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Thought I'd share this because Maruman is one of my favorite stationery brands, particularly their Mnemosyne line. They've released a journal with a similar form factor to Moleskine, and the colors are strikingly similar to the Sailor TUZU line. Some eye-candy: Anyone have the new journal N888? It's quite expensive to buy in NA but I think apart from the price, the classic black one would be my perfect notebook/journal.

The m.memo DMP-A7 notepad produce by Maruman has (almost) the same dimensions as the Bloc Rhodia No.11 notepad and shares the same design, including the single staple binding in portrait orientation, the fold-back front cover, and perforated pages. Maruman m.memo DMP-A7 versus Bloc Rhodia No.11[/th][th]m.memo DMP-A7Bloc Rhodia No.11Country of manufactureJapanFrancePaper weight60 g/m280 g/m2 Number of sheets10080Page sizeactually A7 (7.4cm x 10.5cm)nominally A7 (7.4cm x 10.5cm); actually 7.3cm x 10.3cm Page ruling5mm dot grid on recto side only7mm ruled on both sides The lovely, subdued blue cover on the DMP-A7 is less glossy than the orange cover on the Rhodia, but it is nevertheless coated. I haven't tested whether one is more resistant to moisture, dirt and scratches than the other. The gridlines on the ever-so-slightly-off white pages in the DMP-A7 are a very faint grey, significantly lighter in colour than the blue-grey lines on the Rhodia paper. I see that as an advantage, especially when it comes to full 'graph paper' grids. Also, the verso (i.e. reverse) side of the paper is blank without any printed lines, which suits me just fine. The paper itself is very smooth and fountain pen friendly. I have not yet seen any of my inks feather or bleed-through on it, even when writing on the verso side, in spite of the paper being only 60 g/m2 paper and 25% lighter than the Rhodia paper. It is coated and smooth, and conducive to laying down crisp lines with an Extra Fine and/or Italic nib. The coating seems to be rather better than that in the Bloc Rhodia, and I have observed sheen readily on the m.memo paper from a number of different inks. Being so lightweight, some ghosting is inevitable, although all things considered the paper does a marvellous job of resisting ghosting, which mostly only shows when the sheet is laid down against a bright white background, under a light source strong enough to penetrate the Maruman paper and reflect off the backing sheet or surface beneath it. Other than the impractical size of the tiny notepad itself, I'm very happy with its performance, and I must say it's a superior product to the Bloc Rhodia No.11 notepad. It is also significantly cheaper per notepad and per page at their respective regular prices (here, at least).

I'm looking for a FP-friendly ruled B5 notebook/pad (spiral or not) that has perforated pages so I can easily remove them and file them. I'm currently using loose, ruled Kokuyo Campus paper, which is great except for it being 20-hole paper. I liked the look of the Maruman Mnemosyne notebooks I saw online but I can't tell from the pics whether the side-spiral pages are perforated (like top-spiral Rhodia pads are). Does anyone know? If not, can anyone point to any other ruled perforated B5 pads I might want to look at? I'm looking for something without insane dry times (so Tomoe River is out of the running).

Notes - Having produced a nicely formatted article in LibreOffice Writer, I found that the only way to transfer that to the FPN without losing the formatting was to save the pages as JPG, and attach the images. The photos of the products are arranged alphabetically as they are first mentioned, so you know what to look for if you want to get any of the products. I will try to add some scans of representative bleeding and feathering examples.

This is an ongoing bleed-through comparison test between ten different commercially available notebooks. This test will continue as long as there is interest in it and pages remaining in the current set of test notebooks. Method This is a simple test, and will involve three steps: 1. Every time I fill a pen with ink I will write the names of the pen, nib size, and ink in ten different notebooks. 2. I will assign each entry a score indicating the severity of bleeding based upon predetermined thresholds. Absence of bleed-though is scored with a checkmark. Bonus points will be given for each additional page side where ink is present. A plus sign indicates that the ink has bled onto the subsequent sheet and the number following it indicates the number of sides bled onto. e.g. an ink that bleeds ink onto the next sheet will get a +1, an ink that bleeds through that same second sheet will get a +2. 3. Points will be tallied at the end of each round to a cumulative total, and the leaderboard will be updated. Lower numbers equate to higher bleed-through resistance. Objectives 1. To determine what notebook paper, of those tested, has the best resistance to bleeding. 2. To see how the same ink appears and behaves on different paper. 3. To see what inks do well on otherwise bleed-prone paper. Qualification Notebooks must meet the following qualifications: 1. They must have at least 30 ruled lines to accommodate ten sets of two written lines with one blank space in between each entry. 2. They must have side wire binding with perforated pages. Ten notebooks take up a lot of workspace and wire binding is ideal as it allows notebooks to fold back on themselves into single stacks of paper. Having detachable pages is only important for ease of scanning. Two exceptions were made, as noted below, because these examples were deemed too important to be excluded due to format. 3. The cost of notebooks must not exceed $12.00 CAD including shipping if applicable. This includes instances of sale prices and promotions. In cases where notebooks were obtained free of cost the price would reflect the lowest price found online. The Contenders Scoring Notes 1. I have debated whether to post a scan of the back of each page but have decided against it. We all know what bleed-through looks like. It would be twice the work in scanning and uploading, and in many cases there would be very little or nothing at all to show on the opposite side of the page. Also this is a comparison between notebook paper and not a focused review of one particular product, and so the empirical aspect takes precedence over individual peculiarities. Refer to the scoring examples for an approximation of bleed-through severity. 2. The white sticker at the top of each page is to provide a standard white balance to each example. 3. The Maruman Mnemosyne notebook is the only B5-size notebook, chosen because there are thirty lines per page, and a larger A4 notebook would have many more lines than needed 4. The Clairefontaine and Black n' Red Casebound notebooks are the only ones without perforated pages. Additionally, the Black n' Red Casebound notebook is the only one without wire binding. This is because neither was locally obtainable in a perforated wirebound format. 5. Two Black n' Red notebooks were chosen because, examined side-by-side, it's very obvious that they have different paper. The paper made in Poland is significantly smoother by touch. 6. The show-through on Staples Sustainable Earth is strong enough that what bleed there is may not be noticed without close inspection. However hidden or understated, bleed will still be counted and scored in full. 7. The Polish Black n’ Red notebooks bleed mostly at the printed lines. Line bleeding is not omitted or counted partially in the overall score and no separate score will be given discounting it. ROUND I Scorecard Standings: 1. Clairefontaine - 0.0 2. Cambridge - 0.5 T3. Rhodia 80gsm - 1.0 T3. Staples Sustainable Earth - 1.0 T5. Black n' Red (Germany) - 2.0 T5. Maruman Mnemosyne - 2.0 T7. Five Star Heavyweight - 7.0 T7. Hilroy - 7.0 9. Black n' Red (Poland) - 9.5 10. Staples Notes - 16.0 Cumulative Bleed-Through Score By Sample: Sample 1 - 0.5 Sample 2 - 8.0 Sample 3 - 1.5 Sample 4 - 8.5 Sample 5 - 8.0 Sample 6 - 1.0 Sample 7 - 8.0 Sample 8 - 6.0 Sample 9 - 1.0 Sample 10 - 3.0

My first review of anything pen related - hope y'all like it. Open to feedback and advice on how to improve! http://i.imgur.com/JolzY4f.jpg http://i.imgur.com/k21Csmf.jpg http://i.imgur.com/RuaL7qd.jpg http://i.imgur.com/IlBdaPc.jpg http://i.imgur.com/WrrLrvL.jpg

I decided that I would go through all of my paper and make a big review post. For me as usual I feel the most important part are the visuals which I will embed though the post, but are also all in my gallery here: Gallery The whole post is a little photo heavy and all of them you can click through to a larger photo on the blog. I ran out of steam as I was typing this up so I have not at this point added written commentary on feathering or a couple other attributes though you should get some idea from the photos. Eventually it might also be nice to get scans of all of them, but that would definitively be for another day. Here are all the books covered: http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-p8hzwLc/0/L/i-p8hzwLc-L.jpg Paper Size Weight Lines Sheets Cost Binding HP Premium Laserjet 32 lb Letter 120 GSM Blank 500 Sheets $16.54 @ Amazon Looseleaf Leuchtturm1917 Hard Cover Large Black A5 80 GSM Lined 5mm 1 Blank Sheet - 2 Contents Sheets - 8 Removable Sheets - 117 Sheets $16.54 @ Amazon Bound Hardcover Journal w/Extras Kokuyo Campus CYO-BO GC3A B5 100 GSM Lined 7mm 30 Sheets $3.35 @ Maido Sewn Softcover Rhodia Block Nº16 A5 80 GSM Lined 7mm 80 Sheets $5.50 @ Goulet Staple Bound Pad Clearprint Vellum - Grid - Pocket Size ~A7 60 GSM Grid 2.5mm 50 Sheets $4.45 @ Flax Art Glue Bound Notebook Miquelrius MR Flexible Journal ~A7 70 GSM Lined 7mm 64 Sheets $5.95 @ Flax Art Sewn Notebook w/ Leatheret Cover Maruman Boston Note A5 & B5 100 GSM Lined 8mm (A5) & Lined 9mm (B5) 65 Sheets $19.50 (A5) & $23.00 (B5) @ Jetpens Twin Ring Notebook Maruman Mnemosyne Inspiration A5 80 GSM Blank 70 Sheets $16.00 @ Jetpens Twin Ring Notebook w/Perforated Pages HP Premium Laserjet 32 lb http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-T6bTPbW/0/L/i-T6bTPbW-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-875PTLs/0/L/i-875PTLs-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-jnBFWWp/0/L/i-jnBFWWp-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-M9bn4km/0/L/i-M9bn4km-L.jpg Paper Size Weight Lines Sheets Cost Binding HP Premium Laserjet 32 lb Letter 120 GSM Blank 500 Sheets $16.54 @ Amazon Looseleaf Bleedthrough - Effectivly None -- Took 8 pass Figure 8 to cause it.Ghosting/Shadowing/Showthrough -- MinimalTexture -- Super Smooth & Kinda Glassy Maruman Boston Note http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-Rrq7K5V/0/L/i-Rrq7K5V-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-vsFRzbs/0/L/i-vsFRzbs-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-rCbBqDb/0/L/i-rCbBqDb-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-s8XHMGG/0/L/i-s8XHMGG-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-dmfFjCs/0/L/i-dmfFjCs-L.jpg Paper Size Weight Lines Sheets Cost Binding Maruman Boston Note A5 & B5 100 GSM Lined 8mm (A5) & Lined 9mm (B5) 65 Sheets $19.50 (A5) & $23.00 (B5) @ Jetpens Twin Ring Notebook Bleedthrough - Effectivly None -- Took 8 pass Figure 8 to cause it.Ghosting/Shadowing/Showthrough -- MinimalTexture -- Smooth but textured Rhodia Block Nº16 http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-N5HgB4s/0/L/i-N5HgB4s-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-LM6QdMJ/0/L/i-LM6QdMJ-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-V9LfpQR/0/L/i-V9LfpQR-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-HjN8rW7/0/L/i-HjN8rW7-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-PNV4zdX/0/L/i-PNV4zdX-L.jpg Paper Size Weight Lines Sheets Cost Binding Rhodia Block Nº16 A5 80 GSM Lined 7mm 80 Sheets $5.50 @ Goulet Staple Bound Pad Bleedthrough - Effectivly None -- Took 8 pass Figure 8 to cause it.Ghosting/Shadowing/Showthrough -- MinimalTexture -- Glassy but not as much as the Laserjet Clearprint Vellum - Grid - Pocket Size http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-G4BcKQW/0/L/i-G4BcKQW-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-Zrwh9LB/0/L/i-Zrwh9LB-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-MsQFnGM/0/L/i-MsQFnGM-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-Q6dsp3Z/0/L/i-Q6dsp3Z-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-SrVC4tG/0/L/i-SrVC4tG-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-BHjs9Hc/0/L/i-BHjs9Hc-L.jpg Paper Size Weight Lines Sheets Cost Binding Clearprint Vellum - Grid - Pocket Size ~A7 60 GSM Grid 2.5mm 50 Sheets $4.45 @ Flax Art Glue Bound Notebook Bleedthrough - Effectivly None -- Took 5 pass Figure 8 to cause it.Ghosting/Shadowing/Showthrough -- Very HighTexture -- Smooth(Not Shown in Photos) Grid is printed on backside of pages, doesn't accept ink Kokuyo Campus CYO-BO http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-Z673Xq8/0/L/i-Z673Xq8-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-LV6FrDb/0/L/i-LV6FrDb-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-jVhGBC8/0/L/i-jVhGBC8-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-N2MntX6/0/L/i-N2MntX6-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-2GPqwvr/0/L/i-2GPqwvr-L.jpg Paper Size Weight Lines Sheets Cost Binding Kokuyo Campus CYO-BO GC3A B5 100 GSM Lined 7mm 30 Sheets $3.35 @ Maido Sewn Softcover Bleedthrough - Effectivly None -- Barely Bleeding at 8 PassesGhosting/Shadowing/Showthrough -- SlightTexture -- Super Glassy Miquelrius MR Flexible Journal http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-qL7x7KN/0/L/i-qL7x7KN-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-KzLt9c4/0/L/i-KzLt9c4-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-Kf23hQz/0/L/i-Kf23hQz-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-mP6BHMb/0/L/i-mP6BHMb-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-khJzJPC/0/L/i-khJzJPC-L.jpg Paper Size Weight Lines Sheets Cost Binding Miquelrius MR Flexible Journal ~A7 70 GSM Lined 7mm 64 Sheets $5.95 @ Flax Art Sewn Notebook w/ Leatheret Cover Bleedthrough - Effectivly None -- ModerateGhosting/Shadowing/Showthrough -- ModerateTexture -- Smooth but more textured than the others Maruman Mnemosyne Inspiration http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-6CcpSKL/0/L/i-6CcpSKL-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-mFgbHDX/0/L/i-mFgbHDX-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-pThcPHz/0/L/i-pThcPHz-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-4f6qg3x/0/L/i-4f6qg3x-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-nvJkbxp/0/L/i-nvJkbxp-L.jpg Paper Size Weight Lines Sheets Cost Binding Maruman Mnemosyne Inspiration A5 80 GSM Blank 70 Sheets $16.00 @ Jetpens Twin Ring Notebook w/Perforated Pages Bleedthrough - Effectivly None -- Effectively NoneGhosting/Shadowing/Showthrough -- MinimalTexture -- Smoother than Rhodia but not as glassy Leuchtturm1917 Hardcover Large http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-bz8kk8q/0/L/i-bz8kk8q-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-mFJ6F6G/0/L/i-mFJ6F6G-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-BdzpbVd/0/L/i-BdzpbVd-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-W2cksLj/0/L/i-W2cksLj-L.jpg http://photos.cpride.net/photos/i-DwL9Hv4/0/L/i-DwL9Hv4-L.jpg Paper Size Weight Lines Sheets Cost Binding Leuchtturm1917 Hard Cover Large Black A5 80 GSM Lined 5mm 1 Blank Sheet - 2 Contents Sheets - 8 Removable Sheets - 117 Sheets $16.54 @ Amazon Bound Hardcover Journal w/Extras Bleedthrough - Effectivly None -- Effectively NoneGhosting/Shadowing/Showthrough -- SomeTexture -- Smooth but with some grain