated TAKEO paper with a delicate texture and a soft touch, weighing approximately 104.7 gsm. Araveal is made by Daio Paper.

Onion skin paper was once a familiar office and correspondence paper: typists used it for carbon copies, and its light weight suited airmail letters. In Japan, production came to an end in 2010 as the machines that made it aged. Fountain pen users in particular missed it, so TAKEO searched for a paper mill able to make it again, and after repeated trials the company revived it in 2020 as KateJo onion skin, TAKEO's own original paper. The pale blue version of KateJo was added in autumn 2023, and Araveal, the envelope paper, has been part of TAKEO's range since 1989.

If you want more paper than the 20 sheets in this set, the Dressco Onion Skin Letter Paper Box holds 50 sheets of the same KateJo onion skin letter paper, in white or pale blue. Find more paper of this kind in our onion skin paper stationery collection, or browse our cards and letter writing sets.

Details

• Set contents: 20 letter sheets, 6 envelopes (white), 1 ruled guide sheet
• Letter sheet size: A5, 8.27" × 5.83" (21 cm × 14.8 cm)
• Envelope size: 6.38" × 4.49" (16.2 cm × 11.4 cm)
• Weight: 2.2 oz (62 g)
• Sheet type: Blank (place the guide sheet underneath for lines)
• Letter paper: KateJo onion skin, pale blue
• Envelope paper: Araveal-FS in white, approx. 104.7 gsm
• Origin: Japan
• Brand: Dressco by Takeo
• Note: The letter paper is translucent, so writing shows through from the back.

The Story of Dressco and TAKEO

Dressco is the original stationery brand of TAKEO Co., Ltd., a specialist paper merchant founded in 1899 in Kyobashi, Tokyo, and based in Kanda since the following year. The brand grew from a wish to bring richly textured and colored papers closer to everyday life, under the concept "Dress yourself with Dressco." Dressco marks its 20th anniversary in 2026.

TAKEO has long supplied fine papers to graphic designers, printers and publishers. At its Mihoncho main store in Kanda, visitors can buy around 2,700 kinds of paper one sheet at a time and compare them by hand. Dressco products are designed and made in Japan, and each one is inspected by hand.