One of my biggest pet peeves about trying to shop for notebooks online is that sellers sometimes don’t include the size. eBay is the worst– if you’re buying a notebook from a known, clearly identified brand it’s not always a big deal, but sometimes sellers list a notebook without giving you any information or photographic context to be able to judge its size. Why would they not think that is important info?
But what’s even worse is when you are told a notebook is a certain size, but that information is meaningless. Measurements in inches and centimeters are pretty straightforward, (though sometimes they’ll be off by a fraction of an inch) but I really hate the letter/number sizing system that is more common in the UK and Europe.
A4, A5 and A6 are probably the most common sizes. In my experience, A4 is a reliably consistent size, the way “letter size” paper in the US is always 8.5 x 11″. I don’t have much experience with A5 variations, but A6 is a size that I’ve bought a lot. All the notebooks in the photo below were described as being A6 size:
The actual dimensions are:
Bindewerk blue linen cover notebook: 93 x 142mm
Stalogy: 105 x 147mm
Seawhite Travel Journal: 109 x 153 mm
Superior Maker: 91 x 140 mm
I’ve seen 3.5 x 5.5″ (90 x 140 mm) Moleskines described as A6, and 3.5 x 6″ (90 x 150) Leuchtturms described as A6.
The official definition of A6 is 4.1 x 5.8 inches, or 105 x 148 mm. Why do people think it’s acceptable to list a product online and describe it as A6 size if it is actually not?
Signed,
The Grumpy Notebook Addict
Grumpy, you ain’t the only one that has an issue with this. And I do not know what the answer is. It is exceedingly frustrating to purchase a notebook listed as A5 size and find out that it will not fit an A5 cover.
While I have “standardized” on Leuchtturm notebooks, I still like to experiment from time to time. Now, I’ll pass up a notebook that looks interesting but there is no size listed or I cannot locate information on the size of the notebook.
And as far as my Leuchtturms are concerned, I have custom covers made.
I hate the letter/number sizing system…it is completely meaningless and I won’t buy online unless actual dimensions are given.
word
Totally agree! Especially if you are trying to fit a notebook in a cover or bag compartment where a few millimeters might make a difference. So annoying.
– Tina
The next level is when they add slim to it. Like it absolves all other differences. B6 ……ish.
I don’t mind as much with notebooks as I do with other stationery that I plan to keep in a binder or folio, but I can see how this is extremely annoying. Props to Stalogy for getting it spot on; despite your measuring it one mm off, that’s still the most accurate of the bunch, and their website even has the size listed in mm: “A6 (105 mm × 148 mm): Paper 184 Sheets”.
The A4/A5/A6 convention is actually part of ISO 216: http://www.papersizes.org/a-paper-sizes.htm
A6 is half the size of A5, A5 is half the size of A4, so on and so forth. Once I figured out that it was proportional, it made more sense to me.
However, that doesn’t excuse the vastly different sizes from the various manufacturers; at that size the tolerance is only +/- 1.5mm.