Nu: Elite B5 Business Notebook — A Review

[dcwaites]

 

Nu: Elite B5 Business Notebook
A Review

I was sent a Nu: Elite B5 Business Notebook by Nuco International, as they had asked me to review it.

This is what it looks like →

This image is from Nuco's Catalog

Having recently done another review on a similar product, I decided to re-think my methodology. I have come up with a structured review format similar to an Ink Review Form.

What is it used for?

This is a Business Notebook, aimed at people who need to take notes, either at or away from their desks. The size, design and features all aim towards that goal.

How is it constructed?

The notebook is spiral (or Wiro-) bound with thin, stiff, Polypropylene covers. It is B5 in size, 176x205mm or approximately 7”x10”. There are 100 sheets/200 pages of 100 gsm hard, smooth, white paper.

Special Features

This notebook has several re-positionable inserts. There is a short ruler, 3 dividers, a business card wallet and a pocket holder. There is also 1 sheet / 2 pages for contact information, 3 years worth of calendar and a map of the world showing time zones.

Page Design

The notebook is B5 in size and all the pages are Business-ruled, with a 25mm left margin and a header for title and date. The ruling is 7mm, which is comfortable and efficient. The pages are perforated with ring binder holes for easy removal and binding.

Fit for the Purpose

Well, the big question here is — is this notebook fit for the purpose it is aimed at? I think it is. It is big enough and has enough pages to comfortably take lots of notes, either in meetings, or training and presentations, or off-site. The moveable dividers are a good idea, as is the calendar.

Paper Properties

Ok, since this is the Fountain Pen Network, this is what you’ve all been waiting for. What is the paper like? It’s hard, white and medium-smooth, but not as smooth as Clairefontaine. This is absolutely no feathering, spreading, bleeding or show-through with any of the inks I tried (see scan). I can even use Everflo True Blue on this paper with no problems.

A range of inks showing no problems other than some extended dry times

Magnified sample showing inks known to give trouble.

Absolutely no feathering or spreading at all.

The only problem I came across was that some of the inks, notably Noodler’s Blue and a couple of Private Reserve inks (see the scans). These can take from 10 seconds to a couple of minutes, depending on the pen and local temperature and humidity.

Recommended Inks

I cannot recommend highly saturated inks like Noodler’s dye inks or Private Reserve inks in these notebooks due to the long dry time. However, Everflo True Blue, Diamine, Iroshizuku Asa-gao and Parker Penman Sapphire all performed quite well. And, of course, any of the less saturated inks like Waterman, Pilot and the like seem to do quite nicely

In Summary

These are a useful addition to the Nuco range. The B5 notebook is in the ‘Goldilocks’ range, not too large and not too small, although there is an A4 version. The paper, while lighter than the beige 120 gsm paper in their other Elite products, is probably better over all.

 

[Octo]

How thick is this notebook? I hadn't known about B5 size. It's very slightly narrower than a composition notebook, but a thicker book would make up the difference in the leather cover I recently got. Thanks.

 

Edited to add that this is my new cover. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/254208-oberon-design-leather-cover-for-composition-notebooks/

Edited October 21, 2013 by Octo

[dcwaites]

It's about 3/4" thick, what with the 200 pages, plus dividers, pocket and other add-ins. It's thick enough to use in a train, resting on a backpack while folded over.

[Gloucesterman]

Is this available in the U.S. at all?

[dcwaites]

Is this available in the U.S. at all?

 

Contact Nuco International at http://www.nuco-international.com/contact-us