Levenger's Circa System

[KeatsPhD]

I enjoy the Circa system, though I do use different kinds of paper for different purposes. I have one letter-sized notebook that is my grade book and notebook for work (which I use the Circa Micro-grid paper with - I stocked up before it was discontinued). The Circa system is excellent as a grade book since I can have a semester's worth of syllabi, notes and grade charts that I can then stick in a folder if I need them for future semesters. I got so tired of the tiny, cheap grade books in the university bookstore, so I decided to build my own with Circa. The paper works well with a fine nib, which is what I'd need for recording grades in the small grid boxes anyhow. Like someone else mentioned, it can absorb a lot of ink from a wet writer, but I haven't had trouble with a finer nib.

 

I also use Circa covers with HP 32lb laser paper for my other writing notebooks/journals. I use my laser jet to print greyscale lines and punch them with the Circa punch for my notebooks. My mom loves the junior size and uses the lined paper I print and cut down for her.

 

My local Staples has some of the Rollabind notebooks and paper refills, though I don't like them as much as the Circa stuff.

[dgturner]

I wanted to second what several posters have mentioned about the desktop vs. portable punch. The portable punch does one mushroom at a time, and can be very time-consuming.

 

I love my circa notebooks, but use the HP 32# Presentation bond with mine, because the Circa paper is far to absorbent for my preferences (60# offset/txt stock, roughly the equivalent of 24#). On a side note, while the paper does soak ink, the ink does dry faster on the circa paper than on my Clairfontaine, Rhodia, or HP 32# papers. The Freeleaf notebooks are a 90 g/m² paper, so using the notebook & then archiving the sheets might be an option if you do not want to print your own pages.

 

Some good sources for templates are the D*I*Y Planner, Incomptech, a Word Template, Cornell-Notes.com.

 

I have also attached PDFs of some of the templates I have created (the originals are in the Open Office Drawing format [.odg]).

Cornell-Calendar-Dots-Stmnt.pdf

 

Cornell-Calendar-Dots.pdf

 

Cornell-Calendar-Grid.pdf

 

Cornell-Calendar-Lined.pdf

 

[schadowrider]

What are some good FP friendly alternatives for a pad with paper that will fit the Junior Circa size (5.5 X 8.5)?

 

The A5 Rhodia, etc. are a bit too wide and a bit too short, at least to fit neatly inside the standard Circa Junior covers with other standard Circa papers (plus the top and bottom mushrooms end up too close to the end of the paper for me...). Or is there a complete A5 sized alternative system out there (covers, punches, various templates, etc.)?

[tigger23505]

For some reason, once I have run the company paper through the copier with my template (Date, subject, lines, etc), it turns into wonderful paper. Without the little nuclear blast that the copier gives, it is horrible.

 

Copy paper is designed to be a little loose so that it will pick up the toner easily from the drum. When it goes through the fuser, heat and pressure are applied to the paper and it becomes tighter and smoother so that would be the 'magic' change in the paper.

[dgturner]

What are some good FP friendly alternatives for a pad with paper that will fit the Junior Circa size (5.5 X 8.5)?

 

The A5 Rhodia, etc. are a bit too wide and a bit too short, at least to fit neatly inside the standard Circa Junior covers with other standard Circa papers (plus the top and bottom mushrooms end up too close to the end of the paper for me...). Or is there a complete A5 sized alternative system out there (covers, punches, various templates, etc.)?

 

HP 32# Presentation bond, cut in half at Kinkos (personally I do it at work, we have a large cutter for our reprographic department).

[schadowrider]

HP 32# Presentation bond, cut in half at Kinkos (personally I do it at work, we have a large cutter for our reprographic department).

Great -- thanks for the tip! Still would like to find a good FP friendly pad in this size, but this will work out nice for punching out some blank paper to put in the Circa. And maybe I'll finally check out some of the D.I.Y. templates.

[geolago]

I use Hamerhill 32lb laser print paper, I have all sorts of templates I created, I use the Circa Punch I bought off Levengers Ebay store and make all the paper I need, it's pretty fountain pen friendly, but it's also heavy.

[dgturner]

HP 32# Presentation bond, cut in half at Kinkos (personally I do it at work, we have a large cutter for our reprographic department).

Great -- thanks for the tip! Still would like to find a good FP friendly pad in this size, but this will work out nice for punching out some blank paper to put in the Circa. And maybe I'll finally check out some of the D.I.Y. templates.

 

I missed the "pad" part. Try Levenger's annotation ruled pads -- they are 90 gsm and fairly nice (not Clairfontaine or HP 32# nice, but more than good enough). I have one of the pads and will be ordering more for quick notes in meetings.

[schadowrider]

I missed the "pad" part. Try Levenger's annotation ruled pads -- they are 90 gsm and fairly nice (not Clairfontaine or HP 32# nice, but more than good enough). I have one of the pads and will be ordering more for quick notes in meetings.

Great -- thanks; I think I have a coupon for them floating around somewhere -- will give the pad a shot!

[mdoering]

I absolutely LOVE my Circa system! I purchased the starter kit with $40.00 gift card. Not a week after it had arrived I had a desk punch, and a Letter Sized Circa Jacket in black along with a pack of dividers.

 

I use the cover and disks that came with the $40.00 kit for whatever project I'm currently working on. For what I do, this is sufficient to hold 30 days from the project plan + due diligence documentation + meeting minutes etc... it's fantastic, especially as tasks get shuffled around in priority and chronology.

 

The leather "Circa Jacket" is my daily planner of sorts and I generally keep 30 days worth of calendar pages + the normal GTD regimen. (which is why I purchased the dividers.)

 

I say go for it... If you end up hating it, give me a call and I'll make a deal with you

 

EDIT:

I also used every other disc from the $40.00 system with a stack of 4x6 note cards that have been punched on the short side as a sort of pocket organizer. Very handy and 4x6 cards are cheap, sturdy, and readily available anywhere. Not to mention they give you quite a bit more space to work with than a standard 3x5 would.

Edited September 20, 2010 by mdoering

[stonezebra]

I'm very happy with my Circa system (have punch, extra discs, etc.). I bought my Mom the travel-size Circa address book because she was complaining about running out of room with people moving and changing addresses all the time - no more complaints she loves it!

[Ryan Stewart]

I used to be heavily invested in Circa and used it for everything, personal and professional. I still have the leather covers (both letter and junior sizes). I really enjoyed the system's flexibility, but it would reach "critical mass" after a month or so and I would stop using it. My notes are literally on 50+ topics at any given time, making indexing and storage of old notes difficult. The only way to manage the Circa's notes was in a cumbersome filing system. I was very organized with the notebook itself, but archiving was unwieldy. However, if this were not the case, I would still be happily using it!

[dgturner]

I used to be heavily invested in Circa and used it for everything, personal and professional. I still have the leather covers (both letter and junior sizes). I really enjoyed the system's flexibility, but it would reach "critical mass" after a month or so and I would stop using it. My notes are literally on 50+ topics at any given time, making indexing and storage of old notes difficult. The only way to manage the Circa's notes was in a cumbersome filing system. I was very organized with the notebook itself, but archiving was unwieldy. However, if this were not the case, I would still be happily using it!

 

Take a look at the "LP" discs -- they are flipping huge. I meant to buy some 2" discs for an "Archive Notebook" at work, but ordered the 2.5" discs . I do not need to worry about filling it anytime soon... I keep a seperate one with blank sheets for taking notes while I work.

[lovemy51]

i use and like rollabind/circa system!

 

i buy the rollabind NB's from Staple's at $11 ($6 junior) that's cheaper than levenger's circa. then, using my Circa Hole Punch, i use Hammermill 28lb laser paper. it's great!!!

[lovemy51]

for extra discs, i go to this guy: http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/organizingtools (no affiliation).

[Karen Traviss]

I've been using Circa for a few years and it's as robust as the paper you put in it. I treat notebooks pretty roughly and I've never had any problems with it, but then I don't use the Levenger Circa pads or cards. I make my own inserts using Clairefontaine paper or 100 gsm printer paper that I trim with a guillotine, and Staples 3 x 5 plain cards. (I invested in the large desk punch and the small three-hole version - worth the money.) It's not just the availability issue in the UK; I don't find Levenger paper or card to be all that good - the Levenger cards for the micro-PDA size are definitely not FP-friendly, whatever they say - and I need to print my own custom storyboards and scheduling pages anyway.

 

The good thing about Circa is that it enables me to organise notes by book/ script/ storyboard and in a variety of paper sizes and types, all in the same folder. I can also rearrange pages easily, which is essential in my line of work.. I take a 3 x 5 Circa notebook or a 3 x 5 card jotter with me if I'm not carrying the large folder itself so that I can transfer the cards straight into it later. I've also got a micro-sized Circa notebook and micro jotter, so I'm basically never without a compatible Circa notebook wherever I am.

 

I even made several prototype Circa reporter's notebooks in leather (I have the scars to prove it...) with the intention of commissioning a competent professional to make a decent version for me, because the only top-bound Circa notebook I could find was the steno, which was plastic. But I've yet to find a craftsperson willing to do it.

 

There's another flat ring system called Atom (apologies if anyone else has already mentioned it) which works the same way but has a slightly different profile. I believe it's Belgian.

[cowboyjack]

HP 32# paper, printed with graphpaper pdf, with printed calendar, Kyoto rings and Livingston leather cover, carried every day for several years now. I have found notebook nirvana. Get the Levenger Desk Punch. Buy a smaller latte every day for four months, no regrets.

Edited October 5, 2010 by cowboyjack

[billmcfa]

I've been using the Circa system in various sizes for several years now. I love it. The desk punch is certainly the way to go.

 

Get the starter kit and then use the coupon to purchase the punch. It makes it much more affordable and is an easy way to get started. There are many different kinds of refills for the notebooks and you the ability to use your own paper is a plus. As mention before there are sleeves to put things in. As for archiving, I will take a Staples One Touch stapler and staple the long edge at three places and then put in a folder.

[teeniebeenie6]

I got some amazing deals last year on the Circa system when Levenger was clearing out their compact size on their ebay outlet store. I got compact sized leather foldovers, compact paper for around $3 a pack, plus zip folios and leather foldovers in Junior and Letter size for amazing deals because they were mismonogrammed. I also got their 3x5 punch and desk punch as well as a 3x5 leather foldover and business card size foldover (both which are sadly discontinues). I LOVE the 3x5 leather foldover and use it for to do lists, grocery lists and general brain dump. I also love the business card foldover, it is great for grocery lists, and jotting down phone numbers, etc. I tried journaling with both the compact foldover and junior foldover and found the paper did not hold up to being carried in my purse. Paper got bent at the discs and even tore at the discs at times. I find Levenger paper to be horrid! It works for ballpoint and pencil but that is about it. I was really disappointed. I then bought some higher quality paper at Office Max and had them cut it down to junior size for me, this is where I bumped into a unique problem, the paper was not cut completely straight or in the exact same place and I ended up with paper that was all different sizes. It drove me crazy! Now I pretty much only use my 3x5 foldover. I buy regular 3x5 cards and punch them as needed. I will use up the paper I have but Circa did not live up to my expectation in the compact to letter size. I want my journals to last through my lifetime and beyond, with Circa I did not feel that would happen. I will continue to use my 3x5 foldover, it is great.