Review – Layflat Dot Grid Composition

Sometimes lines don’t look right on drawings and grids are too intrusive. Dots can be easier to draw around and can give the general guidance that is necessary. If you want the added bonus of having a book that lays flat on your table or lap you might want to try out the Layflat Sketchbook Dot Grid Composition notebook.

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The cover has a static looking black and white style and and a black spine. There is a space to write a name and subject as well. The cover is very thin cardboard, the inside being plain white with a plastic coating on the outside. It is rather thin, and has a problem with the pointy corners getting dinged up easily. The spine does lay flat with a little prodding, though not as flat as a saddle-stitched binding, but flatter than any other types of composition books, and most other note books.

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The pages are thin as well, white with tiny grey dots at regular intervals. There are quite a few of the dots on a single page, though I don’t know how many. The paper shows through with almost every ink, though it does take a heavy amount to bleed through. Even a few fountain pens work. The corners get dinged up like the cover, and the individual pages are a lot easier to damage. The grid they form is easier to write with than many others and is fairly straight. Though many of the pages are not printed the same, so the dots are inconsistent. Each dot is made of several small dots so they are un-intrusive.

Overall it’s a good notebook for designs and sketches requiring general guidance. It doesn’t work well with larger fountain or brush pens, or heavier liquid ink pens. It can get dinged up easily, but it does lay flat. In the end it is a cheap and nice notebook. Though it has faults, it is reliable and of good quality. It’s good for students or casual designers.

Review – Limn Books

I am always on the lookout for new sketch/notebooks. I have hundreds already, but am hopelessly obsessed with paper. I have loads of different styles of notebooks. And when I found these fairly unique notebooks I had to have a look at them. (Disclaimer – They are made by my brother so I may be a little biased.)

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Limn Books come from Austin Texas. At the moment they come in two flavors of 5.5x 8.5. The flavors really only mean that one has red lettering and the other has blue. The only lettering is Limn on the cover and a contact email on the back. They contain 20 sheets of plain paper (no lines) covered by green cover stock. They are hand-sewn, single signature bound then covered with a binding strip.

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The covers are quite nice at protecting the books and looking nice, but they are not stiff enough to write on, so writing will require a table. The paper is almost butter, smooth but with enough grit to hold ink on the page well. Ink bleed is not much of a problem, especially if one is just writing and not drawing. They are comparable to Moleskine books in both paper and cover quality, but lack the elastic and are quite bit cheaper.20121207-001124.jpg

They are nice, inexpensive little books. They write well, are extremely portable, and are generally handy. They are good books for keeping notes, lists, and ideas. They have no real specific purpose in my mind, and are good at anything one wants to do in them, but are not necessarily the best at anything.

Review – Bienfang NoteSketch Book

One of the worst things about different types of notebooks is that they vary in the page setup. Some have lines, some graphs, others are blank. Even the lined ones vary in the ruling between the lines. And what if you want to make a note on a sketch? Sure, you can just write it somewhere on the page, but it never really looks right, does it? Likewise with drawing on lined paper. Or what if you want to draw a diagram with a description. It will never go in any space you have left on the page, especially if it’s a long one.

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Well, Bienfang appears to have those people covered with the NoteSketch Book (all in different fonts so you remember it better). But we have to start with the covers first. The front cover is a nice card stock, heavy and not likely to rip out. It can take a mild beating, regular use is easily handled, but abuse isn’t. The back is cardboard and quite nice. It is light but strong, and will support drawing on ones lap or holding it in front of a subject. The paper inside is a little over half blank with the rest being roughly college ruled lines. It’s nice, but as thin as printer paper. It will only take pencil or technical pens before bleeding and wrinkling. Of course, for its intended use this is no problem. This also helps keep the book slim and it easily fits into most bags. They come in a variety of page sizes but those are all virtually identical, with the page size you like being the only deciding factor.

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Personally I can’t go anywhere without one of these. I don’t use them much at home, but on the road or just outside they are perfect. I don’t know about anyone else, but I only bring a pencil and a pen when I’m out, so any drawbacks from thin paper are negligible. And the ability to write notes and have space for it fits what I do. I love having a set aside space to put my thoughts or the story behind a drawing. If thats what you like to do, or you like to draft or draw diagrams that require explanation, this is the book for you. If thats not your thing, then this may just not interest you.