But, this could also just be an issue with this particular batch, supplier, or quality control. I guess the biggest takeaway here is that Leuchtturm1917 notebooks might handle less inks than it used to. Then again, these are Sharpies, so those are obviously going to bleed-through in most notebooks, still, a worthy comparison. I think you know this to be true already, for example, if you write on newspaper with a Sharpie, the ink will absorb quickly, feather (spread out), show and bleed through the pages. We can see this to be the case above with the azure (left) having more bleed-through in comparison to the orange one. Which could mean more show-through and increased possibility for bleed-through. So, I'm guessing the opposite to be true as well: the less smooth the paper, the faster it'll absorb the ink, and the more absorbent it will be. In my experience, the smoother the paper, the longer it'll take for the ink to dry which is a good thing because this way the ink will seep in slowly and not bleed-through. I think the increased show-through might be because of the grittier feel of the pages. It's a valid concern and something I noticed immediately with the two ribbon bookmark notebooks. This is an important comparison to see because I keep seeing people mention how surprised they are at the amount of show-through when they get these notebooks. On the orange notebook, the show-through is still visible, but not as much. On the azure notebook, you can see and even read more of the words written on the other side of the page.

Also, on the azure you can see slightly more show-through, while the orange one has less show-through. The two ribbon bookmark notebooks have slightly creamier pages, which is one difference I do like, worth noting as some of you have a preference for whiter paper. Two ribbon bookmark notebook on the left (azure), one ribbon bookmark notebook on the right (orange). And here they are, side by side for comparison.

Leuchtturm 1917 gridded notebook