While I prefer the ruled paper, the Apica brand is quickly becoming my new favorite for working with fountain pens. This was great to test their premium options, and it’s just a Macie to write on as standard, natch.

The paper is excellent. The notebook is sturdily bound and has a nice cover. I purchased this with the expectation that, as advertised, its pages would lie flat. This is mostly true, but it's not the same as a spiralbound notebook. Overall, a great notebook.

The paper makes a fountain pen nib happy. This is my first graph paper. I like it. Lays nice and flat. Well constructed.Wondering who the man in the 2/3-size tophat is on the notebook cover/wrapper? Mr. A.Silky?

I bought this notebook several years ago and still haven't filled it up for a few reasons all relating to the paper.Now the paper comes off as stunning when you first open the notebook. The cover and presentation are perfect and the grid paper is top-notch. Then I started to write in the notebook. This paper feels quite picky when it comes to various combinations of nibs and inks, although I am somebody who likes to write with more broad nibs. The top of the paper holds alright as well, but then I get feathering as I write down the paper just like when I used to write with Leuchtturm1917 notebooks. The feathering is somewhat negligible if you're willing to let it go, but I can't help but notice it. Even when I got my hands as clean as possible and wrote with finer nibs, I do get some ghosting and bleedthrough in some spots. It's such a shame because the paper looks and feels so nice. I really wanted to love this notebook for everything it does right, but now I feel like I have to write in it with pencils just so I don't feel like my money was wasted.

The only other graph paper notebook I can compare this to is a big box store bought Moleskine. I miss having more pages, a robust cover, and the elastic band. But the joy of writing on the outstanding paper more than makes up for those things. I use the lightest of touch to write, my handwriting looks better, and there's no feathering and no bleed through that I can tell. I've only been using Noodler's Black (Bulletproof) ink and need to wait several seconds for the ink to dry more before turning the page to continue writing, but even then if I don't wait long enough and there is some transfer to the other page the smudges aren't all that noticeable. Great for archiving notes.

I love these notebooks....us them both for regular journaling and bullet journaling. Goulet has such a great selection of pens and paper.

Bought this paper to try for a journal insert in my travelers notebook. Worked very well. Used fountain pens and Micron pens and they worked great. Minimal ghosting and no bleed through not matter which ink I used. Will be looking to get another one of these to try as my bullet journal. It is very aesthetically pleasing from the cover to the paper. A great purchase and well worth the price point.

I have travelers notebook and cut down the entire premium notebook because I wanted it for my regular Midori. Silly maybe but I love this paper.

I just started getting this notebook ready to serve as my 2017 bullet journal, and it is the best gridded paper I've ever written on with fountain pens! There is no feathering, no bleed through, and barely any ghosting. The grid lines are extremely thin and gray rather than black, so they are subtle and precise. Furthermore, the book lies completely flat, which is important when writing edge to edge.

I am on my second Apica notebook. I love the grid lines, the paper is the best of any, and I mean any, of the others notebooks I have tried. Clairfontain and Rhodia are comparable but I like Apica better. Leuchtturm doesn't even come close in my opinion. The only thing I would change would be numbering the pages and maybe offering it in dot grid.

So I am using this notebook as my primary work tracking notebook. I use a personally modified form of the bullet journal method that uses most of the same elements. I also primarily use a fountain pen for most of my work uses. The first thing I would say about this notebook is that it's very well suited for the task of being a 'daily carry' notebook. The binding is decent enough, and the front cover seems to be tough enough to withstand most abuse. Although I do use it in a Kokuyo Systemic cover (which fits perfectly btw), it appears to be sturdy enough to use without a cover. The second thing about the book is the binding. I am really picky about my bindings because I hate when paper bubbles or flaps. This is the primary reason for knocking off one star of the overall rating. The binding, although sturdy, is rather stiff. You will have to hold pages down at the top and the bottom while writing them. You can also use the butterfly clip method that some like to use to keep pages from bubbling or pushing up from the rest of the pages. It isn't awful, but it isn't as sturdy as a Rhodia web notebook after folding the pages down. The other thing that drives me totally bonkers is the very first 'page' you have after you open up the cover. It has this purple page for an index. First of all, the page is purple which matches nothing about the notebook at all. Secondly, it looks like it is glued onto the binding because I don't see a matching 'purple' page for the very last page in the notebook. Thirdly, you have to fold it down to even write on it as it seems to be glued partially to the front cover. Fourthly, the 'index' section is a grid of lines that only uses the bottom 1/2 of the paper. Since I index often and a lot in my notebooks, it really renders this first 'index' page useless for me, but your use may conform to their format. There are not any page numbers in the notebook, so you will have to end up writing your own. It is a disappointment they didn't number the pages, but I have grown accustomed to not having them as not many manufactures put them on there. The third thing is the paper quality. The paper quality is quite good. Although I have to admit that I mostly use an extra fine twisby eco on it, so feathering and show/bleed through is kept at a minimum by the very nature of the pen. Using that, I see no bleed through. I also see VERY little show through with this fine of a nib. You can't make out that there is something written on the other side of the page. I don't write on the left/backside of notebook pages often, and only do that in order to add additional notes that I missed on the other side to go along with my tracking on the right side of the notebook. The only bleed through I have seen are a few times where I have written with different wider nibs, and ONLY where ink has pooled up pretty thickly. This was only done once with a Pilot fine point Custom Heritage 92 using Diamine Red Dragon ink. (I was drawing a box on the page, and where two lines intersected, a bunch of ink pooled up at that spot.). However the bleed through was very minimum and didn't even make the back of the page unusable. The paper is very slick as well. In fact, I find it slicker, more shiny, and more white than most of the Rhodia paper. One disadvantage with this is the dry time which, in my opinion, is a little longer than the standard Rhodia paper. The 'feel' of the paper is smoother than Rhodia as well. It is probably closer to HP premium 32# laser paper as far as 'feel' and smoothness goes. However, the shading on this will blow the HP paper out of the water. All of the inks I've tried seem to do an excellent job at shading in my opinion. Even the primary ink (Private Reserve Sherwood Green Quick Dry) that I use in this notebook I have gotten to shade, and it hardly ever shades anywhere. Apache Sunset also looks very good on this paper with a medium Visconti palladium dream touch nib. The forth think is the grid marks. The grid is a hairline grey line which is very sharp. The only thing here that may be distressing for OCD people is that the grids on the very edges of the paper (the last square on the left and the right) isn't a full square. It is about a half square on the last column (at least mine was) of the edges, and in the middle where the binding is, you will see about a 3/4 of a square. At the top and bottom you will see about a 1/2 square. Most Rhodia paper is the same way, so if you don't go crazy with those notebooks, you should be ok here as well. I will say that I like the thinner grey lines on this one as opposed to the purpleish ones on some of the rhodia ones.

bought based on a few recommendations but was disappointed with the ghosting AND bleed through. i primarily use an fine metropolitan with noodler's bernanke blue ink and was just bummed at the inability to use both sides of the paper. i loved the almost creme color and would have considered it a good value ASIDE from the ghosting and bleed through.

Just recently bought this notebook and it's really nice. The paper is buttery smooth. I'm writing with my Pilot Metropolitan (broad nib) and Lamy Safari (fine nib). And the cover is just so classy!

its all about the paper. Yes, they are not the cheapest in the world, but the feel of the pen to paper is very nice. Really enjoy the graph paper, esp. when taking notes at work (technical field). Would be nice if they numbered the pages and perforated a corner, though, but those don't detract enough to cause any issues.

I always said that if Apica came out with a thicker stock and better ink holdout in grid rules, I would have my perfect notebook. They have delivered in spades. Pens just glide across this stuff they don't bleed through or feather. And there's just enough tooth to give you a tactile feedback when you write. The smyth binding allows it to lay perfectly flat without damage. I've only had it a week, but I can already tell it will be durable. Bravo Apica!

Love these notebooks. Superb construction, paper is very similar to a Rhodia Webby (but brighter white), and they just feel really nice to hold and to use. If you're a notebook geek, you have to at least try one of these. My favorite daily use pens (gel ink, fountain pen, fine point sharpie pen) are all a perfect writing experience.

This was my 2nd Apica Premium CD purchase. This notebook has wonderfully smooth ivory graph paper. I chose a really wet combo (Ahab /Diamine Syrah) as a quick test. There was no feathering, minimal - I mean minimal - ghosting, and no bleed-through even when I intentionally left a near puddle of ink. The only thing I would note is the drying time is a little longer them on some papers, but that's obviously dependent on the ink and pen as well. Unless you really need a hard cover, I have found these Apica notebooks to be of exceptional quality, at a very good price point.

Hello, a bit of comparisson in hope it will help someone.Pens and inks used:Lamy Studio with Noodler?s BlackKonrad with 54 MassachusettsKonrad with Brown 41Konrad with Diamine SyrahPreppy with Bad Green GatorApica Premium C.D. Notebook-graphIt did great with all the inks except for the Syrah, I?m blaming the ink on this one. If you know them, Rhodia gridlines are purple, thick and ?badly? printed compared to Clairefontaine gridlines. Well, Clairefontaine looks thick and ?badly? compared to Apica's. The only downside for me is the price.Clairefontaine Notepad-graphGreat in every aspect, not so much on its looks now that I?ve seen the Apica. It handled well all the inks and kind of makes them look nicer.Rhodia Notebook-graphThe only difference with the Clairefontaine are the gridlines, great paper and a bit cheaper.Rhodia Notepad-dottedAlso great paper, but be careful, my crooked lines were more noticeable in this one.

This is the best little notebook of high quality paper.

I use the word ridiculous in praise; so freakin' ridiculous how awesome this paper is. The notebook paper is smooth, bright, and the pages lay about as flat as any non-ringed notebook could. I'd give a bonus star for the subtle grey grid lines as I'm not a fan of dark grids, but 5 stars will have to do.

Ultra smooth light cream colored paper. Light echo and even though I didn't experience bleedthrough it looks like it could be susceptible with very wet inks and specialty nibs.

This is probably the most smooth paper I've ever written on. Every pen and pencil I've used on it has glided over the sheet like it was glass. There is almost no tooth at all to it, which is to my liking. Wet writers like my Visconti Homo Sapiens show no bleed through, it's almost difficult to tell there's anything written on the reverse of a sheet. Drying times are a little higher because the paper isn't absorptive so a little care to prevent smudging is necessary, but worth it for the smooth writing experience. The A5 size is perfect for a field notebook or a journal, and the grid paper is well-suited to engineers or any technical application.