Smart Notebooks And Fountain Pens: Possible?

[Kalikrates]

It has recently come to my attention that there are several so-called smart notebooks, especially equipped to scan notes taken by hand into a computer. Some of them have a special pen for that purpose and limit you to use that, but there are a few models that use general-purpose pens. In particular, these are designed to be used with Pilot Frixion pens, which use erasable ink, so you can write a page, scan it and then delete it with a wet cloth (or in some models, even by microwaving the notebook, but I don't have a microwave):

 

Rocketbook Everlast https://getrocketbook.co.uk/products/everlast-rocketbook

Elfinbook 2.0 https://smartgearfactory.com/products/elfinbook

 

Since fountain pens have the property that we can use any ink we like, I think it should be technically possible to use one of these with some erasable ink that behaves like the Pilot Frixion ink...

 

My question is: is there such an ink for sale? Has anyone tried doing this at all? Do you think there is a limitation that I'm overlooking and it wouldn't be possible to use this kind of notebooks with a fountain pen?

[dogpoet]

Isn't the issue that the ink in the frixions is more like the thick gluey stuff inside a ballpoint than something liquid enough to use in a fountain pen?

[inotrym]

As far as I know there is no heat-sensitive or even dry-erase ink for fountain pens. Noodler's offers a couple of water erasable inks and that's pretty much it.

 

I am not sure if fountain pen ink can work with these notebooks.

But I think that you can get away with printing the same template on regular paper and using that instead.

I doubt that the scanning app could ever pick on the difference.

 

Other than that, you can get yourself a nice rollerball (I have a beautiful Hemisphere in comet red) and use the Frixion gel refills.

[Kalikrates]

Oh, a pity. I thought it should be possible but I couldn't find reports by anyone using these notebooks with fountain pens, so I suspected there could be a problem.

 

Priting the templates can be a good idea, I may give that a try.

 

Moleskine has "smart notebooks" that are not reusable:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Moleskine-Smart-Notebook-Creative-Connected/dp/B00Q3DFQSE

 

As it is not designed to erase the ink and write again, I suppose they will have a decent number of pages (the ones I posted earlier have few). However, they require an iPhone or iPad which I don't have (I'm an Android user) and apparently also require a subscription to an Adobe service.

 

Does any one know other non-reusable smart notebooks that aren't tied to those proprietary systems?

 

This should exist! I know we are in a minority in using fountain pens, but I'm sure people will want to use pencils, felt-tip pens, etc. with this kind of technology. I'm surprised no one is offering an option not tied to the Frixion ink, except for Moleskine.

Edited March 2, 2018 by Kalikrates

[Corona688]

These "smart notebooks" are gimmicks. The moleskine one especially shows how it works - special corner marks which allow the the phone to catch the right area.

 

 

So, an alignment guide for a phone, which is really just specially-marked paper tied to an app and marketing strategy pushing Adobe Creative Cloud. If this catches on I will be disappointed in the human race.

Edited March 2, 2018 by Corona688

[Kalikrates]

I know technically it's hardly rocket science, but for the end user it looks useful to me (without having actually tried it yet). This is something I often do at work: taking scans or photos of some handwritten notes including text and graphs, and sending them to someone else. But doing it manually with a phone always results in photos of slightly different size, orientation and brightness, and sometimes with a slightly skewed perspective such that things on top appear slightly larger, etc. If these things can give me images with a constant size and orientation, matching the size of the notebook, and a straight perspective, then they are solving a real issue, however small it is, and I would find them convenient. Sometimes useful things don't require a great deal of technology, but just a simple idea.

 

That said, notebooks that require subscription to a paid service (such as Adobe Creative Cloud) are a big no-no to me. I'd just like something like the ones I posted first, but fountain pen friendly or with a large enough number of pages that reusability doesn't matter. I guess printing the template of one of those in standard A4's is probably my best bet...

Edited March 2, 2018 by Kalikrates

[dcwaites]

Try a Whitelines notepad. You should be able to find one for only a few dollars

 

https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/whitelines-a5-notebook-7mm-ruled-140-page-wl192732

 

This is a link to an Australian vendor, but you should be able to find one locally.

 

1. The paper is FP friendly (even if you don't use the techno-magic below, they are very nice, inexpensive, FP friendly notebooks)
2. You photograph the page with the Whitelines app using your smartphone
3. Save it to your free Evernote account - the images will be available on your phone and one PC or Mac (for the free version)

[Kalikrates]

Amazing, that sounds like it ticks all my boxes! And although it doesn't seem to be as cheap in Europe as in that Australian website, it is still much cheaper than the alternatives above. I'll definitely give it a try. Thanks!

[Corona688]

I have a profound allergy to cloud services due to the many shenanigans they've already pulled over their few years of existence, and worse, the degree these shenanigans have been tolerated as inevitable. So when you say "available", do you mean available available, or "locked up in our shiny app to prevent you from using them unless you pay ransom" available?

 

Also worth noting that their availability and friendliness can change as quickly as the mood of their CEO and marketing department. Never trust a cloud app.

Edited March 3, 2018 by Corona688

[dcwaites]

I have a profound allergy to cloud services due to the many shenanigans they've already pulled over their few years of existence, and worse, the degree these shenanigans have been tolerated as inevitable. So when you say "available", do you mean available available, or "locked up in our shiny app to prevent you from using them unless you pay ransom" available?

 

Also worth noting that their availability and friendliness can change as quickly as the mood of their CEO and marketing department. Never trust a cloud app.

 

The Evernote system stores its files on your device. If you lose network access, all your files are still available on your computer/phone.

There is also a cloud copy that synchronises the other two, or you can use it to access your files if you are using a PC that isn't your own.

[Inkling13]

 

The Evernote system stores its files on your device. If you lose network access, all your files are still available on your computer/phone.

There is also a cloud copy that synchronises the other two, or you can use it to access your files if you are using a PC that isn't your own.

I do love evernote for that reason. It's not like my notes and things are of much use to anyone else anyways. I have nothing to hide, and everything is more than boring, so if it got leaked, good for them. I do love that I pretty much have access to it anywhere if IT hasn't blocked the site. All the other mentioned physical forms are gimmicks it seems. Evernote use to have a physical notebook that you could use with it, but that has gone the way of the dodo as well, since anyone with the app could do what the notebook could do.

[Kalikrates]

Evernote use to have a physical notebook that you could use with it, but that has gone the way of the dodo as well, since anyone with the app could do what the notebook could do.

 

You mean these by Moleskine I just found? They seem to be alive and well:

 

http://www.moleskine.com/collections/model/evernote-smart-notebooks

 

They appear out of stock at the moleskine.com website but for example the Spanish website has them, and many other European retailers seem to stock them too, so I don't think they have gone the way of the dodo. Maybe they have just stopped selling them to the American market.

 

It also seems like they could fit what I want, although I have already ordered a Whitelines notebook. I'll see if I like the Whitelines and I might try these Moleskine Evernote notebooks too depending on the result!

Edited March 3, 2018 by Kalikrates

[Corona688]

The Evernote system stores its files on your device.

Impressive.

Evernote use to have a physical notebook that you could use with it, but that has gone the way of the dodo as well, since anyone with the app could do what the notebook could do.

Which is why the gimmicks persist. Build something anyone can use, and there's less profit to be had.

[Kalikrates]

The Whitelines Link notebook definitely do what I want! Very easy to use app, the scan has good quality, the dotted pattern in the notebook disappears in the scan, and I get to send the file easily to email, Dropbox or Evernote. And the particular notebook I bought (from Leuchtturm 1917) has fountain pen-friendly paper.

 

The only con is that the size is a bit larger than a pocket Moleskine, but one can't have everything!

 

Edited March 7, 2018 by Kalikrates

[Audreyboo]

I think you shouldnt use fountain pen with everlasting notebook. But my question is why do you actually need it? The smart notebooks are amazing on their own as they are reusable and modern. I have the moleskin one and i wouldnt want any other one! Check out the differences between smart notebooks https://geeklah.com/best-smart-notebook.html

[abaslam]

I know this was back in 2018, but has there been any changes? Any improvements or enhancements?

[Kalikrates]

On 2/15/2020 at 1:24 PM, abaslam said:

I know this was back in 2018, but has there been any changes? Any improvements or enhancements?

 

Answering one and a half year late, but just in case...

 

I've been checking the market today, and there seem to be no substantial improvements for fountain pen users. In fact, things seem to be getting worse.

 

Moleskine has smart notebooks branded with Dropbox now apart from the Evernote ones (but only in large size). And I still have been using Leuchtturm Whitelines Link notebooks these years, but now in their official site (at least in my country) the A4 and A5 versions have been moved to the "Outlet" section and have discounts, while the pocket (A6) version seems to have disappeared from everywhere. So I suppose they're being phased out.

 

The silver lining is that I got three A5s for cheap, but for pocket hardcover notebooks (which is the format I actually use the most often) options seem to be getting slimmer. I guess I might have to consider moving to the Moleskine Evernote one, as there seems to be a healthy stock of those. The main problem being, I don't really use or want to use Evernote.

 

If anyone knows of any new options, they'll be welcome.

[roct73]

One year later...

Hello there,  I use Oxford notebooks (Oxford Touch B5 in my case) and they have an app called Scribzee, The notebook have markings in the corner to scan page and saves to app, where you can share as PDF. Not sure if it saves straight to the cloud. I usually share the PDF to Notability and that works just fine.

Paper 90g/m² I have no trouble using my fountain pens with this notebook (mostly Fine nibs).

Looks like it is compatible with Evernote.

[webgeckos]

I saw an ad on Instagram, I think, that had a Lamy and (I assume) a cart that was able to be captured and ported to a digital notebook. I have never paid much attention to this since I work with coding, which doesn’t lend itself to hand written notes.