Muji 裏うつりしにくいノート B5 Notebook Set

[A Smug Dill]

I came across this Muji product while I was browsing in my local store the other day:

 

I cannot vouch for what the Japanese or the French words on the product label actually mean, but the Chinese words promise that the notebook is "show-through resistant". For the asking price, I was willing to give it a go and test its marketing claim, even though every set of five notebooks was wrapped in cellophane and I could not inspect or feel the paper therein.

 

This is how the reverse side of the page looked, after I've written quite densely on two-thirds of the front, using a variety of fountain pens and inks (of which the details are shown in the image at the bottom):

 

 

I then used the same pens and inks to write on the reverse side, so that there is a significant area of overlap in which there is writing on both sides, with the same pen and ink for each four-line panel:

 

 

in order to see how noticeable or distracting the level of show-through is:

 

 

My conclusion is that the resistance to show-through and/or bleed-through is less effective than what I think one could reasonably expect, in the face of the product's marketing claim. For the price I suppose these notebooks aren't that bad for use with fountain pens, although I know Muji could do better, because a different notebook (made in Japan) I bought on the same visit proved to be incredibly fountain pen friendly, and very resistant to feathering, show-through and bleed-through.

 

With these made-in-Indonesia notebooks, there is some woolliness observed when writing with certain inks, but no significant feathering. People who don't like the feel of the coating on bright white Clairefontaine paper (such as in the 'Age Bag' notebooks) probably won't like this paper either.

Edited May 9, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[penzel_washinkton]

I've seen those books on the local store here but never tried them so thanks for your review on those books.

 

I have experienced their old version soft covered A5 lined notebooks and it performs very well with show through.

There is also an A5 version with only 30 pages that performs very well with feathering and show / bleed through.

[A Smug Dill]

I tried writing with a few more pens and inks on it:

and the paper seems to do slightly better with those on the whole.

 

Completely subjectively, I didn't find writing on this paper enjoyable as a kinaesthetic experience.

 

There is also an A5 version with only 30 pages that performs very well with feathering and show / bleed through.

Does it have cream-coloured paper with a very faint grey 5mm line grid?

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[inkypete]

Muji was a bit like Daiso not too long ago - you could buy most paper products with confidence. They both mix their paper a bit now so you need to buy, try and, if good, stock up with that batch. Thanks for the excellent review.

[almoore]

Muji was a bit like Daiso not too long ago - you could buy most paper products with confidence. They both mix their paper a bit now so you need to buy, try and, if good, stock up with that batch. Thanks for the excellent review.

 

+1

 

I've had some notebooks from Muji that are terrible and then I recently bought a grey one and it's wonderful; one of my stock notebooks is their wire bound A5 dot grid; I've been using this one for years and it's always been consistently good.

 

Al

[penzel_washinkton]

Does it have cream-coloured paper with a very faint grey 5mm line grid?

 

I believe so if my memory does not fail me. It isn't the smoothest of papers though.

[A Smug Dill]

... so you need to buy, try and, if good, stock up with that batch.

I did. I even made a special trip out to the other Muji store in NSW and bought my fill.

 

Thanks for the excellent review.

You're welcome! Thank you for your kind words.

 

I believe so if my memory does not fail me. It isn't the smoothest of papers though.

Unlike the made-in-Indonesia notebooks shown above, the Muji made-in-Japan A5 line-gridded notebook I bought on the same visit is a pleasure on which to write.

Edited May 9, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[penzel_washinkton]

Unlike the made-in-Indonesia notebooks shown above, the Muji made-in-Japan A5 line-gridded notebook I bought on the same visit is a pleasure on which to write.

 

Not sure where it's made from but it is indeed that paper.

Nice to see others acknowledge that particular model as being a nice paper to write with.

[A Smug Dill]

In direct comparison:

 

I've just found a Japanese-made 'semi B5' notebook in Daiso here in Sydney that also has bright white coated paper (60 sheets) for A$2.80, which I haven't seen before except in Auckland, NZ late last year; the product code is 4984343949324. I'd say the 'fountain pen friendliness' of the paper in the Daiso notebook is superior to this Muji notebook reviewed here in every respect: resistance to feathering/spreading, resistance to show-through and resistance to bleed-through, and the coating on the former induces less drag on pen strokes.

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[A Smug Dill]

I might see if I can return these made-in-Indonesia Muji notebooks tomorrow for refund, because they are not "as described" (i.e. show-through resistant) by the manufacturer/retailer on the product label. I just tried writing in it with KWZ Ink Walk Over Vistula and Warsaw Dreaming, and the show-through and bleed-through are terrible. The paper didn't fare too much better with KWZ Ink Honey and Lamy Benitoite either. I tried writing with the same inks in the other made-in-Japan Muji notebooks I'm testing, and saw no such problems.

 

 

Edit: I got my purchase refunded. The staff were quite nice about it, but I did have to explain first to the girl and then her manager again how the product is not as described, and thus fails the consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law. Both of them asserted that it was their cheapest notebook, with the implication that the paper could be expected to perform poorly, in spite of this being the only product for which Muji made the marketing claim about show-through resistance; they claim they couldn't read other languages and thus were not aware of that claim.

Edited May 14, 2019 by A Smug Dill