Custom notebooks

From the inside to the outside

1. Paper
2. Size
3. Endpapers
4. Bookmark
5. Cover

Paper

Currently I have the following papers in stock:

• Clairefontaine Clairalfa 90 g/m²
  It’s a high quality office paper that is fountain pen friendly. The vast majority of inks doesn’t feather a bleed through. It’s not coated but still pleasant to use.
  I can print any kind of pattern on the paper and make dot grid, lined or graph paper. I can print in colours but keep in mind that it’s a regular colour laser printer that uses cyan, yellow and magenta cartridges and when it comes to small details like a coloured dot or a thin line, some colours just can’t be achieved.
• Tomoe River 52 g/m² (white or cream)
  One of the best papers for fountain pens there are. The paper doesn’t absorb the ink but it dries on top of the paper. This makes the colours more vibrant, allows all the special properties of the ink to be visible like shading, chromo-shading, sheening or glittering. The dry time is noticeably longer than with the Clairalfa which can be a disadvantage in some situations, like fast note taking on a meeting.
  I cannot print on this paper, comes blank only.

Size

I can do any rectangular shape that is no bigger than A5. I do mostly A5, A6 or square notebooks. Since I do everything by hand, there can be imperfections. Usually I cut the textblock to an even size after glueing. Therefore A5 doesn’t mean exactly 148 mm x 210 mm, it can be several millimetres shorter in either dimensions.

In my experience to achieve a nice notebook, at least 5 signatures of 4 folios (folded sheets) of 90 g/m² Clairalfa or 8×4 folios of 52 g/m² Tomoe River papers are needed. (That is 80 and 128 pages in total)

Endpapers

Endpapers are one sheet of paper added to each side of the textblock that is glued to the covers. Endpapers are more heavy than the paper used for the signatures.

• White heavy paper
  I have Clairefontaine DCP 250 g/m² paper currently. I can print graphics on it using an office colour laser printer. Keep in mind that colour laser printers are not really suitable for printing photos or very fine detailed graphics.
• Colour cardboard paper
  I have several different colours. If the cover uses several colours or has a pattern, it is best to chose either a white or a matching solid colour endpaper.

• Various papers with intricate patterns
  These are more suitable for notebooks with a plain cover.

Bookmark

I use satin ribbons for bookmarks. I haven’t tried it yet but using two bookmarks should be possible.

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See posts on my bookbinding projects here.