I use notebooks at work. I subscribe to the philosophy that if you don’t write it down, it didn’t happen. Since 2000, I’ve been using National Brand 5×5 Quad Paper with Eye Ease® paper. I love these notebooks and have taken a decade to go through the box that I bought way back then.
We are now coming to the end of an era; I’m almost out of these notebooks. I still have a few at home that are dedicated to specific things, but the one at work is currently being scribed on page 145 of 160. Not too many days remain until notebook number 12 will be christened (there’s actually been more than that, but I restarted my numbering in 2004). Because I’m having to purchase a new notebook, I’m going to try something a bit different. Whitelines!
I am heartily entertained by the “Carbon Free” notation. If you don’t read the fine print, it implies that this was made with no carbon, rather than as a zero carbon footprint product, although I’m curious how they can produce something from raw materials in such a manner that they produce no carbon footprint. That’s counterintuitive to me. I’ll have to go look it up, later.
This is the Whitelines wirebound A4 notebook. The wirebound was very important to me because I use both sides of my notebook paper and need to be able to fold it back without shattering the spine of the notebook. A4, of course, is one of those crazy non-American thingies dealing with paper size but it’s generally equivalent to 8.5″ x 11″, i.e. American Letter size.
The quadrille nature of the paper is also important to me because it’s nice to have the lines keeping me in square. I’m not the worlds best free hand artist and I can use the squares to help keep me in scale.
The argument by the manufacturer is that the white lines on the paper shown above are better to use that the dark lines on more common graph paper. At first glimpse, I’m unconvinced that this will make a big difference to me when I’m working. It may make a difference when I go to photo copy the page, but that doesn’t happen very often.
Honestly, I just wanted to try something new for a change. I’ve spent a lot of time with that other notebook.
Other remarks: the Whitelines book feels a bit floppier than the quad books I’ve been using. I’m also a bit worried that it’s not going to stand up to the abuse I give these notebooks (being thrown around, crushed into bags, stacked under books, generally treated poorly).
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