Staples Sustainable Earth Sugarcane-Based Notebook

[fiberdrunk]

I went to my local Staples last night and bought some more of these wonderful Sustainable Earth Sugarcane-Based Notebooks. If you live in North Carolina, they were on sale for $1.49 (their website lists them at $3.99 for the large one and $2.99 for the small one). They are available in two sizes: 9 1/2" x 6" and 8 1/2" x 11". They have thick, sturdy cardboard covers with various designs, and both sizes include a durable pocket page (with 2 pockets, one on each side). I like the appearance of these notebooks very much, but texturally they feel dry and yucky to me, so I don't especially like to carry them around (or if I do, I just avoid touching them!) The notebook is wirebound and the pages have 3 notebook hole punches. The sheets are micro-perforated for easy tearing, so you don't end up with that shaggy torn notebook edge. These are made in Egypt with 80% sugarcane waste. They are college ruled with a golden brown line. You get 100 sheets in each notebook.

 

I tested many inks, including my homemade iron gall inks and some acrylic inks, and there was no feathering. The sheets are very thin and there is show-through, but none of the inks bled through to the other side. I wrote a letter to a friend and used both sides of the page and the show-through wasn't too bothersome. For the iron gall ink fans, the iron gall inks behaved like iron gall ink and darkened almost immediately on these sheets.

 

My only complaint with this paper is the dry feeling covers, and I wish the sheets were a little thicker. I also wish they made this paper available in other formats, such as graph or dot paper or even blank sheets, because it held up well to my fountain pens and inks. I believe the paper is acid-free, too, though it is not stated as such on the notebook itself or on the website (I seem to remember reading that here on FPN, though.) I'm waiting to hear back from Staples Customer Service to verify this.

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5317/5867501410_d12e4db7bd_b.jpg

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/5867503058_bde81ec212_b.jpg

 

The homemade inks on this sample are the pomegranate ink and Dr. Stark aleppo iron gall recipe, in case you were wondering what the heck those were on the scan. The acrylic inks are the Rotring ArtistColor and Magic Color ones.

Edited June 24, 2011 by fiberdrunk

[CatBookMom]

 

My only complaint with this paper is the dry feeling covers, and I wish the sheets were a little thicker. I also wish they made this paper available in other formats, such as graph or dot paper or even blank sheets, because it held up well to my fountain pens and inks. I believe the paper is acid-free, too, though it is not stated as such on the notebook itself or on the website (I seem to remember reading that here on FPN, though.)

 

 

A nice quick review. I have been using these notebooks for several months for my handwriting practice. Love the prices and the sturdy construction. The paper holds up to all the ink/nib combos I've tried, all the way up to my 1.5 nibs. The broader, wetter nibs do cause more bumpiness on the back side, but it doesn't seem to interfere with writing on the same line. In one of the several other threads about this paper someone commented that he had contacted Staples about the acid-free question and was told the paper is acid-free.

 

When you buy these notebooks, check the feel of the pages before you buy. I've had 2 out of a dozen that felt rougher and did show some feathering; the really smooth pages don't feather.

 

I read the pen & ink blogs from time to time, and someone used one of those thin stretchy book covers that the office supply stores sell to cover a notebook, one whose cover was rather ugly but had good paper. I don't know if those will stretch to cover these 8.5x11 spiral-bound Staples notebooks or not. Or you could decoupage something onto the covers. I kind of like the covers, plus I go through one of the 6x9 ones in about 3 weeks of writing practice.

Edited June 24, 2011 by CatBookMom

[fiberdrunk]

Just a heads up. I went to my local Staples today in NC and their Sustainable Earth notebooks (like the one reviewed in this thread) are $1.99; as are their composition books made with the same sugarcane paper. This is about half the usual in-store price. The Staples website shows the composition books even cheaper than the store, at $1. Anyway, just look for the brown kraft covers to find these notebooks in the sea of all the other notebooks they carry.

Edited August 10, 2012 by fiberdrunk