This look at the Pen & Ink Sketchbook is the 2nd post in my “Then and Now” series, examining various notebook brands that have been around for a while to see how they’ve changed. (See my “then and now” post about the Rhodia Webnotebook). I am always griping about how Moleskine’s notebooks have declined in quality, but the changing costs of manufacturing and materials are affecting all brands, so it seems fair to see how different companies are able (or not) to uphold their standards.

When I first started looking at alternatives to Moleskine notebooks, Pen & Ink from Art Alternatives was one of my favorite brands. They offered a variety of page formats, and even offered a sketchbook with heavyweight paper in both portrait and landscape styles. I didn’t love Pen & Ink squared notebooks because the lines were too dark, but the heavyweight sketchbook was the best (and maybe the only) alternative to the Moleskine sketchbook for users who wanted a pocket size hardcover with heavier, smooth paper. And the prices were great. (See Four Notebooks Reviewed Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.)

Back then, I wasn’t thrilled that the cover edges on the Pen & Ink notebook had more overhang than Moleskine, but nowadays pretty much every notebook seems to have at least that much overhang. But otherwise I liked the soft feel of the cover and found it well-made, with the paper performing similarly to Moleskine’s sketch paper. I used one Pen & Ink sketchbook as a daily carry journal in 2014, and have another spare that I had used for pen tests in the 2008 review.

A couple of years ago, I found myself wishing I had more of those Pen & Ink sketchbooks. They are still available, but they have changed.

You can see at first glance that the packaging looks very different. Most importantly, the elastic closure now wraps diagonally around the corner, which I don’t like. The cover material is pretty much the same. They’ve added “Art Alternatives” and “blank” to the branding stamped on the back cover, where the old version just had “Pen & Ink” and called it “sketch.” Overhang is pretty much the same, maybe just slightly more… but the corners aren’t tucked in as tidily on the newer version. Although the page count is still 96, and paper weight is still 145 GSM, the notebook seems a bit thinner, and not as evenly squared off (perhaps that diagonal elastic pulls it off-kilter).

The paper is still a creamy ivory, but very slightly brighter white in the newer notebook. (The endpapers are even whiter, while in the old version, they are the same shade as the pages.) It is still quite good on bleed-through, with only the wettest markers soaking through to the back of the page. Show-through is actually a little better in the newer Pen & Ink notebook. The newer version is also better in terms of fountain pen feathering, though neither is really perfect. In both cases, I would still say these are great for drawing with gel pens, Microns, and pencils, when you want nice straight lines undisrupted by toothier paper. Despite the design changes, Pen & Ink sketchbooks have not declined drastically since 2008 in terms of manufacturing quality, and the paper has actually improved.

In 2008, the list price was $9.99 for the Pen & Ink Sketchbook. The suggested retail is now $10.75, though JetPens has them for $8.00, Amazon’s price is $6.34, and Blick’s is $5.84. For the features you get, I think these are great prices, but the diagonal elastic makes it a no-go for me. (On many of the websites where they are sold you will still see the old product image, but what you’ll get, at least in my experience, will be the new version.)

As for other options that have all or at least some of the features of the Pen & Ink sketchbook:

Moleskine’s pocket sketchbook prices have always been much higher, from $10-15 in 2008, and most recently listing at $17.95, but that’s a moot point now that they are discontinued (Moleskine confirmed to me that they have no plans to keep making them in the 9 x 14cm size, so if you still like them, snap them up while you can).

Stillman and Birn’s Epsilon series offers high-quality smooth paper in a pocket size, but without the hard cover, elastic closure, or back pocket. Their list price is $11.99, though they are discounted to $9.59 at Jerry’s Artarama.

The best all-around alternative nowadays is probably the Leda Art Supply pocket sketchbook reviewed here, which has a grey “flexi” cover, elastic closure and back pocket (but no ribbon marker). The paper is smooth, not quite as heavy as Pen & Ink’s but performs better with fountain pens. Amazon sells these in a 3-pack for $26.97 ($8.99 each), a 2-pack for $17.89 ($8.95 each) or $10.34 for one (marked down from $12.24 list). Other sizes and combo bundles are also available.

Leuchtturm’s sketchbook (reviewed here) is also a great option if you don’t mind the size being slightly taller, but list prices are closer to Moleskine’s and discounting doesn’t seem as prevalent.

And if you don’t mind toothier paper, HandBook Artist Journals and Hahnemuhle Travel Journals are worth a try. (Both of these will be featured in future “then and now” posts!)