... Daiso Notebooks Review ...

[TMLee]

My usual inktest ...

using my FPs that are inked ...

 

Excellent ! :thumbup:

NO feathering

 

 

 

 

NO Bleedthru

NO Shadow or Showthru becos this paper is cream coloured, so it masks off the ink shadow quite effectively.

I laid a sheet of plain copier paper 80g white so you can see the tint of cream, and to expose any shadow or showthru.

Outstanding performance

 

 

 

 

 

Now this is the watercolour test

DALER ROWNEY Watercolor Pocket Set

NOODLERS Bulletproof Black by ROSETTA Magellan <B> nib into Architects Grind

 

 

Very good performance ...

No feathering even though wetness was left standing there on the paper (no tissue to dab away)

 

 

 

 

 

 

No bleedthru at the backside of the page

 

 

Top of page

 

 

 

Bottom of page

 

 

Very good performing paper.

Cream coloured.

I figured its about 90g ? grammage

stiffer than copier paper.

and very smooth :thumbup:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TMLee]

This is the dark blue version.

 

A6 size, lined , at 7mm spacing.

same Cream coloured paper , smooth

 

 

52sheets , (what it means is that there are 52 x 2sides = 104 total writing pages)

 

 

Ruled 7mm spacing

 

 

This is notebook product #9 (see the box carrying the '9' on top right of the barcode)

 

 

Same design, Its two notebooks glued together

 

 

 

 

 

Grey coloured lines

Every 5th line is marked with a dot at both ends of that line.

There are a total of 17writing lines on a single page.

Top and bottom line are also marked at 7mm intervals, to allow you to draw neat columns or just write neatly the Japanese or Chinese characters in each 'box'.

The printing of the lines are perfect, look at the spacing around the perimeter of any given page.

This is the consistent quality in Japanese notebook products that we have all come to love.

 

 

Stitch stations are exactly 1cm apart

No metal staples are used in this type of notebooks. Staples rust over time and can cause a little mess.

 

 

 

The inktest

same consistent results as the red notebook above.

NO feathering at all

 

 

Very wet NOODLERS Black and X-Feather by Archts grind nib

 

 

The red inks (generally more finicky inks - here you see smudging from not fully dried inks even after a few hours)

 

The greens

 

The blues are usually the least problematic inks

 

 

ZERO Bleedthru on the backside of the page , none at all ...

sorry dont have a pic

 

The watercolour test ...

 

Drawn with NOODLERS Black (Bulletproof)

with a ROSETTA Magellan steel #6 nib Archts Grind

 

 

 

 

 

Great notebook.

And for SGD$2 at DAISO.

Once again, just look for anything 'Made in Japan' the next time you go DAISO.

Then feel the paper between your fingertips. (lookout for 1)smooth texture, and 2)thickness of paper)

You have a higher probability of finding a 'gem'.

Edited October 12, 2017 by TMLee

[inkypete]

Love Daiso - found some hard to find number 40 rubber bands and bought them all. Great for A5 and A4 notebooks.

 

Their paper in general is very good. I have also had luck with their loose leaf refills made in Indonesia.

 

Great review but a word of warning. If you find a notebook or paper that you like buy up big as Daiso stock does change regularly - no guarantee exactly the same notebook will be available next time you go there.

[TMLee]

  On 10/12/2017 at 6:30 AM, inkypete said:

 

Great review but a word of warning. If you find a notebook or paper that you like buy up big as Daiso stock does change regularly - no guarantee exactly the same notebook will be available next time you go there.

True.

DAISO dont always stock the same products.

I think its a good business strategy too, otherwise it turns into a kinda supermart, offering same stuff all the time.

 

I also think that amongst all the dozen outlets on our tiny island, they dont all carry the same stuff.

I have this feeling that these little notebooks are only found in one particular outlet.

Edited October 14, 2017 by TMLee

[inkypete]

  On 10/14/2017 at 1:44 PM, TMLee said:

True.

DAISO dont always stock the same products.

I think its a good business strategy too, otherwise it turns into a kinda supermart, offering same stuff all the time.

 

I also think that amongst all the dozen outlets on our tiny island, they dont all carry the same stuff.

I have this feeling that these little notebooks are only found in one particular outlet.

 

Can be very frustrating as the product they usually don't restock always happens to be the one I like. Eg: No 40 rubber bands. There are plenty of Daisos in Singapore. Was there a few months ago - beautiful country. Keep up your superb reviews please as I always enjoy reading them.

[TMLee]

  On 10/14/2017 at 8:48 PM, inkypete said:

 

Can be very frustrating as the product they usually don't restock always happens to be the one I like. Eg: No 40 rubber bands. There are plenty of Daisos in Singapore. Was there a few months ago - beautiful country. Keep up your superb reviews please as I always enjoy reading them.

 

Oh ...

Belated welcome to Singapore

Thank you for your kind words ...

[TMLee]

This is the third small notebook , cream covers.

 

same A6 size, but writing paper is plain, blank, unlined.

 

 

 

same format ...

 

 

Looks very similar to APICA notebks ...

 

 

Backside.

This is notebook #11 as denoted

 

 

DAISO stationery logo

 

 

Its actually two individually stitched notebooks attached together with glue and booktape.

Its strikingly similar to APICA CD notebooks.

 

 

 

 

 

The inktestpage with assortment of inks

 

 

Blues

 

Reds

 

 

 

Greens ,...

 

 

My latest acquisition is that PLATINUM Classic Ink - 'Citrus Black' .

(Its too anaemic for me. Anyone wants to buy it off my hands? Practically full bottle, just filled half of a convertor only.)

 

 

ZERO feathering from all these inks above.

 

 

ZERO bleedthru on the backside of the written page.

Normal 80g white copier paper placed underneath to show up any and all signs of shadow or showthru.

Excellent results becos the paper is cream coloured - not pure white.

 

 

The same watercolour test

 

 

No feathering .

No tissue paper was used to dab away excessive wet paint.

 

 

 

Drawn with NOODLERS Bulletproof Black. #6 steel nib , architects grind

 

 

ZERO bleedthru at the backside.

paper is warped from the wetness of the watercolour paint.

Paper is stitched with thread. No metal staples used. Stitch stations are at 1cm intervals.

 

 

Top

 

 

Bottom

 

 

Earns my seal of approval (if ever I have one)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bluebellrose]

I would test papers that are made in China as well. I bought some for 10 cents and got no showthrough or bleedthough at Loblaws

[sodul]

I stopped by the Daiso store in Milpitas, CA last week and got a $1.50 FP and a dotted A5 Notebook. I'm very impressed with the paper, unfortunately it is glue bound and as such does not lay flat. My caliper says that 10 sheets are 0.80mm thick, while 10 sheets of my dotted Rhodia block 16, are 0.91mm. So pretty close in thickness. The Daiso paper is a little ivory and just a hint smoother. It is just as good with regards to feathering and bleed through, at least with the few inks and pens I tried. The ghosting is worth though and the paper is not as stiff which could be an issue if writing with pressure. The notebook is made in China, not Japan.

 

I stopped by the Daiso in Cupertino today, since it is closer to my house and they had 2 other models of fountain pen but at $5 but could not find any dotted paper. They had a decent selection of notebooks and scrapbooks with impressive quality for $1.50. The Daiso stores will definitely become my primary source of writing paper.

 

Along a couple other $1.50 notebooks I got this scrapbook that has very nice looking brown paper. While not as feather and bleed through resistant as the first paper it is pretty good, and I really like the looks of it. This one is also made in China.

 

 

Has anyone tried the large brush calligraphy sheets? They are $1.50 for 100 practice sheets and for 60 'final' sheets. Since this is for brush calligraphy I'm expecting this should be pretty feather and bleed through resistant. I'm considering using that paper for handmade notebooks.

[sodul]

An other $1.50 B5 notebook from Daiso is the "Aesthetics of the moment" with a nice vintage camera on the cover.

 

I did a little doodling with it and there was very pinhead hints of bleed through where I drew several times. There is quite a bit of ghosting but for the purpose of this paper (training purposes), this is more than acceptable. My caliper reads 0.81mm for 10 pages. The paper is smooth for sketch paper but not as smooth as the dotted A5 one. I removed the sticker but the paper was made in china and the notebook contains 40 sheets.

 

 

 

[max dog]

I have been using Combine B5 (7 X 9.5 in, 0.24 in ruled) notebooks from Daiso for sketching and doodling which I really like. 60 pages with 6mm (0.24 in) ruling, made in Japan, lace lined so lays flat for writing. No bleed or show through with most of my fountain pen use. Paper, binding etc all feel very good quality. Cost $2 in Canada.

Edited December 10, 2017 by max dog