Feedback Wanted For Modular Notebook Design!

[OliverBurke]

Speaking only for myself, I don't feel any need to have a notebook's cover fold all the way back -- and given the fairly large community of traveler's notebook enthusiasts, I don't think I'm alone. The size wouldn't work for me -- but, then, I find the TN Passport to be too small, and there are plenty of people who buy them. I like the idea of the binding rings, and the way you don't have to do repeated violence to the binding "holes" if you keep moving a page (or bunch of pages) around.

 

I join the chorus in asserting that a punch is going to be necessary for adoption -- with the more standard "mushroom" versions, you have a number of interoperable vendors, so even if you don't have your own punch, it's not usually too hard to find a paper style you want. It's less likely that a single vendor is going to be able to be able to have a varied enough line of refills to please everyone, and (beg pardon) if that vendor exits the market, users are stuck with a notebook they can't get refills for. If they've got their own punch, they know that they'll have refills for as long a they want them, and would possibly feel more comfortable investing in the line.

 

Again, this is all just how it looks to me. As I'm not a manufacturer, distributor, or vendor of notebooks, you probably don't want to give my opinions too much weight. I'll keep an eye out for your Kickstarter -- the size might be a bit small for me, but I know lots of people who like notebooks. And who knows? I never thought I'd like a TN, and now I carry one daily. Maybe my preferences will change.

Thanks for the feedback! A punch is very high priority for me now, given the amount of suggestions I've gotten to have one

[thudthwacker]

Also: I don't know how invested you are in the name "Flexbook", but there are other products using that name already. One is a textbook authoring system, and one is also a notebook company. I have no clue if there will be trademark issues -- I'm not a lawyer, nor do I pretend to be one on the Internet. But I do work in IT, and I know how much time and money companies can spend on search engine optimization for their products. As the established companies that already use the name "flexbook" have likely already spent that time and money, it may be difficult for you to get your product to come up in online searches, so people who have heard of it and are interested in it may have difficulty finding your site.

[OliverBurke]

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Also: I don't know how invested you are in the name "Flexbook", but there are other products using that name already. One is a textbook authoring system, and one is also a notebook company. I have no clue if there will be trademark issues -- I'm not a lawyer, nor do I pretend to be one on the Internet. But I do work in IT, and I know how much time and money companies can spend on search engine optimization for their products. As the established companies that already use the name "flexbook" have likely already spent that time and money, it may be difficult for you to get your product to come up in online searches, so people who have heard of it and are interested in it may have difficulty finding your site.

Thanks for the heads up! Someone pointed out to me only yesterday that there was another notebook brand using the name, so I may have to change name. Need to spend a bit more time thinking about it first!

[Honeybadgers]

Personally, I'm only interested in notebooks that take a standard paper style insert, because sometimes ordering paper can take too long, or what if the paper suddenly becomes no longer made?

[OliverBurke]

Personally, I'm only interested in notebooks that take a standard paper style insert, because sometimes ordering paper can take too long, or what if the paper suddenly becomes no longer made?

That's understandable. I'm hoping to run this company long into the future, and make a punch available so that you can punch your own paper if needed. Thanks for the post

[stevesurf]

It looks gorgeous, however, please please please do not put yourself through trying to introduce yet another paper punch Standard in the paper market!

 

Just make it disc, Circa or Arc compatible, as some have already said here.

[thudthwacker]

In truth, I see no point in *another* interoperable disc system producer -- there are a huge number of vendors, from "name brand" to "store brand" to "largely generic", already doing it. And, of course, all the craftsfolks on Etsy, and higher-end offerings like the ones from William Hannah. If you're going to do something, I think it's going to have to be something different.