Notebook Stories » PSN

Review: Scribe Notebook

Nifty — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:06:22 +0000

Today I’m reviewing yet another variant on the basic black notebook that has become so ubiquitous. This time, it’s the Scribe Plain Notebook.
An initial impression of this notebook might suggest that it’s just like a Moleskine, but I actually found it more similar to the Pen & Ink notebook I reviewed here, or some of the PSN notebooks reviewed here. The cover is a little thicker than a Moleskine, with somewhat more rounded edges. It almost seems slightly padded, and you can see in the photo below that the elastic leaves a slight impression in the cover. The cover isn’t quite as stiff as many other notebooks– you can actually flex the whole notebook a bit while it’s closed, which is pretty much impossible with Moleskine or Piccadilly.

All the standard features are present and accounted for: paper band, elastic closure, logo stamped on the bottom of the back cover, expanding pocket inside back cover, ribbon marker.

It opens quite flat. Another detail to note is the little bit of cord edging at the spine (I don’t know the bookbinding term for this, can anyone help me out?) This is also present in the Pen & Ink notebook and the Rhodia Webnotebook.

As for the paper… despite the 80 GSM weight, it feels a bit thin and pens show through more than in some other comparable notebooks. The Uniball Vision Micro and Pilot Varsity fountain pen feathered slightly.

Other fountain pen users have also commented that the Scribe notebook isn’t ideal (see here and here)– the experience of writing in them may feel nice at first, but the bleedthrough is problematic. But other than that, this is quite a nice notebook, and the slight flexibility might make it a favorite for those who like to carry their notebooks in a back pocket.

Specs:

3 1/2 x 5 1/2″, though the cover says A6

96 pages, 80 GSM paper

I’d like to thank Marian at Scribe for sending me a sample, since these notebooks are only sold in the Philippines.

BLACK FRIDAY

Nifty — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:26:30 +0000

As for the other kind of Black Friday, if you can’t handle visiting stores today, do your holiday shopping online using these links and a small commission from your purchases will help support this site:

Notebook Stories Store – my collection of notebooks and other favorites available via Amazon

Amazon — everything else at Amazon

Blick Art Materials — a great selection of journals, sketchbooks and other art supplies, often at discounted prices. The offer FREE SHIPPING on orders totaling $200 or more– and below $200 it’s a flat rate of $6.95 regardless of the order size.

Thanks, and happy holidays!

Review & Giveaway: PSN & Flash Notebooks

Nifty — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:08:25 +0000

Remember the tiny little notebook from this post? I contacted the company that makes it, and they were kind enough to send me some products to review– more traditionally sized ones!
Presign International is based in the Netherlands, and they make a variety of stationery products including notebooks. The samples I received are from their PSN and Flash lines of Moleskine-like notebooks. I say “Moleskine-like” because that’s become the standard, but actually, these reminded me somewhat more of the Pen & Ink Sketchbook, or in some ways, the Rhodia Webnotebook. As you can see from the photos below, these have the same 3.5 x 5.5″ format as most of the notebooks I’ve reviewed, but they’re slightly thicker than a Moleskine, similar to the Webnotebook (the orange notebook in photos below, underneath the squared Moleskine at right).

I love the colors they sent me– I know the white would probably get dirty with day to day use, but there’s still something very cool about it.

The black and white PSN notebooks have a slightly textured cover just like the Pen & Ink Sketchbook– almost identical to Moleskine or Piccadilly, but just slightly softer, somehow. The orange and blue “Flash” notebooks have a smooth, matte-textured cover– the texture is hard to describe, but it’s almost similar to a wetsuit. Inside, the PSN and Flash notebooks seem exactly the same, so I’m just showing the Flash. They have the standard features: a ribbon marker and an expanding back pocket. The inside front cover is totally blank.

The binding feels a little stiff when you open it, but both notebooks lie quite flat when opened all the way.

Instead of the typical embossed logo on the back cover, these notebooks have the branding stamped on the front. The back is totally plain. As you can see in the photo below, one of the notebooks has a contrasting color elastic cord rather than the usual flat ribbon– I quite liked this little detail, though the flat elastic might be more practical. Like the Rhodia Webnotebook, the slightly padded cover gets a little dented by the elastic.

Below is a comparison of the graph paper in the orange notebook (top) with a squared Moleskine (bottom). The PSN notebook has slightly darker, sharper lines.

In testing my usual pens, I found that the paper performed pretty well, about the same as a Moleskine, and maybe with a tiny bit more showthrough than a Piccadilly. It’s very smooth and pleasant to write on with my favorite pen, the Uniball Signo RT 0.38– I’d say it’s very comparable to Moleskine or Piccadilly or the Markings journal I was using recently and only slightly falls short of the ultimate smoothness of the Clairfontaine/Rhodia paper. The Pilot Varsity fountain pen I tried feathered very slightly.

The blue notebook has heavier weight sketch paper with a bit of texture to it– pens barely show through at all. It also seemed to work nicely with watercolors, holding up well without much buckling.

Overall, I think these notebooks are quite nice– I personally tend to prefer something that feels slightly more slim and sleek, as I mentioned when reviewing the Rhodia Webnotebook and the Pen & Ink Sketchbook. The thicker covers give a feeling of quality and permanence, but that ever so slight extra bulk can just make them feel a bit less pocketable. But if that doesn’t bother you, you’ll probably be happy with the paper and the rest of the features.

Specs:

The PSN notebooks shown here retail for around €4.95, and the Flash notebooks are €3.95. These are said to be A6 size, which is supposed to be 4.133 x 5.826″ but the actual measurements of the notebooks are approximately 3.5 x. 5.5″. Both styles are also available in other sizes.

The graph notebook has 192 pages of 80 gram paper. Lined and plain versions are also available.

The sketchbook has 80 pages of 150 gram paper.

Made in China.

For readers in the US, the biggest drawback to these notebooks is that you can’t buy them! They are available in the Netherlands and some European countries, and a few other places with Dutch ties such as Aruba. For more info and a list of retailers, please visit Presign International. But if you want one in the meantime, you can enter the GIVEAWAY!

I’ll be picking a random winner to receive the black PSN Sketchbook (heavy unlined paper). Here’s how you can enter:

Follow me on Twitter @notebookstories AND post this message as a Twitter update: Win a cool notebook this week @notebookstories http://www.notebookstories.com
If you have a blog, write a post linking to this review and email me your blog post URL at contest@notebookstories.com

The deadline for entry is 5pm EST on Friday October 30. I’ll announce all the winner next week. Good luck!

Followup on Giant Sketchbook and Tiny Notebook

Nifty — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:24:59 +0000

For those who were wondering about the very large and very small notebooks featured recently in readers’ collections, here you go!

The humongous sketchbook is available at Blick (the dust jacket is removable, with a plain black cover underneath):
Sketches in the Making

Sketches in the Making

This is a coffee table book with a big difference! It’s not just a collection of drawings and illustrations, at least not to start with. Instead, this giant, hardbound blank book invites you and your friends to create the keepsake of a lifetime. Leave it on your coffee table and watch as the blank pages slowly fill up with artwork created by you, your family, and friends. This conversation piece is bound to become an historical record of good times shared with those you know and care about. It’s also a great gift idea! The book weighs an amazing 8 lbs (3.6 kg) and contains 348 sheets of blank, 75 lb (110 gsm), acid-free white paper. The book jacket is printed to give the appearance of a genuine coffee table book. Hardcover. 348 sheets. 10¾” × 12½” (27 cm × 32 cm) .

As for the teeny weeny notebook, it’s made by PSN, a Dutch company.

I’ll be reviewing some of their notebooks here soon. Unfortunately, they do not sell direct to consumers, but you can check out the list of retailers on their website, most of which seem to be in various European countries or former Dutch colonies such as Aruba. Now that’s a notebook field trip I’d like to take!