Review: @iPenStore Rosetta Pocket Notebooks

iPenStore launched pocket notebooks that are produced locally - paper milled, manufactured, and printed in Michigan! Keri contacted me to help them give them a rigorous test to ensure they are fountain pen friendly and to see how they perform in general.

ABOUT

Color: Black, turquoise, brown, orange, wine
Ruling: Lined, blank, dot grid
Paper Color: White
Paper Weight: 105 gsm
Sheet Count: 24
Page Count: 48
Size: 3.5" x 5.5" / 89 mm x 140 mm
Price: $12.00USD - SALE $7.99
Where to buy: iPenStore

APPEARANCE

These are cute notebooks. They're a little plain in terms of design but not in a bad way. They have firm card stock covers with smoothly rounded edges, and white paper inside that sits flush with the covers. They are staple bound on the spine, and they are simply branded with a compass logo on the front and a few notes on the back cover. They are pretty basic notebooks available in several colors so you'll probably find a color you like! I have one of each and my favorite is definitely the orange, turquoise, and wine!

The paper inside is bright white with a gray ruling (dot grid, lined). I like the ruling - it is also clean and precise - not obstructive to look at or write on.

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

What about that French paper? iPenStore says:

French paper has been made in Michigan since 1871. Our history with French paper goes back to the 1950s when we purchased duplicator paper for the Chicago public school system. They are one of the last American, small independent paper mills.

The paper in these notebooks feels smooth to the touch and I wasn't sure if it was coated or not because it feels so smooth! As it turns out, it is not coated (ie. not vellum coated like Rhodia R). 

Since I have the paper anyway, let's do the rundown for pencils and ballpoints, etc. Pencils work just fine, of course. The paper does not give much to smudging. As usual, I don't care for hard leads on this paper - that works better with toothy paper. Ballpoints and gel pens work well with little to no skipping, no feathering, and low show through. Markers work well, do not feather, and only bleed if they are something like Sharpie/Copic. Brush pens were fun to use - the ink shaded well on the page and I noticed minimal feathering and no bleed through. Low show through, but that's ok as both sides could still be used! In fact, both sides could be used in all cases except for Sharpies/Copics. 

The paper reminds me of high-quality printer paper. It feels a little thick, it's smooth but not coated, it's bright white and clean (ie. no little bits or fibers in it), and it tolerates a lot of writing instruments quite well.

Ink shading looked pretty good, especially with saturated use (ie. swabs/wide, wet nibs/splats), but even with regular writing, I could see shading. With average or normal use, there was minimal feathering, low to no bleed through, and low show through. I did experience bleed through with heavy splats of ink or swabs. Really wet writers bled through and there was some show through and feathering but dry writers did not have this issue. This is not unexpected, of course. I expect that most users - at least for typical use - are using "regular" nibs such as extra-fine to broad with medium ink flow. As such, this shouldn't be too much of an issue.

I found some inks feathered at some parts of the page and I couldn't find a pattern. It's very low feathering but I did see it here and there.

Particles and sheen were visible. Particles were easy to spot but sheen was not as abundant as you may find on other paper (like Tomoe River).

Overall, I would give this the fountain pen friendly ok but it's not the best I've ever used. The paper picks up oils quite easily and this affects where your nibs write both in terms of the feeling and how the ink behaves on the page. If you can, write on a piece of paper to protect the pages from hand oils. Other than that, I still give it the ok because bleed through is minimal for regular use and inks looked quite good on the page. Paper that is not fountain pen friendly feathers a lot, bleeds through a lot, and inks look flat and bland. At least they pop a little on this paper!

PROS

• French Paper 70% Smart White ultra-smooth, uncoated, 98 brightness text paper
• Covers are 100% recycled paper cover stock (260 gsm)
• pH neutral, acid-free paper
• Milled, manufactured, and printed in Michigan, USA!
• Pocket sized - works with a lot of journal covers.
• Ruling is not visually obstructive. 
• Covers are pretty tough and hold up well to being used and carried.
• Covers protect the paper inside so there were no wrinkles or dog ears. 
• Average drying times - a wait over 30 seconds is unusual with regular nibs. 
• Both sides of the page can be used in most cases.

CONS

• As you near the end of the book, the book stays open especially if you break the spine to keep it open.
• It doesn't lie flat without breaking the spine a little.
• Paper picks up oil and it makes ink feather randomly.
• The paper is a little thick for the amount of fountain pen friendliness you get. On the other hand, show through and bleed through is much lower than other fountain pen friendly paper (such as Tomoe River)

OVERALL

As far as being a pocket notebook goes, the Rosetta notebooks are pretty solid. They are quite robust, hold up well to regular use, the paper is protected by the covers, and it is not super thick so it can be carried in your pocket or journal cover. I found the paper ideal for regular use but not super duper favorite fountain pen and ink use - as in, not something I see myself keeping forever because it was more so used for testing and keeping a to-do list. Once they were full, I recycled them.

The paper is on the fountain pen friendly scale - somewhere higher up on the spectrum, but it's not the best paper I have ever used. However, it's good enough that I would take it to a pen show or pen meet for serious pen, nib, and ink testing.

Performance aside, I love that the cover is recycled and the paper is milled locally to the company. Less shipping if you're buying from nearby, less resources used up.

I received this item/these items free of charge for the purposes of this review. This is a sponsored post - I was monetarily compensated for my time, feedback, and thorough review. I have done my absolute best to remain neutral in this review - everything you've read here is my own opinion.

Sunday Reads - July 27. 2014

• A sea of 4.5 million baby blue eye flowers in Japan.
• Write To Me Often reviews the Nemosine Singularity fountain pen. 
• No Pen Intended reviews the Parker Vector fountain pen with a navy body. 
• Pens! Paper! Pencils! reviews one of my favourite inks - Sailor Jentle Grenade. Of course, it's been discontinued...
• SBRE Brown reviews the Noodler's Neponset...with music nib. That's right.
• Incredible photo realistic graphite drawings, at Colossal.
• The Gentleman Stationer reviews the Parker Sonnet fountain pen.  
• The Pen Habit reviews a Nakaya Neo Standard fountain pen... sigh.
• JetPens has a crazy awesome blog that explains things in exquisite, very helpful detail. This time, it's about notebooks!
• I love hummingbirds. These are incredible photographs, at Colossal.
• The Clicky Post reviews the Eco-Essential pen and pencil set by now & then. 
• From The Pen Cup reviews the Kaweco Skyline in mint... blast. BLAST I want it. 
• Independence reviews Diamine Coral ink - which catches my eye because it has a sheen. Yummy.
• Ed Jelley reviews the absurdly sexy Tactile Turn Mover & Shaker pens in copper, brass, and titanium. SALIVATING.
• The Well-Appointed Desk reviews my new object of affection, the Rhodia Ice notepad! (And has to display her Kaweco Skyline in Mint...blast.) Also check out Ana's review of the Zebra Sharbo-X multi-pen. Also in mint. SIGH.

And don't forget you can get 10% off at Pen Chalet until the end of the year on your purchases! (Not an affiliate link!)

Sunday Reads - May 18. 2014

• Need some cute? Watch this sweet bunny eat a raspberry. 
• Ed Jelley reviews the Nock Co. "The Brasstown" pen case. 
• A Fool With A Pen reviews a nice orange ink - J. Herbin's Orange Indien. 
• A review of the very gorgeous Edison Nouveau Premiere 2014 Spring Edition Cherry Blossom fountain pen at From The Pen Cup. You'll chuckle while you read it, promise. 
• Interesting... the Pilot Pencase Bookband, at Office Supply Geek. 
• Fantastic fungi, photographed! See them at Colossal. I love stuff like this. 
• Pen Habit reviews the Parker Premier fountain pen. 
• A gentle reminder... The Gift, at Zen Habits. 
• Leigh, tempting me with ridiculous pen p0rn... Omas Brown Arcos. 
• The Well-Appointed Desk shares a coupon code for Fontoplumo.

And don't forget you can get 10% off at Pen Chalet until the end of the year on your purchases! (Not an affiliate link!)

Sunday Reads - May 11. 2014

• Check out the Carnival of Pen, Pencil, and Paper!
• 271 years before Pantone, an artist mixed and described every colour imaginable in an 800-page book...
• I love this song, but I also want to dive into and swim in these delicious vats of creamy ink: how ink is made. Seriously. This is like food p0rn but even better. I can hardly think straight while watching this. (Also I may or may not want to taste these.) 
• A Fisher Bullet Space Pen review, at The Newsprint.
• The Pen Addict reviews the Ogami Professional Stone Paper notebook.
• Pens! Pencil! Paper! reviews the Monteverde Impressa fountain pen - a pen I probably wouldn't have looked twice at if someone else hadn't reviewed it first. (This happens to me a lot though and that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the pen. That's just how I function.) 
• A Fool With A Pen reviews Diamine Syrah ink. Yummy. This is an ink that's safe to drink, isn't it?
• Seven reasons you should absolutely boycott SeaWorld. Yes. I'm really anti-SeaWorld. Sorry if this offends you. 
• Everyday Carry shares some of the best everyday carry pens.
• From The Pen Cup is checking out broads now. Nibs, that is. Dirty minds, geez. 
• Write To Me Often reviews the very pretty Lamy Safari Neon Coral fountain pen. 

And don't forget you can get 10% off at Pen Chalet until the end of the year on your purchases! (Not an affiliate link!)

Sunday Reads - February 2. 2014

• GIVEAWAYS NOT TO MISS!
• InCoWriMo from JetPens
• InCoWriMo giveaway from Pen Paper Ink Letter.
• InCoWriMo giveaway from Hathaway Studios.
• Round Up with Kaweco, Ed Jelley, Pen Chalet, Plannerisms, Paper Pastries, and more.
• The golden age of insect aviation - a cute animated short. 
• Homemade all-purpose cleaning spray? Have you ever done something like this?
• Check out the JetPens interview with our community's very own Cole Imperi!!
• Tips from a self-taught artist on how you improve your skills!
• Food. Food. Food. Roasted southwest vegetable cheese dip. Spinach dip.
• JustDaveyB has a new blog! And it's right up my pen-addicted alley. Hm. That doesn't sound right. Also makes me want to switch to Squarespace. 
• A Bowl Full of Lemons shows off her Midori Traveler's Notebook. 
• This is why people have cats.

Sunday Reads - June 23. 2013

• Giveaway at FPGeeks - a set of three Kaweco pens!
• Ink drop drawings, by David Edward Allen.
• Ana at The Well-Appointed Desk reviews the Pilot Cocoon fountain pen. 
• Rainscapes: Hyperrealistic Rainy Windshield Drawings, at Colossal. 
• Do you try to reduce your plastic usage? 
• Rants of the Archer reviews the Sheaffer Taranis fountain pen. 
• Mary at From The Pen Cup shares her gorgeous Ken Cavers Bamboo pen. It's gorgeous. 
• Ed Jelley reviews Diamine Denim ink. I love Diamine. I think the ink is just awesome.

Review: @InkJournal Dot Grid Notebooks - 3-Pack

Not too long ago, I reviewed the InkJournal classic notebooks - a system designed by Tom Oddo at Goldspot Pens, meant for cataloging ink collections. Here is another set of notebooks, brought to you by Tom! Thank you Tom for making this review possible!

ABOUT

Size: 3.5" x 5.5"
Color: White (not bright)
Sheet Count: 32 pages
Price: $10.00USD per 3 pack
Where to buy: InkJournal

APPEARANCE

The InkJournal dot grid notebook is a small, pocket-sized notebook with a firm cardboard/kraft cover. The cover is decorated with a really cool piece of art - a hand holding a fountain pen being dipped in a bottle of ink. It is all done in dots, which is really cool and pretty appropriate, given the name. The back of the notebook has a list of suggestions of things you can do with the notebook or ways it can be used. I like the way these notebooks look.

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

Not unlike the InkJournal classic notebooks for ink cataloging, the InkJournal dot grid notebooks paper may give way to your inks feathering and bleeding. I found this to be the case more so when the nib used was very wet.

Dry and finer nibs did not feather very much. There was some spreading. Show through was moderate but not terrible. The Sharpie marker did show through but this is typical of a Sharpie marker and not unexpected. Gel ink pens, such as the Pilot Hi-Tec-C, was well-behaved - no feathering, no bleeding, and almost no show through.

Can you use fountain pens in these dot grid notebooks? Certainly. I even did a test using a Pilot Parallel 6.0mm calligraphy pen - a very broad but not very wet fountain pen. I did three lines - one passover, then two, then three. Of course there was bleed through, but there was no feathering, so the key is to avoid wet nibs.

PROS

• 100% recycled papers.
• Printed with vegetable-based inks.
• Books are hand-crafted using presses and production machinery that is powered by renewable energy.
• Made in the USA.
• Flexible notebook is small and can be put in a purse or pocket. 

CONS  

• Wet nibs feather and bleed through the paper.

OVERALL 

These InkJournal dot grid notebooks are not designed and intended for cataloging your inks - they are multipurpose pocket-sized notebooks. They are meant to be stuffed in your bag and/or pockets for when you have an idea or need to remember something, or when you're bored and feel like doodling. I don't only use fountain pens, and I like to support companies that choose to use environmentally-friendly choices, like vegetable-based inks, recycled papers, and renewable energy, because I feel these are important for a sustainable future. I have many gel pens, roller balls, and ballpoints pens, so I can easily make use of these dot grid notebooks. As such, I have been toting one of these around in my "home bag" (the one I scribble my blog ideas in), and another in my purse along with my Field Notes, and Midori Star Traveler's Notebook. Yes, my purse is full. If you have gel pens, do give them a shot. Go green!

Review: Pentel Jolt 0.7mm Mechanical Pencil

The Pentel Jolt is a new mechanical pencil to me and is part of Pentel's Recycology line.

ABOUT

Price: $2.85USD
Where to buy: Pentel


APPEARANCE

The Jolt actually looks like a jolt. Well, actually, it looks like a skinny highlighter. But it's so bright, it gives your eyeballs a jolt. The body is almost fluorescent yellow, with a white clip, black rubbery grip, and a black eraser. There is a viewing window that shows the springy mechanism inside the pencil. The pencil's name is written on the clip, along with a cute little lightning bolt. Pentel describes the barrel as light green... I guess I can see it, but my brain sees highlighter yellow!

PERFORMANCE & USE

To use the pencil, you click the top to advance the lead, then shake the body twice to expose it. Then you write like usual, and continue to shake as you write to continually advance the lead. The kind of lead you use in your mechanical pencils can greatly affect the performance as there are varying types (hard vs. soft). This pencil came with HB lead, equivalent to a #2 pencil. It writes quite typically - not outstanding, not exciting. It gets the job done. The body of the pencil is comfortable to hold and write with and advancing the lead by shaking it is fun. It's a nice, light, and comfortable pencil to use. The shape of the body allowed me to grip it properly to give uniform and consistent writing (as you can see below).

PROS

• Latex-free grip.
• Available in 0.5mm and 0.7mm lead sizes. 
• Barrels in several different colors.
• Erasers are refillable.

CONS
 
None, really!

OVERALL

This is a pretty decent mechanical pencil. Aside from the strange fluorescent yellow barrel color, the pencil works quite nicely. While the lead doesn't auto-rotate or anything fancy, it gets the job done. Plus, it contains recycled content and it's refillable - both in terms of lead and erasers.

Mailbox Goodies: Prize and Parcel

This week, I received two boxes - one was a prize and the other was a parcel! The parcel was from Pentel of America and included a whole set of their Recycology products. Thanks Pentel!

The prize was from Kenro and included a Sheaffer VFM fountain pen and a bottle of Sheaffer Skrip ink. Thank you Kenro!

Sunday Reads - December 2. 2012

• There are lakes within the oceans. 
• I totally need to get this book. Heather at A Penchant for Paper reviews Quinn McDonald's Raw Art Journaling.  
• 50 Percent of US Consumers Have These.  
• I fancy this pen now. The Levenger True Writer Kyoto fountain pen, at From The Pen Cup. 
• DIY peppermint lip balm.
• A 170-foot trampoline installed in a Russian forest.
• We may have to make the drive out to Johnson City to see this. Maybe a little later on. When it's not still too early... 
• CREEPY SPIDERS. 
• Pretty much the best pattern-er ever: Anika. 

Review: Bound Custom Memo & Bound Vegan Leather Journals

Yes, you've heard of custom journals before. Where you get to pick between lined, graph, or blank paper. Thrillsville. Ta-Da! In swoops Bound Custom Journals! These are truly customizable journals, but I'll get to that in a minute. I selected these two items to review, with the help of a gift certificate from Joel (thanks Joel!!).

Nice earth tones.

Bound has (at least) three great things going for them, aside from being awesomely customizable:

• The paper is 100% post-consumer
• The paper is acid-free, so it will last you a lifetime. 
• Journals are made in Durham, North Carolina. 

How are these journals made? Bound has a really great, thorough FAQ you can peek through if you want more detail, but here's what they tell us:

Bound custom journals are manufactured by hand using a three step process. First, the content you have selected is printed digitally on 100% post consumer recycled paper. Second, the printed pages are cut and prepared for binding as what we call in the industry a “book block.” Finally, the book block is hand-bound in the cover you have selected using a proprietary binding technique.

Bound Memo - ($10) - 3.5" x 5.5"

The Bound Memo journal is a small, pocket sized notebook. The cover is cardboard-style and flexible - the front cover can fold back completely. I selected the kraft color (I've really been into kraft lately) but there are four other colors you can select. The Bound Memo has 48 pages that you can customize.

You can get city center maps of a few places. Since I live in Austin, I thought it would be neat, and it is! Not too jumbled, easy to read. Did I mention the paper smells good?

The isometric grid (lined) is so much fun. It's perfect for random doodling.

The isometric grid (dot) is just as awesome but gives you a little more freedom!

Well, I'm clearly not an artist. But I had to put something in the storyboard page to demonstrate it. Right? This is supposed to be Tyco...

Music staff, to-do list. Note to self on the back side.

Bound Vegan Leather Bound Journal - ($50) - 4" x 6"

I was most curious about the vegan leather (available in brown and black). I was trying to figure out what the material could be! For some reason I was expecting a more leather-like material so I was a little surprised to find the material is polyurethane. However, it's nice, soft, and very smooth, with the Bound logo tastefully placed on the front. There are 140 pages to customize in this journal.

I love the covers of this journal. Both the Vegan Leather Bound journal and the Original Bound journal have a cover described as "Flexi-bull" - it looks like and feels a bit like a hard cover, except it's still relatively soft and bendy! It's like the best of both worlds.

There are so many different page types to include in any of these journals. Once you select a journal and move to the content customization section, you can select different page types, select ruling spaces (i.e the spaces between your dots), you can select how many of that page you want included, and you can rearrange your content to suit the order you want. You can get lines on one side, dots on the other, a story board on the next page, notes to self on the next page, etc.

For paper color comparison purposes!
Top to bottom: Writer's Blok lined notebook, Moleskine blank notebook, Banditapple Carnet PeeWee blank notebook, Field Notes lined memo book, Bound memo book + dot grid.

You all must be curious about the paper by now. Well, fountain pen users,  there's some good news and bad news. Good news is, the paper is decent. There was no feathering with the pen/ink combinations I tested, and I hate feathering. I'd take bleed through over feathering any day. The paper is smooth and the ink dries quickly on it because it's not coated. Unfortunately, there is bleed through, especially with wet nibs. The paper takes pencils, gel pens, and ballpoints without problem. There was minor show through with marker pens (i.e Sharpie pen).

I like the feedback from the paper a lot.

Major bleed through, clearly.

The best comparison I can think of to the Bound Memo ($10 each) would be the Field Notes memo books ($10 for three), both of which are made in the U.S.A, though Field Notes are not printed on recycled paper.

Pocket sized!

The Vegan Leather Bound journal could be compared to Daycraft's journals, whose covers are Italian polyurethane, and the paper is decent though not entirely fountain pen friendly.

Top to bottom: Quo Vadis Habana (small), Daycraft Skinz diary, Daycraft Juicy diary in watermelon, Bound Vegan Leather journal.

My only complaint is the price, and I can't really complain about that either, because I try to shop locally and support small businesses when I can. I firmly believe in supporting companies that use recycled materials, because what's the point of recycling things if no one buys recycled products? They are also made in the USA which means less shipping to get it to me, thus less resources consumed.

Another Bound Review
Whatever! 
East...West...Everywhere

Prices
Memo Book - $10
Original - $35
Vegan Leather - $50

Overall 
Bound custom journals come at a premium price so perhaps they're not ideal for your everyday, scribble-all-sorts-of-junk in journal - though there's no reason you can't do that. But you can customize them to your almost every whim - I love that these journals are customizable - cover color, content, order. And, they are made in the USA, on 100% recycled paper. Bound custom journals fall into the "green" category for me. They are pricy so if you are going to get some, you best make use of the customizing. These are good quality journals and quite environmentally- and animal-friendly.

Bound also offers gift cards or bulk orders which would be totally awesome for something like a wedding favor or a very thoughtful gift for that stationery freak addict connoisseur in your life!