Short answer: stone paper is made from ground limestone (80%) with a small percentage of HDPE as a binder (20%). Whiteboard paper is regular paper (wood pulp or FSC pulp) with an erasable UV coating on top. Both are reusable, but the writing feel, production and sustainability substantiation are fundamentally different. In this article we explain exactly what both are, how they are made, and when each one fits.
We at MOYU work with stone paper. Bambook is the best-known brand working with whiteboard paper. This article describes both honestly, because the difference really matters in daily use.
Stone paper is made by mixing finely ground limestone powder with a small percentage of HDPE plastic as a binder. At MOYU that is about 80% limestone and 20% virgin HDPE. The mixture is heated, rolled out into thin sheets and cut to size. No water or trees are involved, and no bleaching agents or acids are used like in traditional paper production.
The end result feels and writes like regular paper, just slightly smoother and sturdier. It is water and tear resistant (try tearing a sheet of stone paper, you cannot just rip it). And the ink sits on top of the paper, not in it, which makes it erasable.
Whiteboard paper is regular paper (usually FSC-certified wood pulp) with a special UV-curing coating applied. The coating makes the surface smooth, non-porous and erasable. It works on the same principle as a regular whiteboard, just in paper form. Bambook is the best-known maker of notebooks with this material in the Netherlands.
Writing happens on the smooth coating surface, not on the paper underneath. That is exactly why it feels different from stone paper or regular paper: more like a whiteboard, with a sliding pen experience.
Limestone is ground to powder. This powder is mixed with HDPE pellets as a binder. The mixture is heated until molten, then rolled by rollers into thin sheets. Then cut to size. No water, no bleach, no acids. MOYU stone paper production happens at a Cradle-to-Cradle certified facility in Taiwan, where cutting waste goes directly back into production (zero waste in the factory).
Here you start with normal paper (in Bambook's case FSC-certified from European forests). The paper then receives a UV-curing coating, often in multiple layers, that makes the surface smooth and erasable. Bambook production happens in Ede, Netherlands, in a sheltered workshop. The base paper requires water and trees in its production, in contrast to stone paper.
For people who value the tactile "pen-on-paper" feel, stone paper is recognizable. It is slightly smoother and sturdier than wood pulp paper, but the writing experience is clearly paper-like. Especially works well for:
The pen glides across the surface, similar to writing on a whiteboard. Especially works well for:
A practical difference: the erasable pens that work on stone paper (like Pilot FriXion) use heat-sensitive ink. That is how they erase: friction makes them warm, and the ink becomes invisible. In a hot car in summer those notes can disappear unintentionally.
Whiteboard paper does not erase by heat but by friction with a cloth or special stylo. It is therefore less temperature-sensitive. For people who often have their notebook in extreme conditions (car in the sun, bike bag in the rain), whiteboard paper is more robust.
On the other hand: stone paper is fully water-resistant. You can hold it under a tap and the ink stays (as long as it was dry). A Bambook with wet coating also keeps the ink, but if water gets between the pages, the paper underneath behaves like regular paper.
Stone paper requires no trees or water in production. The raw material (limestone) is one of the most common minerals on earth, often a by-product of marble or building stone production. The HDPE component is a small percentage. For MOYU stone paper there is an independent Life Cycle Assessment per ISO 14040/14044 concluding that it emits 94% less CO2 than a paper equivalent (0.37 kg vs 6.00 kg per notebook).
Whiteboard paper on FSC pulp does use trees and water, but works with certified wood sources and local production. For Bambook no independent LCA is publicly available as far as we could find.
Which is "more sustainable" depends on what you weight heavier: local production without transport (Bambook), or no trees and water in production (MOYU). Neither is objectively the winner.
Yes, for about 80%. It is finely ground limestone, the same rock that produces chalk and marble. The remaining 20% is an HDPE plastic binder to hold the sheets together. Without that binder it would fall apart.
The principle is the same: a smooth, non-porous coating where erasable ink sits without penetrating. The difference is that a whiteboard has a hard metal or plastic surface, and whiteboard paper has a comparable coating on regular paper.
Depends on which factors you weight heavier. Stone paper uses no trees and no water, but has transport from Taiwan. Whiteboard paper (on FSC pulp) uses trees and water, but is often produced locally in the Netherlands. For MOYU an independent LCA is available (94% CO2 reduction vs paper). For Bambook no public LCA is available as far as we could find.
No, only with erasable pens (like Bambook stylo or similar). Regular ballpoint will stain or smudge easily.
Both work for kids from about 6 years old. Whiteboard paper is slightly more robust against smudging from pressing children's hands. Stone paper is slightly more robust against tearing and water. For young kids with markers neither is ideal, then choose regular paper.
For stone paper: the material can be recycled back to pellets for new stone paper (closed loop). In the Netherlands there is no consumer collection stream yet; the Stone Paper Alliance is working on that. For whiteboard paper: the paper goes into paper recycling, and the coating is separated or burned at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Not ideal but workable within existing systems.
Stone paper and whiteboard paper are two different solutions for the same problem: erasable writing. Which you choose depends on writing feel (paper or whiteboard), what you weight heavier on sustainability (no trees or local production), and what your use is (long text or short diagrams). Both are an improvement over buying new paper repeatedly, that is the main point.
Want to know more about how MOYU stone paper specifically works? At moyu-notebooks.com/about/stone-paper the full explanation with independent substantiation. For the notebooks themselves: moyu-notebooks.com/shop/erasable-notebooks.