Ischolar Notebook Mini-Review

[thudthwacker]

My wife, my daughter, and I have always loved having notebooks around. As a result, my mother tends to pick them up by the armload whenever she sees them on sale. Usually, they're ... about what you'd expect from notebooks you can get for under a dollar from a pharmacy or supermarket. In the latest batch, though, there were a few books from a manufacturer called iScholar. And they were surprisingly friendly to my (admittedly limited) collection of fountain pens. No visible feathering or bleedthrough from my Lamy Safari 1.5mm (loaded with Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses), my Lamy Al-Star fine (loaded with Noodler's Navajo Turquoise), or my wife's Pilot Varsity medium. One of my Sharpie ultra-fine markers soaked right through it, but it does that to just about every paper I own. It's not as smooth as Clairfontaine or Apica, but it's worlds better than the writing-on-sandpaper sensation that a lot of cheap notebooks provide. Aside from the paper, they're what you'd expect from cheap spiralbound notebooks -- three-hole-punched so you can put them in a binder, micro-perforated to allow for (relatively) neat page removal.

 

There have been a number of reviews on FPN of inexpensive notebooks that are suitable for students and others who might have a lot of writing to do and not a rucksack full of cash to buy notebooks with. To that list, I submit iScholar.

 

A fairly unassuming cover (both of these note that they're made in Indonesia; not sure how many different sources they have, or if the quality varies between them):

http://personal.stevens.edu/~jformoso/ischolar_cover_small.jpg

 

Pardon the terrible handwriting, but note that there's no feathering; my phone camera isn't the best, so you'll have to take my word on it that the Navajo Turquoise shaded fairly nicely:

http://personal.stevens.edu/~jformoso/ischolar_front_small.jpg

 

The show-through is minimal enough that I don't expect trouble writing on both sides of a page, and indeed it's less noticable in person than it appears in the image. And, no, don't use a Sharpie on this stuff unless you've made sure there's nothing underneath it you don't want to get ink on:

http://personal.stevens.edu/~jformoso/ischolar_back_small.jpg

[Bookman]

The 100-sheet iScholar Composition Notebook is the only iScholar product of which I have any personal familiarity. It is my favorite composition notebook, and these days it's the only composition notebook I use. I buy them locally from a university bookstore because I can get them for $2.75 apiece, compared to $5-11 online. I prefer the iScholars to made-in-Brazil Norcom Composition Notebooks because (1) the iScholars are sturdier; (2) the iScholar paper is more consistently FP-friendly; and (3) I prefer stiff boards for the front and back covers. And for me, it's worth the price differential when I'm paying $2.75. For a recent week-long touristy trip my wife and I took I used one as a common-place book, a personalized tour book and all-in-one resource. Yes, there was a little show-through on the pages, but not enough to keep me from using both sides of every sheet, which I did.

[Bookman]

Addendum to my previous post—

 

I went to my university bookstore yesterday to augment my supply of iScholar Composition Notebooks, and in sorting through them I remembered something I neglected to include in my previous post. Bottom line: Though I recommend them, iScholar Composition Notebooks should not be bought online or sight-unseen because some of those that were "Made in India" are not FP-friendly.

 

I own a few from a previous purchase that were "Made in Indonesia." All of these performed as described in my previous post. I have also used "Made in India" versions, and I quickly discovered that when the India-sourced paper is smooth it is FP-friendly in every way, just as the "Made in Indonesia" notebooks are. But the ones "Made in India" need to be sorted into two stacks as you inspect them. The India-sourced paper that is rough—even only somewhat rough—is FP-unfriendly in every way. So inspect the "Made in India" notebooks by hand, running your hand or fingers over the paper to test smoothness. The same caveat applies equally to college rule, wide rule, and grid versions.

[thudthwacker]

Addendum to my previous post—

 

I have also used "Made in India" versions, and I quickly discovered that when the India-sourced paper is smooth it is FP-friendly in every way, just as the "Made in Indonesia" notebooks are. But the ones "Made in India" need to be sorted into two stacks as you inspect them. The India-sourced paper that is rough—even only somewhat rough—is FP-unfriendly in every way. So inspect the "Made in India" notebooks by hand, running your hand or fingers over the paper to test smoothness. The same caveat applies equally to college rule, wide rule, and grid versions.

 

Ah, many thanks. I also had a "Made in India" book in my pile, and it was terrible -- apparently, it was one of the "rough" ones. It never occurred to me to check if other "Made in India" books had different quality paper. Now that I know to check the India-sourced paper, I can hopefully pick up a few more iScholar notebooks -- I haven't been able to lay hands on the Indonesia-sourced paper for a couple of months. (I'll likely have to experiment a little to make sure I can differentiate "rough" from "smooth", especially if there don't happen to be samples of both in whatever stack I'm sorting through.)

Edited March 6, 2016 by thudthwacker

[Bookman]

 

Ah, many thanks. I also had a "Made in India" book in my pile, and it was terrible -- apparently, it was one of the "rough" ones. It never occurred to me to check if other "Made in India" books had different quality paper. Now that I know to check the India-sourced paper, I can hopefully pick up a few more iScholar notebooks -- I haven't been able to lay hands on the Indonesia-sourced paper for a couple of months. (I'll likely have to experiment a little to make sure I can differentiate "rough" from "smooth", especially if there don't happen to be samples of both in whatever stack I'm sorting through.)

 

Good luck and good hunting.

[thudthwacker]

 

Good luck and good hunting.

 

Got the very last college-ruled one-subject "Made in Indonesia" notebook from a local Shoprite, and thanks to your information on India-source paper, flipped through a few of those. I found a soft-cover wide-ruled composition book that was made in India and felt smooth to me, so I bought it. The paper is great -- the sheen isn't as pronounced as on the Indonesian paper, but it's good, and I have no trouble with feathering or bleed (there's some showthrough, but it's not bad enough to prevent using both sides of the page).

 

Now, to continue hunting to see if I can find some more college-ruled notebooks with good Indian paper.

[Bookman]

 

Got the very last college-ruled one-subject "Made in Indonesia" notebook from a local Shoprite, and thanks to your information on India-source paper, flipped through a few of those. I found a soft-cover wide-ruled composition book that was made in India and felt smooth to me, so I bought it. The paper is great -- the sheen isn't as pronounced as on the Indonesian paper, but it's good, and I have no trouble with feathering or bleed (there's some showthrough, but it's not bad enough to prevent using both sides of the page).

 

Now, to continue hunting to see if I can find some more college-ruled notebooks with good Indian paper.

 

When made-in-India paper is good it can be very very good, but when it's bad it's horrid.