Recommend An A4 Ruled Notebook Please

[Paul-in-SF]

For preference, not a Japanese school style notebook, something with a little more luxe about it, not a lot of (or preferably none at all) branding on the outside, and rules 7 or 8 mm apart. I've been looking around and not finding much.

[A Smug Dill]

Clairefontaine Age-bag clothbound A4 notebook (with 96 lined 90gsm sheets). Available from Amazon in the US (as well as other retailers, I'm sure). According the Q&A in its product listing on Amazon.com, the ruling is 8mm, being the French standard. The branding on the front cover is embossed without foil or any other colour to make it stand out visually (other than being bas-relief). I've only used the A5 versions of the product myself, but I'm perfectly happy with the quality of the binding and the paper, which is coated and rarely exhibits feathering or bleeding from any ink I've used writing on it.

[inkypete]

Clairefontaine Age-bag clothbound A4 notebook (with 96 lined 90gsm sheets). Available from Amazon in the US (as well as other retailers, I'm sure). According the Q&A in its product listing on Amazon.com, the ruling is 8mm, being the French standard. The branding on the front cover is embossed without foil or any other colour to make it stand out visually (other than being bas-relief). I've only used the A5 versions of the product myself, but I'm perfectly happy with the quality of the binding and the paper, which is coated and rarely exhibits feathering or bleeding from any ink I've used writing on it.

+1 - fantastic notebooks. Plain covers make them ideal for corporate use and the paper is my everyday preferred sheet. They come in stapled and spiral although the spiral are a little more difficult to find.

[Paul-in-SF]

Clairefontaine Age-bag clothbound A4 notebook (with 96 lined 90gsm sheets). Available from Amazon in the US (as well as other retailers, I'm sure). According the Q&A in its product listing on Amazon.com, the ruling is 8mm, being the French standard. The branding on the front cover is embossed without foil or any other colour to make it stand out visually (other than being bas-relief). I've only used the A5 versions of the product myself, but I'm perfectly happy with the quality of the binding and the paper, which is coated and rarely exhibits feathering or bleeding from any ink I've used writing on it.

 

Thanks, I'll take a look at these. I like the plainness and the cloth cover, and I already know I like the paper, having used it before. I'm not sure about the stapled binding but I'm willing to give it a try.

[MHBru]

+2 on Clairefontaine.. That was going to be my suggestion when I first saw your question.

[A Smug Dill]

Apparently, Rhodia does — or at least did — make an A4-sized webnotebook with lined pages, even though it doesn't show on the web site of Rhodia's US distributor. It's still available on both Amazon.com.au and Amazon.com. If you prefer the cream-coloured, less heavily coated paper (also made by Clairefontaine) in Rhodia webbies, there's your alternative. The Rhodia name and logo is debossed on the front cover, but there is no foil or other colour making them stand out from the background.

 

I'm not sure about the stapled binding but I'm willing to give it a try.

 

 

I don't see any staples in the (smaller) Clairefontaine Age-bag notebooks I have here. I think the pages are just glued to the spine. I used an A5-sized one at work for weekly meeting and random notes for a year, and don't recall any pages coming loose.

[Runnin_Ute]

Red n Black perhaps. Wire or cloth bound, lined, spacing seems right.

[Paul-in-SF]

(snip)

I don't see any staples in the (smaller) Clairefontaine Age-bag notebooks I have here. I think the pages are just glued to the spine. I used an A5-sized one at work for weekly meeting and random notes for a year, and don't recall any pages coming loose.

My mistake, I think, I thought there was something in the link that said it was stapled, but now I think that's a different model.

 

Red n Black perhaps. Wire or cloth bound, lined, spacing seems right.

Yes, except for the very loud branding on both the front and the spine (at least of the hardbound version, and I don't much care for wire bound). Too bad, because otherwise pretty much what I'm looking for, assuming the paper is all right.

 

A Smug DIll, the A4 Rhodia WebnoteBook is sadly temporarily out of stock on Amazon.com in the lined version, but I will keep an eye out for it.

[inkypete]

Apparently, Rhodia does — or at least did — make an A4-sized webnotebook with lined pages, even though it doesn't show on the web site of Rhodia's US distributor. It's still available on both Amazon.com.au and Amazon.com. If you prefer the cream-coloured, less heavily coated paper (also made by Clairefontaine) in Rhodia webbies, there's your alternative. The Rhodia name and logo is debossed on the front cover, but there is no foil or other colour making them stand out from the background.

 

 

 

I don't see any staples in the (smaller) Clairefontaine Age-bag notebooks I have here. I think the pages are just glued to the spine. I used an A5-sized one at work for weekly meeting and random notes for a year, and don't recall any pages coming loose.

My A5 are stapled and never had an issue with the binding. https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/clairefontaine-essentials-a5-lined-notebook-black-2-pack-cf733171

 

Then there are the cloth bound - don't think they are stapled. https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/clairefontaine-essentials-a5-plain-notebook-green-cf795403#specifications

[A Smug Dill]

Then there are the cloth bound - don't think they are stapled. https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/clairefontaine-essentials-a5-plain-notebook-green-cf795403#specifications

 

That's what I have, in the lined version.

 

I don't think I trust every detail Officeworks lists (not because of intentional deception, just carelessness), though; I have one of these (note the absence of a darker coloured spine) and it's made in Morocco, not France as stated on Officeworks' product page.

[inkypete]

 

That's what I have, in the lined version.

 

I don't think I trust every detail Officeworks lists (not because of intentional deception, just carelessness), though; I have one of these (note the absence of a darker coloured spine) and it's made in Morocco, not France as stated on Officeworks' product page.

Interesting - I don't have any Clairefontaine not made in France. Notice any difference?

[A Smug Dill]

I don't have any Clairefontaine not made in France. Notice any difference?

 

 

I haven't used it yet, after buying one from Milligram a while back (to pad an order during a site-wide discount campaign to make the free shipping spend threshold). I only noticed it this morning when I went to dig out one of my cloth-bound lined notebooks — which are made in France — to check whether there are staples under the cloth. My grey dot grid notebook is still sealed in shrink-wrap.

[AmandaW]

I use the clothbound A4 Clairefontaine, Just checked, they are glued into the spine not stapled. I use the plain ones and use a home-made guide sheet slipped under the page instead. The branding is barely noticeable.

[A Smug Dill]

Here's one I've never seen before (and so I'm not recommending it per se):
Rhodia hardback casebound notebook A4 (lined with frame at the top) [product code: 19056C]

That is much cheaper than the A4 Webnotebook, even though both products have 96 sheets (192 pages) of 90g/m² Clairefontaine paper. The paper is this is white instead of cream-coloured, and the product is made in Morocco even though the paper is French-made. The branding on the front is much more obvious (bright orange on black) than on the Webnotebooks, and the cover material is less "luxurious"; on the other hand, in my experience the covers on Rhodia Webnotebooks will crack and flake after a few years.

Currently available on Amazon.com if you're interested, Paul.

[sansenri]

Clairfontaine makes both stapled, clothbound and spiraled A4 notebooks.

The stapled are usually cheaper and very convenient.

The clothbound are nicer of course.

The spiraled are very useful for quick note taking when on the go, but are more practical smaller size (A5,A6)