Using Loose Leaf Paper And Binder For Journalling

[Pussinboots]

Does anyone use this? I keep toying with the idea as it would be convenient seeing as I like to write on the spur of the moment often when I am out and about (though not all the time) but I love notebooks so wonder if I won't find loose leaf the same.

[ac12]

That would work just fine, and if I did not have such cheap notebooks, would be the method I would use.

The advantages of writing on a single piece of paper are:

• You don't have the problem of your hand being on a different level than the paper surface when you get to the bottom of the page in a notebook.
• You also avoid the spiral bindings of a spiral bound notebook or gutter of a stitched notebook. This requires me to only right on the right page in a notebook, then flip the notebook over and continue back to front.

[JoeyZ]

I have been considering the B5 Japanese binder system offered by Nanami paper for the very same reason. But like you I have doubts that I would enjoy it in the same way...we will see which side will win out.

 

At least for mw, I would have to use a binder that I am attracted to in the same way as notebooks. Do you have something special in mind or are you considering the more utilitarian approach of whatever is at hand?

[ac12]

BTW, that is how I kept my note in college. I would take the notes on loose filler paper in a portfolio. Then when I got home, I would rewrite the notes, so that I could read them, then put the original and rewritten notes into a binder. Worked just fine for my Bachelors and Masters degrees.

[Hallel]

BTW, that is how I kept my note in college. I would take the notes on loose filler paper in a portfolio. Then when I got home, I would rewrite the notes, so that I could read them, then put the original and rewritten notes into a binder. Worked just fine for my Bachelors and Masters degrees.

I do something similar. I have a covered clipboard filled with loose leaf and a binder that I sort my notes into by subject. I like it.

[Keyless Works]

I really like Maruman's Smooth-To-Write paper which comes in a lot of loose leaf formats and fits Maruman binders. I also quite like Lihit Labs Aqua Drops notebooks which work just like a regular binder.

[Bookman]

Although the first 962 pages of my journal are on 3-hole-punched paper and are archived in 4" 3-ring binders, I've never journaled on loose paper. I might, if I did all my journaling at a desk. But I frequently do it on-the-go, and that requires a notebook or notepad or a clipboard. I've tried on-the-go journaling with loose paper on a clipboard and with notepads. I prefer a notebook. I've tried casebounds and wirebounds and staplebounds, top-wirebounds, top-staplebounds, side-wirebounds, side-staplebounds, you name it. I prefer side-wirebounds.

 

I go back and forth between casebound volumes and these wirebound notebooks. In the case of wirebounds with paper that hasn't already been 3-hole-punched, I eventually remove it from the notebook, punch it, and archive it in the then-current megabinder, rather than archive the wirebound notebooks intact. Presently I'm starting a (I hope) long trial of a new-to-me system: a semi-B5 Kokuyo "smart" binder" with loose-leaf 26-hole Kokuyo Campus Todai paper. The row of little plastic rings is fairly innocuous. The sheets fit my 3-hole punch and eventually will thus be custom-punched and archived like the other B5s and the 8½x11s and the A4s. (If I adopt this system I'll buy a 26-hole punch to widen my selection of papers.)

 

But I don't envision making it a routine practice to remove the sheets from the "smart" binder to write on them.

Edited September 8, 2014 by Bookman

[Bookman]

Ooops. Double-post. Moderator: please remove this one.

Edited September 8, 2014 by Bookman

[msun]

I'm glad people are finding the Lihit Labs and Kokuyo notebooks with the openable rings good. I just placed a jetpens order of each size last week to see what size (A5 or semi B5) I prefer. I should be getting the notebooks soon, and hopefully I'll like it enough to be my new notebook system.

 

Bookman - do you know where you can get a 26 hole punch for the Kokuyo Campus smart ring notebooks?

The Lihit Labs notebooks has 29 holes, and I'm not sure if the paper is interchangeable, as I haven't received the two notebooks yet. But if I could get a hole punch that is compatible for one of those notebooks, I'll lean heavily towards that brand.

 

I've been using the Levenger Circa / Staples Arc notebook system previously, but I like the look of the Lihit labs and Kokuyo smart ring notebooks, since they seem much sleeker and I think the paper seems more secure. Anybody have opinions comparing these notebook systems?

[penandpaperjoy]

Usually, if a site sells a certain brand of binder, they try to be consistent with offering a corresponding hole punch (insert grain of salt here).

 

I know JetPens.com sells Lihit Lab twist ring binders (notebooks), and has a corresponding hole punch.

 

As far as the notebook systems, I haven't tried any of them, but they look fascinating.

[Bookman]

I'm glad people are finding the Lihit Labs and Kokuyo notebooks with the openable rings good. I just placed a jetpens order of each size last week to see what size (A5 or semi B5) I prefer. I should be getting the notebooks soon, and hopefully I'll like it enough to be my new notebook system.

 

Bookman - do you know where you can get a 26 hole punch for the Kokuyo Campus smart ring notebooks?

The Lihit Labs notebooks has 29 holes, and I'm not sure if the paper is interchangeable, as I haven't received the two notebooks yet. But if I could get a hole punch that is compatible for one of those notebooks, I'll lean heavily towards that brand.

 

I've been using the Levenger Circa / Staples Arc notebook system previously, but I like the look of the Lihit labs and Kokuyo smart ring notebooks, since they seem much sleeker and I think the paper seems more secure. Anybody have opinions comparing these notebook systems?

 

JetPens sell a 26-hole punch. It costs $46. Or you could spend $5 on a nice 1-hole punch that punches 5-6 sheets at a time, use a sheet of 26-hole paper to create a template, etc. etc. I have 100 sheets of Kokuyo Todai paper coming from Amazon, but in the meantime I tried the one-hole-punch thing myself today to see if I could repurpose unused sheets in my Kokuyo Campus wirebound notebook. To make the template and then punch 26 holes in 6 sheets took about five minutes.

Edited September 9, 2014 by Bookman

[msun]

Oh thanks guys, I was on the jetpens website but I guess I wasn't looking for the right thing.

 

So how does that 26 hole punch work, you have to punch the paper in sections? I guess it's faster than 1 hole punching everything but still I'd like something similar to the Levenger Circa desk punch where you can punch all the holes in a stack of papers at once.

 

The template is a good idea though. I'll wait until I get my first notebooks and decide if I need to invest in a punch. Thanks for the info

[Pussinboots]

I was meaning more writing on the notepad and then inserting the paper into the binder later, might not be the same though when reading it back as in a nice notebook.

[Bookman]

I was meaning more writing on the notepad and then inserting the paper into the binder later, might not be the same though when reading it back as in a nice notebook.

 

I don't care what I'm holding when I read what I've written. I can enjoy my stuff equally whether I'm reading it off an old sheet of Mead 5-subject filler paper or a gilt-edge leaf in a leatherbound journal. Likewise, I can spot drivel on the finest piece of parchment. But you've indirectly raised a key point. The process-of-writing issues surrounding notebooks, notepads, journals, etc., are distinct from the issues of storage and retrieval even though the writing medium prescribes its own storage limitations. For instance, if you're going to journal on a tablet, you're likely to remove the written-on sheets eventually; and if you elect to keep them—because you're journaling and not writing morning pages as a brain-dump—you're going to punch them if they're not pre-punched and store them in a binder. You might prefer to journal on a notepad, but have you fully considered the storage issue?

 

I mentioned earlier that I've gone back and forth between wirebound notebooks and casebound volumes. It's easy to keep one's archived journal in order when one uses nothing but loose-leaf, transferred to binders, or nothing but casebound volumes: just label the spines with volume numbers and/or dates of coverage. Switching back and forth poses an archival and information-retrieval problem unless one maintains and keeps up consistent pagination. I do this. It isn't a substitute for consistency in media selection, but I can't imagine navigating my way through nearly 20 years of paper journal entries without consistent and up-to-date pagination.

[wikeh2004]

I'm glad people are finding the Lihit Labs and Kokuyo notebooks with the openable rings good. I just placed a jetpens order of each size last week to see what size (A5 or semi B5) I prefer. I should be getting the notebooks soon, and hopefully I'll like it enough to be my new notebook system.

 

Bookman - do you know where you can get a 26 hole punch for the Kokuyo Campus smart ring notebooks?

The Lihit Labs notebooks has 29 holes, and I'm not sure if the paper is interchangeable, as I haven't received the two notebooks yet. But if I could get a hole punch that is compatible for one of those notebooks, I'll lean heavily towards that brand.

 

I've been using the Levenger Circa / Staples Arc notebook system previously, but I like the look of the Lihit labs and Kokuyo smart ring notebooks, since they seem much sleeker and I think the paper seems more secure. Anybody have opinions comparing these notebook systems?

 

Jetpens sells the Kokuyo binders too. Looks like Nanamipaper is also carrying 26 hole binders.

[Paddler]

I use a plain 3-ring binder for writing drafts. I pull the paper out and clip it to a clip board for writing and then put it into the binder with plastic dividers to keep the stories separate. The binder is labeled "Works In Progress" (WIP). A finished story is written into a case bound journal book with permanent ink.