Fabriano EcoQua Pocket Notebook (Pack of 4): A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Fabriano is an Italian company that has been making paper since 1264. Yes, you read that correctly: 1264! Greats like Michelangelo, Beethoven, and Francis Bacon used Fabriano paper--but, no worries. You needn't paint the Sistine Chapel or write a symphony or become a philosopher in order to enjoy this paper. It'll work for bullet journaling and shopping lists.

EcoQua Pocket Notebook covers are made with 290gsm Sirio Tela ecological paper. This paper is thick like card stock, but has a textured surface that resists scratching. The corners of the notebook are rounded off, giving them a clean, sophisticated look. Each notebook is staple bound with two staples and measures 3 by 5.5 inches.

The paper inside is Bioprima Book paper in ivory. This paper is 85gsm (i.e. much thicker than Tomoe River Paper, for example). In addition, it is eco-friendly. The pulp comes from forests that are managed in accordance with specifications established by the Forest Stewardship Council. The paper is also chlorine free.

My set of notebooks are dot grid patterned (4mm), but blank versions are available. The notebook has 32 pages, and the last 16 are perforated. Be aware that the perforation is 10mm from the inside margin, so if you aren't careful some of your writing might remain in the notebook.

I tested the paper with eight fountain pens and inks. The paper handled all of them quite well. I observed no bleeding even with the wettest nibs. There was no bleed through onto the back of the page either, although there was show through. Writing on this paper is enjoyable. It is smooth but offers just enough feedback that your nibs feel steady.

Next, I tested the paper with other writing instruments (pens and pencils), and, again, the paper worked well. Colors are bright and readable. I noticed that the Palomino Blackwing lead smudged when I ran my finger over it. Both Sharpies bled through to the other side, but no other bleed through occurred.

I swabbed eight inks on the paper. All the colors are brilliant, none bled through, and some exhibited a tiny bit of sheen. Had this been a sunny day, sheen may have been much more visible. I apologize for not knowing the name of the first ink. I'm pretty sure I reviewed it long ago for Pen Addict, but neither the box nor the bottle give the name in English.

I copied a Mary Oliver poem into the notebook using my Platinum fountain pen with a soft nib and Iroshizuku Yama Budo. The ink went down smoothly and dried quickly. I wasn't worried about smudging nor did I feel like the nib was skating over the surface.

I have no complaints whatsoever with the Fabriano EcoQua notebooks. They are well made and the paper is exquisite. You can purchase four-packs from JetPens for $11.00 in cool colors (Black, Grey, Plum, and Turquoise) or warm colors (Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green).

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Fabriano EcoQua Gluebound A5 Notebook Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Fabriano EcoQua Gluebound A5 notebook is one of those items that caught me by surprise this year. At first glance, it doesn't look like much, and I'll admit that I didn't even recognize the brand name until looking into it in more depth. Luckily, the EcoQua notebook is a fantastic little product that works best for me as a notepad since the pages are so easy to remove when you're done using them. And the paper quality is good enough to convince me to try this for a while instead of my trusty Rhodia DotPads that rely on perforated paper, which can be a little more finicky to tear cleanly.

Before getting into how versatile this notebook is, let's get the specifications out of the way. The EcoQua notebook is A5 sized (8.3 x 5.8 inches) with 90 sheets of 85 gsm white paper. The entire notebook is made in Italy from 100% natural materials, and features a sturdy but flexible card stock cover that protects the insides. The paper has a 4mm dot grid pattern, and the sheets are held in place with a flexible glue binding that makes the sheets easy to tear out. The Lemon colorway featured here is bright and happy, but there are plenty of other color options too.

I think the notebook is pretty interesting aesthetically, but most of what we care about is how the paper performs, right? Paper weight only tells part of the story in terms of how it feels to use. In the case of the EcoQua notebook, the paper is a little thicker than the Leuchtturm 1917 paper I'm so accustomed to now, but it still doesn't feel heavy or thick. There's a good amount of toothy feedback when writing, but it doesn't impact my writing style at all. It feels like there's a very thin coating on the paper to help with absorption, but it doesn't make the paper feel glassy smooth when writing, which I prefer. The light gray dot grid pattern is fantastic for providing structure when you want it, but disappearing when you don't need it. In my testing, I couldn't find any issues with the paper in terms of feathering or bleeding. Inks seem to dry at a normal pace, and the colors pop on the white paper.

The only downside I've noticed when using the paper is that there's a significant amount of show-through on the back side of the page. For me, this makes the back unusable, but others may not mind. Of course, this also depends on what you're writing with. Fountain pen ink definitely shows through, no matter the nib size. Other ink pens show through as well, but not as much. Even pencil marks show through, but not enough to make the back of the page unusable.

Ultimately, I'm not concerned about the show-through because this notebook feels more like a notepad to me. The cover opens up flat because it isn't attached to the glue binding at all. I've been very content to just tear out sheets when I'm done using them so I can move on to the next blank page. It makes an excellent notepad for me, but the added bonus here is that the notepad comes with a sturdy cover.

If you're interested in the Fabriano EcoQua Gluebound A5 notebook, check them out at JetPens. At $8.50, they're a fantastic value with decent paper. If the yellow is too loud, you can pick from seven other fun colors.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!