The Mnemosyne Diary 2023 with Cover is a great combo set from Maruman, featuring a 2-page per month spiral notebook for 2023 planning, plus a seperate top-bound notepad for daily tasks and projects. Both fit nicely into a single cover for portability. If you would like to win this set, read the rules below and get to entering!
Posts filed under Maruman
Maruman Mnemosyne US Letter Size Notebook Review
(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
I've long been a fan of Maruman Notebooks because of their excellent quality, and the Mnemosyne line is well-known for the plain black cover and double spiral binding. No matter what size you need, the Mnemosyne notebook line probably has a size that fits your needs.
The latest size to hit my desk is a unique one for the US market: Letter. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this notebook and the size, but let's focus on the stuff that it shares with all the other Mnemosyne notebooks of all sizes and shapes.
The famous black cover, twin ring binding, and yellow accents really set the Mnemosyne product line apart. There's nothing else like it, and that makes for some recognizable branding. I'm pretty sure that if you're reading this site, you've probably at least seen one of these notebooks online or in person — or you may own one or several already. If you've never tried a Mnemosyne notebook, you should definitely add it to your list. When it comes to spiral bound notebooks, they're at the top of a lot of lists.
The build quality on these notebooks is solid. The front cover is a sleek plastic that withstands plenty of wear, and the back chipboard cover is rigid and protective. The yellow accents on the cover and on the first page really add a nice pop of color to make these notebooks instantly recognizable.
The notebook paper is superb. At 80 gsm, it strides a great balance between being thin and capable of handling all sorts of inks and writing instruments. There are 70 sheets in the notebook, and they feature a 1/4" grid rule. The top of each page has a couple of blank areas for the title and page number, but the ink used for the labels (same ink as the grid lines) is a light gray that is easy to ignore if you don't want to use them.
Each page has a micro perforation at the top, which makes it easy to remove pages from the notebook with a clean rip. Due to the micro-perforation (lots of little holes), tearing a sheet out is easy and rarely results in any accidental tears on the sheet itself or ripping the paper out of the binding. It works great, and it's also really satisfying to tear sheets out due to how smooth it is.
The grid lines are only on the front of each sheet. The back is completely blank, which can be great if you want something with zero lining. Since there isn't much show-through on this paper, you can easily use both sides of the page without issues.
I've tried every pen I own on this paper over the years. It handles most things with ease. Aside from brush pens, some pigment markers, and really large, wet nibs, I've never had any problems with this paper. Lines are crisp, dark, dry as expected, and hardly show through on the back side. I haven't noticed any feathering or bleeding with the many inks/pens I've used. There's a light coating on the paper that makes it feel smoother when writing (it feels great, by the way), but it doesn't seem to affect dry time much at all. Perfect balance.
Let's look at the unique aspect of this notebook: the size. The US Letter size is a limited edition for the US market, and for now, only available on Amazon. It measures in at 279 x 226 mm, or 11 x 8.9 in. When you tear out a sheet, it measures 8.5 x 11 exactly, so the extra 0.4 accounts for the binding.
Alright, cool. It's a notebook from Japan that uses a US letter size for the pages. This isn't common, which is why it feels a little weird. Also, it's a USA limited edition, so all I can do is scratch my head and wonder why. I already have an A4 version of this notebook, and you can't tell which is which unless you compare them to each other. I'm a little perplexed why Maruman would set up the machines to run a limited edition notebook size for the US market, but here we are! If you want this special Letter size notebook, you have to pick them up from Maruman directly on Amazon.
Regardless of what size you pick, rest assured that this will be a fantastic notebook with paper that is really nice to use.
(Maruman provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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!
Maruman Croquis Pocket Series Notebook Review
(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)
Brad's been raving about Maruman Croquis paper, and I've been dying to try it, so I was stoked when this small gem came my way. This is the Pocket Sketchbook version, with 55 dual-spiral-bound sheets of 96.4 gsm cream cotton paper. It has a soft woven surface that works well with artist's pencils, but also behaves beautifully with any pen you want to use.
The paper has a slight texture to it, which lends control to your drawing or writing, but it does not bleed or feather at all. Even the sharpie barely dots through, so this paper is up for your wildest artistic adventures. The pages are not perforated, so they do not tear out easily. Instead you get the dreaded spiral-bound confetti. The dual coil does keep the pages secure, though, so they won't tear out unless you really want them to.
The cover is thick cardstock designed to keep the coils inside the spine of the notebook, rather than sticking out where they might snag or be crushed. It makes for a great compact sketchbook. At 4.2 x 6" I'd consider it a bit larger than what we usually consider pocket size, despite its "pocket series" name. I dunno, mayhaps it fits in dude pockets, but I've never had a pocket this big. Still, it's compact for a sketchbook and perfect for travel or a daily sketch. It's also great as a notepad for writing, though this thicker paper really does beg for art to be made with it.
Best of all, this is some fabulous paper for only $4.45. Yes, under five bucks for 55 sheets of goodness. I highly recommend you give it a try. Toss one in your JetPens cart next time you need a boost to free shipping. I'll be doing the same, as the one pictured has already been stolen by a young artist in my home.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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!
