Review: @InkJournal Dot Grid Notebooks - 3-Pack

Not too long ago, I reviewed the InkJournal classic notebooks - a system designed by Tom Oddo at Goldspot Pens, meant for cataloging ink collections. Here is another set of notebooks, brought to you by Tom! Thank you Tom for making this review possible!

ABOUT

Size: 3.5" x 5.5"
Color: White (not bright)
Sheet Count: 32 pages
Price: $10.00USD per 3 pack
Where to buy: InkJournal

APPEARANCE

The InkJournal dot grid notebook is a small, pocket-sized notebook with a firm cardboard/kraft cover. The cover is decorated with a really cool piece of art - a hand holding a fountain pen being dipped in a bottle of ink. It is all done in dots, which is really cool and pretty appropriate, given the name. The back of the notebook has a list of suggestions of things you can do with the notebook or ways it can be used. I like the way these notebooks look.

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

Not unlike the InkJournal classic notebooks for ink cataloging, the InkJournal dot grid notebooks paper may give way to your inks feathering and bleeding. I found this to be the case more so when the nib used was very wet.

Dry and finer nibs did not feather very much. There was some spreading. Show through was moderate but not terrible. The Sharpie marker did show through but this is typical of a Sharpie marker and not unexpected. Gel ink pens, such as the Pilot Hi-Tec-C, was well-behaved - no feathering, no bleeding, and almost no show through.

Can you use fountain pens in these dot grid notebooks? Certainly. I even did a test using a Pilot Parallel 6.0mm calligraphy pen - a very broad but not very wet fountain pen. I did three lines - one passover, then two, then three. Of course there was bleed through, but there was no feathering, so the key is to avoid wet nibs.

PROS

• 100% recycled papers.
• Printed with vegetable-based inks.
• Books are hand-crafted using presses and production machinery that is powered by renewable energy.
• Made in the USA.
• Flexible notebook is small and can be put in a purse or pocket. 

CONS  

• Wet nibs feather and bleed through the paper.

OVERALL 

These InkJournal dot grid notebooks are not designed and intended for cataloging your inks - they are multipurpose pocket-sized notebooks. They are meant to be stuffed in your bag and/or pockets for when you have an idea or need to remember something, or when you're bored and feel like doodling. I don't only use fountain pens, and I like to support companies that choose to use environmentally-friendly choices, like vegetable-based inks, recycled papers, and renewable energy, because I feel these are important for a sustainable future. I have many gel pens, roller balls, and ballpoints pens, so I can easily make use of these dot grid notebooks. As such, I have been toting one of these around in my "home bag" (the one I scribble my blog ideas in), and another in my purse along with my Field Notes, and Midori Star Traveler's Notebook. Yes, my purse is full. If you have gel pens, do give them a shot. Go green!