"m By Staples Business Notebooks"

[scotchandcigars85]

Accidentally posted this in the reviews forum, if a mod could delete that one, that'd be swell!

 

I was perusing the local Staples here in Philly to pick up a Black n' Red notebook, when I noticed that Staples-brand notebooks in both coil and case binding were on sale for $6; much cheaper than the BnR. They said "premium heavyweight paper," so I figured it was worth a shot and picked up one in each binding.

 

I'm new to FPs, so I'm very not in-tune yet with what to look for in paper, but I busted one out and wrote a few lines, and it looks pretty good to my inexperienced eyes. Both sides of the page will be usable, lines seem reasonably sharp, no smudging after a few quick seconds. All in all, I can't say I'm disappointed in the $12 expenditure, though I'm sure there are nicer notebooks out there like Rhodias, et al.

 

Has anyone else used these?

 

More importantly, at $6/notebook is it worth snagging a bunch more while they are still on sale, or can I do better for not all that much more, such that stocking up on these isn't necessary?

[Bookman]

Accidentally posted this in the reviews forum, if a mod could delete that one, that'd be swell!

 

I was perusing the local Staples here in Philly to pick up a Black n' Red notebook, when I noticed that Staples-brand notebooks in both coil and case binding were on sale for $6; much cheaper than the BnR. They said "premium heavyweight paper," so I figured it was worth a shot and picked up one in each binding.

 

I'm new to FPs, so I'm very not in-tune yet with what to look for in paper, but I busted one out and wrote a few lines, and it looks pretty good to my inexperienced eyes. Both sides of the page will be usable, lines seem reasonably sharp, no smudging after a few quick seconds. All in all, I can't say I'm disappointed in the $12 expenditure, though I'm sure there are nicer notebooks out there like Rhodias, et al.

 

Has anyone else used these?

 

More importantly, at $6/notebook is it worth snagging a bunch more while they are still on sale, or can I do better for not all that much more, such that stocking up on these isn't necessary?

 

I bought one of these on sale a couple of weeks ago for $6. I hoped to use it for my newest journal. As soon as I got it home I test-wrote in it with all eight of my then-current pen-ink combinations. The paper suffered noticeable feathering with two or three of the eight, moderate to moderately-severe show-through with six of them, and partial bleed-through with the remaining two, one of which was Aurora Black in a Pilot Metropolitan/F. Sorry I didn't take photos. I just tossed it into the trash, went to my nearby Fed Ex Kinkos, and bought a casebound A4 Black n' Red notebook. I recommend you do the same.

[korbendalles]

I have used the M by Staples for 3 separate work notebooks over the last 18 months or so. The first two were absolutely fantastic deals with very high-quality paper with very minimal ghosting and such. However, sometime within the last 6 months, they have changed paper suppliers. I've compared the old to the new and the sheen on the paper is definitely different and the newer paper now suffers from feathering and more pronounced ghosting. I have since abandoned them as a brand, which is a shame given their value proposition at the time.

 

I decided to branch out to Japanese paper this time and recently bought a Maruman Mnemosyne Special Memo (B5 size) and a Kokuyo Systemic cover and have been SUPER happy with both. The Maruman paper is quite possibly the best FP paper I've encountered to date. It's slightly off-white, but only slightly. I really can't recommend it enough. No bleedthrough (even with a Konrad Flex using Yama Budo ink) and virtually zero ghosting. Plus, they're only $8.50-$11 each, which is kind of on-par for Black-n-Red and/or Moleskine, but SO much nicer.

[Mr. Dante]

I say stay with Black N' Red. I use the A4 spiral polycover and hardcover for work. If you can wait, the A4 spiral polycover is currently on 2-5 month backorder at Amazon for under $6 with free Prime shipping.

 

The Maruman Mnemosyne is the best quality notebook that comes in spiral B5 size. I use that for my journal because I can fold it all the way back.

[JayInPA]

I bought one of these notebooks a few months ago and I like it pretty well. I've used it with the following pens (all fine nibs):

• Platinum Preppy
• Platinum Cool
• Platinum 3776 Century (yeah, I know, I like Platinum...)
• Faber-Castell Loom

I'd call it a step less smooth than the Black n' Red -- I just tried it back-to-back against the B n' R and there was a noticeable difference, but it's really not that bad. I think your choice will depend on how much feedback you like from your paper.