Daycraft Signature Magenta diary

Sorry it has taken me so long to post this review! Back in December I received this lovely Signature diary from Daycraft as a very nice surprise.

Magenta is a new color in their Signature collection. I love the soft-touch cover!

Not a great photo, but the page edges are a beautiful aqua color for contrast.

The diary is a page per day timed from 8 am to 10 pm with space for notes. Saturday and Sunday share a page.

An excellent feature of this diary is there are month on two pages calendars embedded throughout the book!

Huge thanks to Daycraft for sending me this gorgeous diary!

Daycraft bRead notebooks and WORLDWIDE giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed. Check tomorrow's post to see who won!

Merry Christmas everyone! It's time for a giveaway!

These are the remarkable new bRead notebooks from Daycraft:

These notebooks actually look like slices of bread, even the sides!

The bRead notebooks come in three varieties: White Bread, Wheat Bread and Whole Wheat Bread.

Click here to see the bRead notebook video!

To make these, they integrated photography with paper surface technology. The result is very realistic!

The texture of the cover even feels like bread!

 Each book measures 120 cm square and has ivory 100 gsm paper with 5.5 mm ruling.

 It looks like a real slice of bread!

I'm giving away TWO of these notebooks, the Wheat Bread and the Whole Wheat Bread. Here's how to win:

1. This giveaway is open to everyone worldwide!

2. To enter, please leave a comment here on this post. Your comment is your entry. Only one entry per person.

3. Entries will close at 6pm UK time Thursday January 2, 2014. Any entries submitted after that time will not be counted.

4. The winners will be determined via Random.org. The winners will each win ONE notebook, selected randomly.

5. The winners will be announced here on Plannerisms Friday January 3, 2014.

6. The winner must email me with your mailing address by Friday January 10, 2014. If I have not received an email from the winner by that time, a new winner will be chosen. So be sure to check back on Friday the 3rd to see if you won!

My epic search for The Perfect Notebook

Who knew this would be so difficult?? I know I'm picky about my notebooks, but aren't most of us who love paper and pens?

**UPDATE: I bought a scale and have added the weights of each notebook in the photos below. I have finally figured out my weigh threshold! Details below.

As you may have read in my Journal Evaluation 2013 post, in January I'm switching from using a dated day per page diary as my daily record and journal (as I've been using this year) to an undated notebook for more freedom and flexibility of use in a slimmer and lighter book. Whatever notebook I use has big shoes to fill,  because I adore the Time Traveler day per page diary I've been using this year. The soft cover and white paper are so pleasing to me.

So I started going through my enormous notebook stash to choose which one I would use first. I want something that I will enjoy using as much as my Time Traveler diary.

I'm stumped. Of all the notebooks I own, none jump out at me as The Perfect Notebook. Cue new quest!

First of all, I already have such a ridiculous number of notebooks I really cannot justify purchasing another one. And anyway, half the reason to use a notebook instead of a dated diary is to start using up my stash. So my choices are limited to my considerable selection of notebooks already on my shelf.

But, please post comments with your notebook recommendations for future purchases! I'm always on the lookout for a better notebook. Please keep in mind I'm in the UK and I try to avoid ordering from other countries because the import taxes and fees are outrageous.

Here are my criteria for The Perfect Notebook:

1. Size: it must be between 5 by 7 inches and 6 by 8 1/2 inches. Bigger is too big, smaller is too small.

2. It must have a sufficient number of pages to last at least a few months, but not so many pages that the book is too thick and heavy.

3. I must enjoy the paper. Bonus points for white, smooth and thick. Points removed for too dark paper, and pen bleed-through.

4. I must enjoy the cover. Interesting, attractive, and nice to hold. Bonus points for soft, I love soft-feeling covers.

5. At this point I am only considering bound books, no spiral binding (of which I have several) and absolutely no ring binders (of which I have many).

6. It must stay open on its own! It doesn't need to lie dead flat, but it must stay open on a surface without self-closing.

7. It can't be too heavy. That's why I decided to stop using a dated diary, so half the point of a notebook is to use something that's easier to carry around.

8. Line ruling between 5.5 and 6.5 mm. Wider wastes page space, narrower cramps my handwriting.

9. It can't be too expensive or too difficult to replace. This is the notebook I'll use for everyday stuff. I can't feel like the notebook is too precious to write as much as I want in.

***UPDATE: 10.  I finally bought a scale and weighed all of these books. After some weighing and experimenting I discovered my threshold of how much weight I want carry for my notebook and planner combined is 700g. My weekly Plannerisms planner weighs in at 324g, which means my notebook ideally will be below 376g.

Surely that's not asking too much, is it??

Below are the notebooks in my stash that come closest to fitting the criteria above, but shockingly none of them fit all the criteria. I have shown my 2013 Time Traveler diary in the top left for size comparison. The Time Traveler is 6 inches wide by 8 1/2 inches tall and is the upper limit of what I want to carry.

*Update: my Time Traveler daily diary weighs 503g, so the weight of it combined with my Plannerisms planner totals 827, above my threshold of 700g. (Incidentally, I also weighed my A5 Filofax, which tipped the scales at 1039g. So for those of you who wonder why I don't use an A5 Filo instead of my bound books, that's why.)

All of these notebooks are *almost* perfect, but miss the mark somehow. Here's what I mean:

First up: the large Moleskine Hobbit notebook.

Large Moleskine Hobbit ruled notebook: 342g

The large Moleskine notebook is the perfect size, in my opinion, so I will use it as scale for the other notebooks. And at 342g it is well below my threshold of 376g. Below I have shown it next to my Time Traveler diary to show it is slightly narrower. And of course since it is a notebook with fewer pages than the day per page diary, it is less bulky.

Time Traveler Day Per Page diary 503g, Moleskine 342g

 

More things I like about it: It lays flat. I like this Hobbit cover. It has my favorite ruling, 6mm. I like the layout of the page with space at the top and 30 lines below. It wins points in all categories except for the paper, which has a lot of annoying show-through and even some bleed through with my pen of choice (Uni-ball Signo RT 0.7).

 

I like this pen because it is an archival quality rollerball and is comfortable to write with.

I haven't filled up a page with writing yet to see how much the show-through would annoy me. And because Moleskine's paper tends to change, it's not much use to try it on a different Moleskine notebook to test it. But below you can see where I used this pen to start numbering the pages. Not only is the 3 annoyingly visible from the opposite side of the page, but so is the 2 from the previous page.

 

My worry is that I'll start using this notebook and get aggravated by the show-through. Because this cover is limited edition, I don't want to use it part way and discard it out of frustration. Once I start using this book, I want to commit to filling it.

You may remember from my post late last year that I intended to use this notebook as my journal this year, but later decided to use a dated day per page instead. So, I've been excited about this book for a year now and would like to use it. Despite the paper, it wins in all the other categories and is a contender for the notebook I will start using in January.

The other major contender for my January notebook is the Alwych 5 by 8 inch notebook:

5 by 8 inch Alwych notebook 328g

You may remember I got several of these notebooks a few years ago right before I moved from Scotland to Indonesia. I love these notebooks! This size is perfect, I love the retro cover, it's light at 328g and it could go everywhere with me. And, it's from Scotland! What could possibly be better??

The paper is nicer than Moleskine paper, and I like the colored page edges. This would be perfect, but heartbreakingly it doesn't stay open on its own! I don't know if it eventually would with training.

So close!! The good news is, if I try this notebook and stop using it either to use a different notebook or to go back to using a Time Traveler diary in 2014, it wouldn't be a tragedy because it's easy for me to get these notebooks now that I'm living in Scotland again. So, this is also a very strong contender for my notebook to start in January.

The next runner-up is the Daycraft Signature notebook I got recently. I used one of these a few years ago as a self-drawn planner and really enjoyed the soft cover and smooth paper.

Daycraft A5 Signature softcover notebook 325g

This is another safe contender. I know I would enjoy using this notebook, because I always enjoy Daycraft Signature notebooks.

But, I just used another Daycraft Signature notebook last month, the Inspiro, and as much as I enjoyed it I would like to use something new, like the Hobbit or Alwych. Still, this would be a safe one to use as a trial because it's easy for me to get another one here.

Here's one that's so close but missed the mark: the Rhodia Webnotebook. It's the perfect size, the soft cover feels nice, and the paper is smooth and thick. But here's where it falls down. A minor issue is the prominent branding on the front. Come on Rhodia, put this on the back cover at the bottom please.

Rhodia large Webnotebook 364g

But my real problem with it is the paper color. It's a real shame, because the paper itself is so smooth and thick. But wow it is dark. I have shown it below in comparison to the white paper of my Time Travler, which I love, and the Moleskine paper top right, which is already on the dark side for me. The Rhodia paper is a dark apricot color, and I don't like looking at it. Too bad.

I'm planning to use this notebook for work whenever I get a job because I do like the size, the cover and the smoothness of the paper. But the dark paper color is too annoying for me to use it for everyday personal use.

Below are two Paperblanks notebooks I love: the Ultra Darwin journal (left) and the Midi Lindau journal (right).

Paperblanks Darwin Ultra journal 574g, Lindau Midi journal 284g

The covers are wonderful and the paper is fantastic. But, there is a Goldilocks problem here.

The Ultra journal on the left measures 7 by 9 inches, too big to carry with me everywhere. Update: when I weighed this book I discovered it's 574g! Definitely over my weight threshold of what I'm willing to carry around. The Midi journal on the right is 4 3/4 by 6 3/4 inches and only 284g. As nicely portable as that is, I need a page size of about 5 by 8 inches each day so this is too small. I have shown the large Moleskine in the middle as the just-right size.

For some reason, Paperblanks offers only a few covers in their Maxi (5 1/2 by 8 1/4 inches) size, and none of them turn me on. So frustrating! If they offered the selection they have in their Ultra size as Maxi size books, these would be my notebooks of choice. Unfortunately, my search goes on.

Below is the large Moleskine next to a Leuchtturm notebook I partly used a few years ago. Leuchtturm paper is superior to Moleskine paper by miles, and has the added advantage of numbered pages and an Index already built into the book.

Moleskine (L) 342g, Leuchtturm (R) 391g

Unfortunately Leuchtturm notebooks are wider than I prefer, and are just a little heavier than I like to carry everywhere. (I need to buy a scale and figure out just what that threshold is!!)  *Update: I was right! At 391g, the Leuchtturm is over my threshold of 376. It wasn't my imagination thinking it was too heavy! It actually is.

Below you can see the width difference with the Mole:

I compared this Leuchtturm notebook to the Rhodia webbie, and despite them being almost identical in size the Leuchtturm is noticeably significantly heavier. *Update: at 391g the Leuchtturm is heavier than the Rhodia Webnotebook at 364g.

I used Leuchtturm dotted notebooks as my self-drawn weekly Plannerisms planners before they were published, so I know I enjoy using these notebooks. This particular notebook is unlined, but in the future I may spring for a soft-cover ruled Leuchtturm. That just might become my notebook of choice.

Here are some Clairefontaine notebooks that are so close yet so far away. Below I have shown them with the large Moleskine again for scale.

Clairefontaine A5 harcover (L) 421g, Fabric bound (R) 295

Clairefontaine paper is my absolute favorite in the world, so it seems like it would be an easy choice to use these notebooks, right? Well, no.

First of all, the hard cover one on the left is too big. I measure it at 6 3/4 inches wide and more than 8 1/2 inches tall, which makes it bigger than I want to carry. *Update: at 421g it's definitely past my threshold of 376g.

The one on the right is A5, nearly 6 inches wide by 8 1/4 inches tall so it's just within my size parameters, and at only 295g it's nicely lightweight. But my problem with it is the cover. The laminated card cover with fabric binding has the advantage of being lightweight, but it's not very durable and the bigger issue is it looks like a school book, which is actually what it's intended for. Clairefontaine notebooks need better covers, in my opinion. They have these laminated card ones, or other cardboard like ones.

What I want is a Moleskine or Rhodia-like cover. Rhodia is made by the same parent company as Clairefontaine, but I've already discussed why I don't like the Rhodia's dark paper. Exaclair, please put white Clairefontaine paper in a Rhodia webbie cover! If that existed, it would be my perfect notebook.

The Habana notebooks come close. The covers are wonderful but the notebooks are more expensive than I want to spend for my everyday notebook, and size is an issue: the large is too big (6 1/4 by 9 1/2 inches) and the small is too small (4 by 6 inches).

So, you see my dilemma. I have a lot of excellent notebooks, but none are exactly what I want.

I haven't yet decided on which notebook I will start using in January, but I will let you know when I decide. I need to choose the right one, a notebook I enjoy and that works well for me. I'm afraid of my notebook experiment failing because of using a notebook I don't really enjoy or that doesn't fit my needs well enough, causing me to stop using it.

Do you know a notebook that fits my criteria above? Please post a comment so the next time I'm notebook shopping I can check them out!

Daycraft Signature Duo notebook

This is a very cool new notebook from Daycraft, the Signature Duo. It has a double binding with dual covers. One side has lined pages, and the other has dot-grid pages. Let me show you what I mean.

Here is one side:

 

Here is the other:

In the photo below you can see how the dual binding works:

And below is the top view of the notebook closed. The contrasting page edge colors look really nice.

The lined side has 80 pages of cream paper, with 6.5 mm ruling.

The other side has 80 pages of cream, 5mm dot-grid pages. (The dots are feint and hard to see here, click to enlarge photo for a better view.)

Here are some views of the notebook edges:

The soft PU cover feels great, and the 100 gsm paper is super-smooth. Another excellent notebook from Daycraft!

I really like this concept for people who want writing pages (lined) and pages for graphs, charts or sketches (dots) in one notebook.

Daycraft is based in Hong Kong and ships worldwide.  Don't be scared of the Hong Kong Dollar amounts! When you check the exchange rate they are actually normal prices.

Many thanks to Daycraft for sending me this notebook to review!

Pens, Planners and Notebooks: What I Buy

Kate B recently asked me what pens I prefer to use in my planners, and how that subsequently affects my planner (and notebook) purchases. Great question!!

I prefer archival pens, because I want to be able to read what I've written decades later. My preferred archival pens are Sakura Microns, but they aren't that great for day-to-day writing because 1) I prefer a click pen for quick writing and 2) I prefer a roller ball pen for easy writing. Recently I discovered the Uni-ball Signo RT roller ball with their Super Ink which is designed to last through UV light, water and solvents. So they are my go-to pens now.

But, the Signos have wet ink and not every paper can handle it well. For example.....

Earlier this year I reviewed the Moleskine Turntable planner, and one day I decided to play with it a little bit. I used a purple Pilot V5 pen to write the days at the top of the page, but was horrified by the bleed-through and show through to the other side. So I wrote with my Signo and Micron to see if they were just as bad as the V5.

 

This photo below doesn't even show how nasty the bleed through is from the V5 across the top of the page. The back side of the page is completely unusable, and I hardly even wrote anything. I wouldn't be able to use this planner at all. Huge disappointment.

 

So I decided to test a variety of pens in the Moleskine Turntable to see if anything performed any better.

 

Nope. Yuck.

So now let's talk about what planners and notebooks I DO like with these pens, and in particular what I buy.

First of all, my Plannerisms planner works fantastically well with the Signo, and with pens in general. Even though the paper is only 84 gsm, I've heard from fountain-pen using friends that their thinner nibs and not-so-wet inks work well with it. For my purposes, my Signos and Microns work great with no bleed through at all and very little show-through so the opposite side of the paper is entirely useable.

(PS the 2014 Plannerisms planners are available to buy! Email me at Laurie at Plannerisms dot com to order.)

Until recently I was using my Time Traveler day per page diary to record lots of daily details. If you've read What I'm Currently Using you'll know I've gone back and forth on this diary a lot, only because it is thick and heavy in my bag. Aside from that, I absolutely adore this planner and it takes ink very well. I never had a problem with it and my Signo pens.

Recently I switched to using a notebook for recording each day, lists and notes. I did a post here detailing how and why. A few weeks ago I started using this A5 size Signature Inspiro notebook from Daycraft that I reviewed here.

I LOVE the paper in this notebook. It's off-white, super smooth and is a dream to write on. I also like how the purple page edges look next to my Plannerisms planner's purple cover.

A few years ago I used a purple-covered Daycraft Signature notebook as a self-drawn planner, and it was so pleasant to use. I decided to get another one to have on deck when I use up my Inspiro. I haven't even taken the plastic off this one yet.

 

Another brand I'm really liking is Paperblanks. A few days ago I posted about a Paperblanks planner that I bought to use as a notebook (this one:)

Also awhile back I posted about my pocket size Paperblanks Darwin notebook:

I love it so much I wanted a bigger version, so I ordered the Ultra size Darwin journal:

I had a hard time finding it, I think it may be nearly extinct! So I immediately ordered another one so I wouldn't be afraid to use it. (I ordered from First Stop Stationers, www.firststopstationers.co.uk. Super fast shipping!)

Paperblanks paper is great, and takes my pens well. I also like the color of the paper, off white, not too dark. And I love their beautiful covers! My only complaint is that they don't have nearly enough selection in their Maxi ( 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inch) size. Most of their notebooks are either bigger or smaller. But I love Paperblanks notebooks and am growing quite a collection!

Recently I bought this Rhodia webnotebook at Costco:

I had never used a webbie before, because even though I love the smoothness and thickness of the paper (from Clairefontaine, my long-time favorite paper), I don't care for the darkness of the apricot-colored pages. But it was such a good price I couldn't pass it up. I'll use this Rhodia for my new job, whenever I finally get one.

Below you can see how dark the Rhodia paper is compared to the Paperblanks paper (background), my Plannerisms planner to the right, and Daycraft Signature paper in the foreground.

Another brand I bought recently is Brush Dance. Awhile back I reviewed the Perennial Grace planner of theirs that I bought:

The paper in their planners is amazing, very thick and can take any pen with no problems at all.

They recently came out with a new line of journals with their wonderful paper. I was wondering how I would be able to buy one, since they don't have international shipping on their website. But I was extremely lucky and thrilled when they offered to send me some to review, which I happily accepted!

I would have bought these journals for myself, given the opportunity.

I have loved Quo Vadis planners for 15 years now (wow!), they have spectacular paper that is a joy to write on. Recently I bought the Quo Vadis Journal 21, which I wrote about here with details on my slightly obsessive search for it. It has that Clairefontaine paper I love, so smooth and takes pens so well.

I also bought a Quo Vadis Space 24 planner, which I reviewed here, because I'd been wanting to check out this planner for so long. And again, it has that awesome-to-write-on Clairefontaine paper.

This is in no way meant to be a comprehensive list of planner and notebook brands with paper that works well with wet inks, there are plenty that I haven't listed here. These are just what I have bought recently for my own personal use.

What planner and notebook brands do you like to use with wet inks?