I'll have to try the tissue paper. Is it the gift bag filler paper?
The cheap children's scribble pads made from recycled newsprint works good for me. It feeds though my ink jet printer with no problems and is so easy to tear from the seams. It's dirt cheap too. Also if you can find it, tracing paper is excellent.
One thing I do to make the copier paper tear easier is to run a tracing wheel (I bet you have one in your sewing drawer not used in years) down the seam.
Also one great tip I found, the removable tape is the great for repairing a ripped pp pattern, the needle sews through it clean, no sticky residue.