Hi Everyone,

I just got back from my local Staples, which had a display out front hosting products from the 'M by Staples' line.

Does anyone have any experience with these? The range covers padfolios, journals (regular and refillable), little notepads and other ephemera.

I'm looking specifically for any info regarding the journals and refills. They have different 'classes' of journals; the fabric-covered one has a cream colored paper, while the leather-covered one has brighter 'premium' paper. If the paper is good, these journals seem an inexpensive way to hook others into our habit , um, I mean, hmm, I mean to allow others to experience the wonder and joy of starting a new journal, seeing one's thoughts on paper, and delighting in the process of putting our words down to a (somewhat) more permanent medium. Yea, that sounds better.

Of course, any experience with the products of this line at all would be helpful and very appreciated.

Thanks!
-ScottT

sorry, can't speak for the journals, but i got a 8 1/5 x 5 notebook cream color paper that's decent and allows a bit of bleeding thru. it is not the best FP friendly paper i've ever seen but for note taking is not bad, speacially since i don't write on both sides of the paper. for a journal... that's another story!!!

I wonder if that cream color paper is the same as their fabric-covered journal? Can't find much info on this line anywhere, even their website doesn't show all the items I have seen at Staples.

Ah well, the search continues. Thanks for the info, it helps!

-S

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick update: I found out the M line seems to vary depending on the store, so if you don't find what you are looking for at the first Staples, it might be worthwhile to try another.

I just got a close look at their refillable journal. The 'refill' it starts out with is quite nice and lays flat. The extra refills for sale are NOT the same, they have glued in pages and it would be like trying to take notes in a blank paperback book. Not very nice at all.

Just a heads-up for anyone who was thinking of the refillable journal. (Plus it was a bit on the costly side for the journal cover; quite close to a Renaissance Art cover and the RA covers seem soooo much nicer. No, not affiliated, just an opinion.)

Anybody have any comments on other journal covers? What's your favorite?

Thanks,
ScottT

thanx for sharing.

have you tried Foray fro O-Depot? they have different sizes for their refillable journals, but i haven't used it.

I tried the stationary and found it to be horrible; the paper feels almost waxy and is somewhat tacky (the tactile feel, not in poor taste).

thanx!

PS. very interesting avatar name!! LOL!!

Thanks for the info, I shall stop by and check them out.

-ScottT

Anyone else had experience with the M by Staples journals? My wife got an email from Staples with a $5.00 coupon for the M by Staples products. Wondered if it would be worth the trip.

Click to view attachment

I don't know if this will work, but here is a $5 off coupon for M stationary at Staples.

I picked up one of the journals the other day. Finally had the chance to write in it last night. So far so good. I had a hard time deciding whether to start in my Rolla notebook or this journal. I got one with the funky purple white and orange cover. I like that it has two ribbons instead of one to mark your place. It is just slightly larger than my usual basic lined journal from B&N and has a bit more paper as well.

I have only tried it with Lamy ink in my Safari and got no bleed through or feathering. I will try it again tonight with a different (wetter) pen and ink.

I've got some of the mini-journals and they work fairly well. They are stapled rather than sewn so the cover comes off rather easily, but the paper is just fine.

I've had only one problem: Private Reserve Velvet Black will smear if touched even months later. Every other ink I've got seems to work very well (Parker, Lamy, J. Herbin, De Atramentis, Noodlers, Platinum, Sailor, Pelikan, Diamine).

Neill

I bought one of the M by staples leather journals (lime green with pink band) to use for taking church notes. I loved it so much that I used almost every page (a rare thing for me). It works great with my fp - no feathering and only shows through a little - no bleedthrough.

I also got one of the spiral notebooks with cream pages. I do not like the paper in it as much.