Miquelrius makes the best notebook

[Skribb]

These are the ultimate, objective and supreme criteria that makes the perfect notebook, in order of importance.

 

1) Fountain Pen Friendly: The perfect paper necessarily must work well with the perfect pen as well as work with lesser writing utensils. This means no bleeding, no feathering and drying time for most inks must be of a reasonable amount of time.

 

2) Paper Quantity: The perfect notebook must supply enough paper such that you aren't constantly seeking new notebooks but at the same time not so much that you are carrying around something exceptionally heavy or writing on paper that is lifted to high from the table. 100-150 pages is preferable.

 

3) Binding: Notebooks absolutely must be able to lie flat which typically means wire bound notebooks. Sewn and glued bindings naturally provide an arc as the page transitions from "attempted flat" to the binding. This means uncomfortable writing near the binding area and wasted space. Some will argue that wire bound notebooks are less attractive than the leather/faux-leather sewn/glued journals but this is merely an example of choosing form over function, in which case you are not choosing the perfect notebook but rather the perfect social statement. You disgust me.

 

Note: Although legal style (vertical bound) notebooks lie flat, they are exceptionally painful in the ass due to the fact that you can't leave pages bound in the notebook. Unless, of course, you are willing to spend all of the energy in keeping the pages from flopping back over the binding.

 

4) Organization/Lines: Grid, Grid, Grid! No exceptions! horizontal lines on a page are used to help guide ones writing into organized and legible form and there is no logical reason to avoid vertical organization as well. Grid makes it easier to create diagrams, charts and in general orient yourself on the page. Welcome to the second dimension. The lines on the page should never be so prominent as to be as distinct as your writing. The more faint the lines are the better. Title bars are a must as it makes it easier to move through your notebook and find past content simply by checking titles, dates, page numbers or any other distinguishing markers one chooses to place in the title bar. Finally, separating the notebook into subsections and making the separations easy to identify is a major plus.

 

5) Page Size: Letter size is acceptable but A4 is preferred. This allows a wide area to write in, meaning that you don't feel cramped into a small space and begin writing smaller than normal. Letter size/A4 allows between 6-8 words per line, making for an ideal form of presentation. Furthermore, this size of paper enables you attach other pages inside of your notebook.

 

6) Paper Color: As white as possible is preferred. This provides a maximum contrast between paper and ink, ultimately making legibility easier. It is also true that white papers lend themselves to legibility in a wider range of ink colors than do pages with a tint of yellow/gray/blue/etc. Finally, white allows for grid lines (see #4) to be distinct from the paper (simply by virtue of not being white) but also be faint enough to allow pen ink or pencil lead to be the primary object on the page.

 

7) Organizational options: For some uses you will want to keep all of your information in one notebook but in other instances you may want to remove pages and include them in a three ring binder. The notebook should have its pages firmly held in the notebook but also be removable in the instance that you need to remove a page. Of course wire bound is preferred (see #3) but what is not desired is having the edge of your paper torn to shreds as you tear it from the binding. Thus, perforated pages are ideal. This also means that the pages should have the standard sized three hole punch already in place. In the case of a leather/faux-leather bound journal removal of pages is more or less impossible. Again, if your primary concern involves writing down mundane daily occurrences in a a trendy moleskine or Rhodia web notebook, then this won't necessarily apply to you.

 

8) Cover: The cover should be made of a sturdy and waterproof material. Cardboard based covers can become flimsy from abuse and don't function properly and will become more than useless if the become wet. Plastic covers are preferred.

 

9) Company Logo: The company logo should be obscure and out of the way, preferably the logo should not appear on any of the pages in the notebook and should appear only in a few instances on the inside or outside of the covers.

 

 

You must be asking by now, who makes this perfect notebook?

Q: Moleskine?

A: :roflmho:

 

Q: Rhodia?

A: Thanks but no thanks

 

Q: Claire fontaine

A: Close, but no cigar

 

Q: Miquelrius

A: Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner (You didn't read the thread title and cheat, did you?)

 

http://www.shopmiquelrius.com/catalog/diplomatic.JPG

 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1222/1288802630_1d4a1aa0bc.jpg

 

The best notebook in production is the Miquelrius A4, ultra-white, 90GR, grid, spiral bound notebook. It meets each of the criteria flawlessly.

1) The 90GR paper shows absolutely no bleed or feathering with any of the inks I have used (lamy blue, black blue-black, Noodler's Bullet Proof Black, PR Tanzanite, PR Ebony Green, PR Avocado, Pilot Preppy Red, VPen blue, Waterman blue). The only drying time test I did was with Noodler's Bullet Proof Black but the miquelrius paper blew Rhodia out of the park.

 

2) 120 pages, just right.

 

3) Binding is a strong wire bound form. Notebook lies flat and the binding doesn't get in the way of your hand in any significant way, even when writing with the binding on the right of the page (frequently a problem for right handed writers)

 

4) Available in grid and best of all, the grid lines are clearly visible while not being too prominent. By far the best compromise I have seen in terms of pre-existing lines on a page second only to engineering pads. As a comparison, Rhodia grided paper, I would consider, significantly darker than the lines on the Miquelrius and is too obstructive to be useful. The Miquelrius paper provides a nice title bar at the top in the same shade of lines as the gridded lines and gives plenty of room for even the longest of titles + date written. The notebooks are also separated into 4 sections by colored bars on the side which help to organize the content of the notebook.

 

5) A4 and 8.5 x 11 is available, as well as smaller sizes (but who wants those?).

 

6) The paper is ultra-white and the grid lines reflect the same color as the organizer bar on the side. This provides us with a good contrast between lines and paper and further allows writing to stand as the primary content on the page.

 

7) paper is placed in the notebook tightly but also with a perforated section to remove the page. Because of the strength of the paper it stays put, i.e. no risk of loosing a page, but if you bend the page at the perforated section the paper becomes easier to remove. The pages also have a three hole punch already in place in every page so integration into a 3 ring binder is simple.

 

8) The cover is made of a sturdy, water resistant plastic and can take a beating (e.g. throwing it into a back pack, hurling it from a 10 story building, etc.)

 

9) The company logo only shows up once on the back and once on each page in very small font on the side nearest the binding.

 

Conclusion: BUY SOME NOW!

 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1252/1288802848_9b1797c835.jpg

 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1145/1287948721_d6e858e835.jpg

Images taken from fliptomato.wordpress.com

Edited September 5, 2009 by Skribb

[hollyuk]

Just wish I could find some in the UK!

[DAYoung]

Even if I disagree with the criteria (however keenly identified), the review was worth it for the 'you disgust me' line.

[ofpwriter]

:roflmho:

 

Yep. I disagree on most of the criteria on the review. Really great review though!

 

-O

[random_display_name]

I appreciated your analysis but then I'm already a fan of this brand. Miquelrius has been my favorite notebook/paper product for a while now, since I happened to buy a couple at Barnes & Noble some nine years ago. I would differ about the paper size category - I have a bunch of little spiral bound A7s on hand at all times, a few A6s, and only one of the letter size. I like the clean color accents and the pure white paper, the perforation, the plastic covers. The paper is not the heaviest grade around but I find it very smooth and bright. I can even Circa punch it. Not cheap to be sure but not intimidating and costly either. I would note they do offer a suede-feel bound "flexible" notebook as well for those who like that form - I just can't adapt to it myself. Not a compensated endorser here, but a good online source is shopmiquelrius.com.

[ToasterPastry]

Where do you buy such product?

[dashreeve]

  ToasterPastry said:

Where do you buy such product?

 

I have bought a ton of them on sale at Target. They had them on clearance a while back and I bought everything they had in stock. I have also bought some at Barnes & Noble.

[dizzypen]

I disagree with all your criteria except 1, 2, and 9; however, that was a great review. Thanks!

[Skribb]

  ToasterPastry said:

Where do you buy such product?

 

A nearby university book store had some but unfortunately I only grabbed one at the time and now they are sold out of the grid version. The lined versions can be found at Target and I have seen them at a number of university and college book stores.

[pen2paper]

  ToasterPastry said:

Where do you buy such product?

T.J.Maxx 4.99 by the front counter:)

[Skribb]

  dizzypen said:

I disagree with all your criteria except 1, 2, and 9; however, that was a great review. Thanks!

 

I probably should have mentioned that the criteria are the exact right criteria for everyone, assuming everyone is a theoretical physicist.

[random_display_name]

  ToasterPastry said:

Where do you buy such product?

www.shopmiquelrius.com

[DAYoung]

  Skribb said:

assuming everyone is a theoretical physicist

 

Assuming a frictionless sphere...

[Skribb]

  DAYoung said:

  Skribb said:

assuming everyone is a theoretical physicist

 

Assuming a frictionless sphere...

 

I find my assumption no more problematic than spherical cows.

[ofpwriter]

  Skribb said:

...

 

I find my assumption no more problematic than spherical cows.

There's a funny book about those cows too. :::Shamelessly confesses to read such a things:::

[DAYoung]

  Skribb said:

  DAYoung said:

  Skribb said:

assuming everyone is a theoretical physicist

 

Assuming a frictionless sphere...

 

I find my assumption no more problematic than spherical cows.

 

QED.

[DonQuixote]

I agree that wirebound notebooks are the best, but they are not perfect. In my experience, the big coil of wire tends to snag on other things, especially when pulling the notebook out of a backpack. The coil can become deformed, which makes using the notebook difficult. There can also be issues with one's hand running into the wires when writing. But these problems are outweighed by the ability of the book to lie flat and be folded over to save space on crowded desks (or on one's lap).

 

By the way, I can confirm (after experimentation, of course) that your criteria hold for experimental physicists as well.

[Blade Runner]

Another MIguelrius fan here

[macaddicted]

I love my Miquelrius bound book. I'm brutal on my books and wirebound simply doesn't stand up.

 

Just my objective opinion...

[Skribb]

  macaddicted said:

I love my Miquelrius bound book. I'm brutal on my books and wirebound simply doesn't stand up.

 

Just my objective opinion...

 

Well as long as it is objective then I can let it slide.