How do you mark pages?

[txomsy]

10 hours ago, mhwombat said:

The page da

Yes, I highly recommend these. They don't leave marks on the page, so I'm happy to leave them in even my nicest books. And they are attractive too.

 

Here's one brand:

https://www.jetpens.com/search?q=Book+Darts&v=2

 

Thanks, that's a great link. Prices here were about 10 times more, so it's time to start considering getting them overseas.

 

3 hours ago, Runnin_Ute said:

Levenger has a version of them as well. Made of brass and in the shape of a fountain pen nib.

https://www.levenger.com/reading-1140/reading-accessories-23037/copper-page-nibs-17232.aspx

 

Those are cool! Now I'm starting to have too many choices

[inkstainedruth]

23 hours ago, knarflj said:

 

+1!  I have used these for years.  They often have a sale in December.  

Someone gave sets of book darts to all the instructors at a fiber and needlework event I taught a class at a few years ago.  I just wish I knew where the card of them ended up....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[XYZZY]

21 hours ago, mhwombat said:

The page da

Yes, I highly recommend these. They don't leave marks on the page, so I'm happy to leave them in even my nicest books. And they are attractive too.

 

Here's one brand:

https://www.jetpens.com/search?q=Book+Darts&v=2

 

14 hours ago, Runnin_Ute said:

Levenger has a version of them as well. Made of brass and in the shape of a fountain pen nib.

https://www.levenger.com/reading-1140/reading-accessories-23037/copper-page-nibs-17232.aspx

 

How well do the book darts / page nibs clamp?  I'm working on copying the Bible and I use a guidesheet behind the current page.  Clips of some sort that are easy to place/remove and leave no marks would be fantastic for holding the guidesheet in place.  It's not horrible to do it on my own, but constantly focusing on "don't move the page!" is a distraction that would be nice to avoid.

 

ETA:  I should probably clarify what I mean by "how well do they clamp?".  My use case is two sheets of paper:  one Tomoe River 52gsm, the other 20lb office paper.  I want them to position them and clamp them together and want them to retain that without shifting.  I'm reasonable careful when I'm writing:  I don't normally shift the paper, and I'm not worried about whether the cat will dance on it.

[dragondazd]

14 minutes ago, XYZZY said:

 

 

How well do the book darts / page nibs clamp?  I'm working on copying the Bible and I use a guidesheet behind the current page.  Clips of some sort that are easy to place/remove and leave no marks would be fantastic for holding the guidesheet in place.  It's not horrible to do it on my own, but constantly focusing on "don't move the page!" is a distraction that would be nice to avoid.

Have you considered a shitajiki with guidelines? Japanese writing board. You may find one with enough texture and/or weight to stay put. 

[XYZZY]

Just now, dragondazd said:

Have you considered a shitajiki with guidelines? Japanese writing board. You may find one with enough texture and/or weight to stay put. 

 

I haven't seen a shitijiki that addresses what I'm asking about:  keeping the paper precisely positioned relative to the guidesheet.

 

My guidesheet is also specific to my needs:  page size is not standard (219x310mm), margins are my own, with guides for centerline and multiple levels of indentation for poetry passages.  So probably not going to find a shitijiki ready for that.  

[dragondazd]

57 minutes ago, XYZZY said:

 

I haven't seen a shitijiki that addresses what I'm asking about:  keeping the paper precisely positioned relative to the guidesheet.

 

My guidesheet is also specific to my needs:  page size is not standard (219x310mm), margins are my own, with guides for centerline and multiple levels of indentation for poetry passages.  So probably not going to find a shitijiki ready for that.  

How about taping it down with washi tape? Those tend to be reusable a couple times.

[XYZZY]

1 hour ago, dragondazd said:

How about taping it down with washi tape? Those tend to be reusable a couple times.

That's an interesting idea.  I have never used washi tape, but I can prototype whether I want to go that route by borrowing a stack of post-its from work.

[knarflj]

On 8/3/2022 at 5:13 PM, mhwombat said:

The page da

Yes, I highly recommend these. They don't leave marks on the page, so I'm happy to leave them in even my nicest books. And they are attractive too.

 

Here's one brand:

https://www.jetpens.com/search?q=Book+Darts&v=2

 

These are the ones I use (bought my first tin from Levenger years ago, but then Levenger started making their own knock-offs, which I didn't like quite as well and were more expensive).  If you go direct to the maker, you'll get more purchase options, including bulk packages of 100: https://www.bookdarts.com

[mhwombat]

11 hours ago, XYZZY said:

How well do the book darts / page nibs clamp? 

Quite well, actually. The only way they're likely to become accidentally dislodged is if, while you're closing the book, another page gets caught under a dart and nudges it off. But you'd have to be pretty unlucky for it to come all the way off.

[Chouffleur]

On 8/2/2022 at 9:13 AM, JulieParadise said:

Search for "book darts", these are very slim and neither add significant bulk to the book nor do they leave nasty marks on the paper. 

https://www.jetpens.com/Book-Darts-Mixed-Metals-Tin-of-75/pd/28747

 

I agree with Julie - these are unobtrusive and quite useful.

[TSherbs]

On 8/2/2022 at 9:13 AM, JulieParadise said:

 

Search for "book darts", these are very slim and neither add significant bulk to the book nor do they leave nasty marks on the paper. 

 

Edited to add: I bought one of those round tins with 50 book darts made of brass (?) about 11 or 12 years ago and still use these; only a handful got lost along the way or were given away etc. So these may seem pricey at first but are a very sustainable option.

This ^^

 

I agree with the others who seconded Julie's recommendation. I have had to mark books and notes and papers for decades. When darts came along, I was happiest. 

[essayfaire]

On 8/2/2022 at 6:29 AM, nibtip said:

The metallic bookmarks are all Japanese.

I like the metallic Japanese magnetic ones.  I have found Washi tape, if left in place too long, can deface the pages, which is counter the point of having something removable.  I like Levenger's Page Points( @Runnin_Utethey may have changed the name, they changed the design some time ago- I think you have the new ones, is that right?).  I also never throw out the cardstock cards that come when orders arrive by post(such as the ones from Goulet)- their heaviness makes them ideal.

[XYZZY]

@JulieParadise and @mhwombat, thank you very much for the pointers to the Book Darts!  I received a pack of 15 of a few days ago (https://www.jetpens.com/Book-Darts-Mixed-Metals-Pack-of-15/pd/28743).  They are excellent!  Maybe even "revelatory"...very nicely made yet so amazingly simple, a new gadget that I didn't even know that I needed.

 

My thoughts/comments after three days with them:

 

They are thin.  I have misplaced my micrometer, but laying them edge to edge with .001" and .002" brass sheets tells me that they are somewhere between.  I.e. .0015" maybe?  On that note, these can serve an additional purpose of flossing your nib...maybe even better than my brass sheets because these have a nice rounded tip: no corners to accidentally scratch a soft gold nib.

 

If I had @txomsy's problem of needing to mark pages these would be my go-to solution.  They are very thin and hold well.  After a couple of days I don't see any page marks, but there is a little fold in them that makes them slide smoothly onto a page that I think might leave a very small mark on the adjacent page.  I may just put a couple into a book on the shelf...if somebody could remind me in a year to check them out? 😉

Since I have all three metals I have experimented with them.  The stainless steel pieces are consistently harder to remove than the brass/bronze.  I do not know if that is something you can bank on, or if it is just batch-to-batch variation.

 

For my own use of clamping together a sheet of 52gsm TR paper to 20lb guidesheet, they are exactly what I was looking for.  Just two pieces are plenty to hold the A4-sized pages.  My original concern was whether they would have enough clamping force.  I have actually settled on using the brass/bronze pieces instead of the stainless because they still clamp well enough and are easier to slide back off.  Not that the stainless are hard to remove: still easy, just a tad less so. 

[txomsy]

Thank you, that information is most useful.

[Anne-Sophie]

On 8/2/2022 at 9:30 AM, Karmachanic said:

https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2014/12/little-known-hack-japan-get-notebook-organized/

 

It works even better color coded, I have a bird book set up that way and it is so much easier to find info quickly.

[Anne-Sophie]

Thin ribbon and matching thin washi tape.

 

The think ribbon is placed securely against the book's spine  and the washi tape on the right margin.

 

Midori paper index clips and their E-clips made of metal

 

https://www.midori-japan.co.jp/english/products/clips/

[txomsy]

How thick are those clips? Are they like normal clips?

Won't they leave a mark on the pages?

 

[agaric]

Interesting engineering challenge.

 

Maybe I don't use notebooks enough but I've found it easiest to forgo accessories and just hack up my own index in the back (or in the front, but that would require precognition). I guess like what inkstainedruth said regarding her sketch pads. The only type of notebook I use this method on (er, use at all) is for daily task planning/management. Part of the index keeps track of the month, another part keeps track of specific projects that show up at a moving date or in multiple places.

 

Pros: no additional cost; no need to carry more things; no modification of note-bearing pages; very dynamic and customisable tracking. Cons: not visually intuitive; slow to get to the page; uses up precious whitespace.

 

edit: Oh, more cons: needs notebook to be page-numbered for this to be practical; requires quite some mental overhead because the index itself needs to be well-structured for it to be effective, especially with many reference points. 😕 starting to think it's not that great as a general method.

[dragondazd]

I thought these were really neat but I don't have a use for them right now.

 

https://www.jetpens.com/Hightide-Landscape-Index-Tabs/ct/6056

[txomsy]

OK, finally I bit and ordered the Book Darts, a tin box of 125. I'm expecting them for Tuesday. I'll report back once I try them, but hold high spirits regarding them.