Apica Premium C.d.: The Full Line

[Wendell]

The Apica Premium CD notebooks have received a lot of praise, but a few complaints about the limited offerings. Well, there are in fact more things produced by Apica than are well known, so I thought it would be beneficial to make the whole line better known. To support "Ask and you shall receive.", you need to know what to ask for.

The two major lines are the softcover with squared edges and hardcover with rounded edges. (If anybody figures out the wieght of the "A.Silky 865 Premium" paper, please post!)

The Apic catalog page is here: http://tinyurl.com/neycrlk

Hardcover with "A.Silky 865 Premium" paper:
A5 - black cover - 7 mm lines
A5 - navy cover - 7 mm lines
A5 - black cover - 5 mm grid
A5 - red cover - 5 mm grid
A5 - black cover - blank
A5 - brown cover - blank
124x140 - black cover - 6.5 mm lines
124x140 - navy cover - 6.5 mm lines
124x140 - black cover - 5 mm grid
124x140 - red cover - 5 mm grid
124x140 - black cover - blank
124x140 - brown cover - blank
A6 - black cover - 6.5 mm lines
A6 - navy cover - 6.5 mm lines
A6 - black cover - 5 mm grid
A6 - red cover - 5 mm grid
A6 - black cover - blank
A6 - brown cover - blank
B7 - black cover - 6.5 mm lines
B7 - navy cover - 6.5 mm lines
B7 - black cover - 5 mm grid
B7 - red cover - 5 mm grid
B7 - black cover - blank
B7 - brown cover - blank

Softcover with "A.Silky 865 Premium" paper:
A4 - navy cover - 8 mm lines
A4 - red cover - 5 mm grid
A4 - gray cover - blank
B5 - navy cover - 7 mm lines
B5 - red cover - 5 mm grid
B5 - gray cover - blank
A5 - navy cover - 7 mm lines
A5 - red cover - 5 mm grid
A5 - gray cover - blank
124x140 - navy cover - 6.5 mm lines
124x140 - red cover - 5 mm grid
124x140 - gray cover - blank
A6 - navy cover - 6.5 mm lines
A6 - red cover - 5 mm grid
A6 - gray cover - blank

Softcover with cream-colored regular CD Note paper:
A5 - blue cover - 7 mm lines
A5 - tan cover - 5 mm grid
A5 - blue cover - blank

The cream CD paper is shown here:

http://tinyurl.com/q4psfso

http://tinyurl.com/py6236b

 

[Wendell]

(If anybody figures out the wieght of the "A.Silky 865 Premium" paper, please post!)

Ah...It's apparently 86.5 gsm.

 

 

Here are some better pictures of the hardcover version.

http://tinyurl.com/pdx3w49

http://kogyokudo.otemo-yan.net/e902071.html

Edited February 28, 2015 by Wendell

[krbmsw]

Anyone know where to track down the hardcover version in the states? I love CD premium notebooks but have never seen the hardcover.

[Wendell]

Anyone know where to track down the hardcover version in the states?

They were released to retailers in Japan only last month. It will be a while before they are available here.

 

The only option right now is to order directly from Japan. That might be the best option anyway. The markup for Apica notebooks in the US is near 100%. Since the hardcovers are so expensive, the cost of ordering from Japan might not be much worse.

[Gloucesterman]

You might also want to check wit jetpen.com as they seem to have a good supply of paper fro Japan.

No affiliation!

[tinkerteacher]

I have a B5 ruled soft cover notebook slowly making its way to me here in the ME Gulf. I've been hearing very good things from my contacts in Korea and Japan about Apica's new "A.Silky 865 Premium Paper". Supposedly it's light weight, has faster drying times than the regular line, and feels 'very silky to the touch.' (my friend's words)

 

Given the descriptions I've heard so far, I wondered if the paper has a very high cloth/fiber content? Could it have real silk in it, like in ye olde times? Well, only a few more days and I can subject sacrifice a few pages to flame and chemical experiments to find out, haha.

 

Can we still call these notebooks Japanese though? The paper is made in France and the materials for the hardcover versions apparently come from the Netherlands.

Edited March 22, 2015 by tinkerteacher

[tinkerteacher]

They were released to retailers in Japan only last month. It will be a while before they are available here.

 

The only option right now is to order directly from Japan. That might be the best option anyway. The markup for Apica notebooks in the US is near 100%. Since the hardcovers are so expensive, the cost of ordering from Japan might not be much worse.

 

The Japanese retail price for the hardcovers is around 1,700 to 2,500 or USD 15-20.

 

I wonder if they will even make it to the USA or Europe; as, with the standard 100-150% mark-up on Japanese pens and paper by western retailers, they would retail dangerously close to USD 50.

[krbmsw]

Found it: http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/atn/item/cds251/?s-id=borderless_browsehist_en

 

Gonna give it a shot if I can find out how to get them to ship to the US.

[tinkerteacher]

Found it: http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/atn/item/cds251/?s-id=borderless_browsehist_en

 

Gonna give it a shot if I can find out how to get them to ship to the US.

 

I have dealt with AT-N in the past and had a good experience. Be warned, though, they are a small, corner stationary store outfit type of place and don't keep much actual product in stock. Most is order on purchase and takes awhile to arrive. But, that's normal for Japan and for Rakuten. Hence why so many people order something and then wait days before they hear from the retailer.

 

You can also email them directly if you want to special order something or want to negotiate a discount on a large order.

 

atn@shop.rakuten.co.jp

 

Hironobu Nagasaka is the store owner I believe.

[Wendell]

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/218449-buying-agent-in-japan/

Using the buying agent I described in the above thread, I ordered an A6 size lined notebook with navy cover. It arrived on my doorstep 24 days from the first email and the total cost was $29.01.

 

The best price I had found online was here.

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/pennotatujin/4970090340590/

 

The paper in these notebooks has been thoroughly reviewed elsewhere, so I'll just comment on the binding. It looks and feels a lot like a Moleskine. The surface material is smoother and all of the materials used are just slightly thicker than in a Moleskine. The covering material has no odor, though the paper smells faintly like newsprint. The front endpage is embossed rather than printed (see the fourth pic). The notebook lays perfectly flat with ease, though it doesn't lay closed perfectly once it has been used (see the third pic). The slick and heavy pages make the notebook close with a snap, like a book with glossy pages does. There is no back pocket. The elastic band feels quite nice, though it is a very tight fit if you want to put it on vertically. The bookmark is lightly glued on, so a firm tug will detach it.

[Wendell]

These notebooks are now available from eBay seller hobby_japan, for a bit less than what I paid above.

 

[KKay]

Anyone else tried these out yet?

[Wendell]

I'm not anyone else, but I can offer some observations after using mine for a while.

 

I like it, but the circumstances in which I would want to use one are pretty limited. It feels stiff and heavy, like an old reference book. The heavy, slick paper feels great under a gel or fountain pen, but drying time is really long, even with gels. Once the ink is dry, though, there is absolutely no smudging (at least with gels, haven't tried a FP ink like Noodler's or Private Reserve).

 

I really like the color of the paper, a light, creamy off-white. I think all Japanese notebooks and journals have off-white paper, but it is usually grayish.

 

So, I would use these for something intended to be archival, not for carry around or quick jots.

[KKay]

Thank you Wendell. That is very helpful!