Favorite January start Weekly Engagement or Page a Day Planner?

[Penguincollector]

  I need to start thinking about what planner I want to use next year. The two I used this year had paper changes from the previous batch I had used and so I don’t want to continue with either. I would prefer something thicker than TR 52 paper, but I would consider a planner that uses it if I like the format. I could also be persuaded to try a different type of planner if it looks useful, but  keep in mind that I am a housewife so I don’t need it to be too structured or tailored to business needs. Please share your favorites with me!  I also prefer something that doesn’t require a tiny nib all the time, while I love them, I want to be able to use all sizes without ghosting on the next page.

 

ETA: I tend to use A5, B5, and Filofax inserts, which I forgot to mention.

[LizEF]

I use a Hobonichi - it's perfect for me.  A6, so though it's a page-a-day, it's not a huge page.  The link is to JetPens as they have good pictures showing every page type.  I use it for planning, habit-tracker, inking log, and bullet journal / log of my day (food and activities) - including my ink reviews.

 

But it is 52gsm TR paper.  Happy to answer questions.  I've been using it since 2018 and no plans to stop.

[Penguincollector]

  Thanks, @LizEF. That is a bit small for me, I think, and the pictures indicate some show through on the reverse side.  Do you use pens larger than your EF in it? The format does seem useful. I will ask folks at my pen club or see if my local has them in stock still and see how I feel about it after seeing it in person. 
 

[Mechanical]

For what it's worth, Hobonichi also has an A5 version.  You're right the paper is quite thin.   I haven't been bothered by the show-through, but this is obviously a matter of taste!

 

Maruman has a spiral-bound Mnemosyne Diary which I like pretty well.  But the spiral.... yes the book lies flat but the darn thing always gets in my way.  It is in A5, and if you get the plastic cover, only $16.  Fake leather is twice as costly. Minimal show-through. Jetpens has it.

 

I like MD paper a lot since it works well with pencil and pen. Quite a bit less show-through compared to Hobo, and the paper is heavier.  Their planners have pretty minimal structure. It works for me, but I like undated and minimal styles.  You can see some sample page photos at Yoseka.

 

I use Stalogy sometimes.  The paper is pretty much the same as Hobonichi and is undated.  In fact you almost can't even see the month, date, day, and time markings. At a glance you won't know it's not just a plain notebook.  Comes in A5. I bought my last one at Barnes and Noble.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, Penguincollector said:

  Thanks, @LizEF. That is a bit small for me, I think, and the pictures indicate some show through on the reverse side.  Do you use pens larger than your EF in it? The format does seem useful. I will ask folks at my pen club or see if my local has them in stock still and see how I feel about it after seeing it in person.

In addition to Japanese EF and F, I've used a Prera CM nib and Pelikan m405 F nib.  Also, every nib I've inked since 2018 - as it's my inking log.  Yes, there's show-through, just as you'd expect from 52gsm TR.  It doesn't bother me, though.  One trick to not see show-through is to put a black page behind the already-written-on page - I don't use it in my Hobo, but in another book, I use cut-to-size black construction paper (which can also serve as blotting paper, if you wish).

[Mechanical]

2 hours ago, LizEF said:

One trick to not see show-through is to put a black page behind the already-written-on page

Oh! Smart!

[Penguincollector]

5 hours ago, LizEF said:

One trick to not see show-through is to put a black page behind the already-written-on page

  I will try this with  my loose leaf TR and see if it works- my black cutting mat is my desk blotter at the moment, so it’s easy to try.  I’m dyslexic and visually impaired, so any ghosting is distracting and makes things hard to read. 

[Penguincollector]

6 hours ago, Mechanical said:

For what it's worth, Hobonichi also has an A5 version.  You're right the paper is quite thin.   I haven't been bothered by the show-through, but this is obviously a matter of taste!

 

Maruman has a spiral-bound Mnemosyne Diary which I like pretty well.  But the spiral.... yes the book lies flat but the darn thing always gets in my way.  It is in A5, and if you get the plastic cover, only $16.  Fake leather is twice as costly. Minimal show-through. Jetpens has it.

 

I like MD paper a lot since it works well with pencil and pen. Quite a bit less show-through compared to Hobo, and the paper is heavier.  Their planners have pretty minimal structure. It works for me, but I like undated and minimal styles.  You can see some sample page photos at Yoseka.

 

I use Stalogy sometimes.  The paper is pretty much the same as Hobonichi and is undated.  In fact you almost can't even see the month, date, day, and time markings. At a glance you won't know it's not just a plain notebook.  Comes in A5. I bought my last one at Barnes and Noble.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

  I will take a look at all of these as well, thank you!

[LizEF]

4 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

  I will try this with  my loose leaf TR and see if it works- my black cutting mat is my desk blotter at the moment, so it’s easy to try.  I’m dyslexic and visually impaired, so any ghosting is distracting and makes things hard to read. 

Ah, that makes a difference.

 

JetPens has some Midori and Kokuyo (I think) planners also and those (especially the Midori) would surely do better as far as show-through.

[Misfit]

What do you want in your planner? Do you want a calendar? Have you ever considered disc bound notebooks?

[Penguincollector]

5 hours ago, Misfit said:

What do you want in your planner? Do you want a calendar? Have you ever considered disc bound notebooks?

  I mostly just need space for write daily to do lists and appointments. I can give or take a calendar as I have one on my watch and iPad. I haven’t really looked into disc bound notebooks, but I’m game to try them. Do you know of any good ones?

[Penguincollector]

11 hours ago, LizEF said:

JetPens has some Midori and Kokuyo (I think) planners also and those (especially the Midori) would surely do better as far as show-through.

 I’m putting a list together and I will put these on it as well, thank you!😊  

 

  Oh- the black background behind the thin paper trick works for me, so I don’t have to exclude TR 52 planners, which is excellent. Thank you so much for this useful information, it’s a game changer!

[LizEF]

9 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

Oh- the black background behind the thin paper trick works for me, so I don’t have to exclude TR 52 planners, which is excellent. Thank you so much for this useful information, it’s a game changer!

So glad!  You're most welcome!  It also works when scanning paper that has writing on both sides.

[Penguincollector]

1 minute ago, LizEF said:

So glad!  You're most welcome!  It also works when scanning paper that has writing on both sides.

  Oh nice, I guess I should keep the cutting mat on my desk then- it was meant to be temporary until I found a nice desk blotter, but now it has a real purpose. 

[LizEF]

24 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

  Oh nice, I guess I should keep the cutting mat on my desk then- it was meant to be temporary until I found a nice desk blotter, but now it has a real purpose. 

[inkstainedruth]

I'll admit that for stuff like that I go super cheap and will see what is available at the local Dollar Tree as it gets closer to the end of the year.  

I tend to like ones that are small enough to fit in my purse, and which are set up  by week, so I can keep track of actual week by week activities and also has some room to take notes for each day (although they do tend to cram Saturday and Sunday in together...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Penguincollector]

2 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

I'll admit that for stuff like that I go super cheap and will see what is available at the local Dollar Tree as it gets closer to the end of the year.  

I tend to like ones that are small enough to fit in my purse, and which are set up  by week, so I can keep track of actual week by week activities and also has some room to take notes for each day (although they do tend to cram Saturday and Sunday in together...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

  I tried that this year, and while it works with EF dry inked pens, I find myself using whatever I have around and causing ghosting and bleed through.  I don’t want to have to dedicate a pen to it. The year before I used a nice thick glossy weekly engagement calendar, and I bought another for my “366 inks in 366 days” project, but the paper was thinner this year. 

[Misfit]

The best disc bound I’ve tried is Levenger’s Circa. Office Depot has a version called Tul. I got one of theirs. It’s a bit cheaper in cost, plus you can get it at retail. They lay flat, and let you rearrange sheets of paper. The paper has worked with my stub and italic nibs in both. Plus the brands use similar punches (mushroom shape) so you can use one brand’s paper and accessories in the other brand. 

[LizEF]

Staples ARC is the same. 

[Mechanical]

Should you like the disc system, people go gaga over the William Hannah papers. They carry blanks, but also Monthly, Weekly, and Daily formats for the refills.  I'm unclear if they do up the planner pages each year or leave them generic.