Apica Paris Motif Notebook

I’ve never been to Paris. I have, however, been a fan of Apica notebooks for several years now. Apica is a Japanese manufacturer of high-quality paper products. One of my favorite products of theirs is the CD15 notebook. I get them for a few dollars each at my local Japanese entertainment and stationery shop. A good chunk of my lecture notes from community college were written in these. They held up wonderfully. I let them jostle around in my backpack several days a week, and the covers didn’t get torn up. I also like knowing my notes will be safe for years to come due to the archival quality of the acid-free paper. My notes from high school are already ruined because I used the cheapest paper available. Bummer.

During my last shopping trip on Jetpens.com, I noticed these cheaper Paris-themed Apica notebooks. They had good reviews, so I picked one up. I chose the beige airmail theme.

Check out the cute airmail-themed details on the front cover.

I noticed a few differences between the standard Apica CD notebook and these Paris notebooks. The paper is thinner in the Paris noteboks, and the lines are gray instead of blue. I personally prefer the gray lines, so no complaints there. The CD notebooks have 8 more sheets. The covers of the Paris notebooks also seem less sturdy. I briefly set mine down on a damp bench, and there is evident water damage. I’m also not sure whether or not the Paris notebooks are acid-free.

Part of the water damage. It’s so bumpy it might confuse someone who reads Braille.

That’s where the differences end. Even though the paper is noticeably thinner, it’s still silky-smooth and easy to write on with fountain pens.

Here’s some information about the notebooks:

Page count	58 (26 sheets)
Paper weight	70 gsm
Paper color	White
Ruling	Lined (6.5mm spacing)
Ruling color	Gray
Perforated?	No
Acid-free?	Does not specify
Binding	Stitched & glued
Lays flat?	Yes
Cover material	Cardstock
Cover colors	Beige (airmail), gray (Eiffel Tower), blue (map), lilac (map), gray (hearts)
Size	Semi B5 (9.9 x 7”)
Additional features	No. and Date lines at top, indentation guidelines at top and bottom, a dot at the end of every fifth line for counting

The indentation guidelines are tiny. Can you see them? They’re so helpful when trying to take neat notes!

On to the ink test! I used several different fountain pens as well as a Zebra G dip nib. I don’t recommend using such a sharp nib on this paper. It didn’t work very well, and I got little paper fibers stuck between the tines on occasion.

From top to bottom: Noodler’s Black American Eel – Jinhao fine, J. Herbin Perle Noir – Zebra G, Pilot Iroshizuku Take-sumi - Zebra G, Waterman Intense Black – Esterbrook 9556 firm fine, Waterman Harmonious Green – TWSBI Eco 1.1mm stub, Sailor Jentle Yama-dori – Nemosine 0.8mm stub, Waterman Inspired Blue – Jinhao bold, J. Herbin Violette Pensee – Lion fine, Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses – Jinhao bold, Noodler’s Black Swan in English Roses - Zebra G, Sheaffer Skrip Red – Jinhao medium, J. Herbin Bouquet d’Antan – Hero medium, Organics Boron – Jinhao bold.

Everything looks pretty good. There’s a little feathering in the Perle Noir, but I didn’t even notice it with my bare eyes. I had to take a photo and zoom in to see it.

On my to-do list: take a calligraphy class.

The paper brings out beautiful shading in several of my inks. Look at the Yama-dori and Inspired Blue in particular. Aren’t they gorgeous?

Here’s the back of the page. It only bled through where I inadvertently left an ink puddle. The show-through is quite noticeable, so you may prefer a notebook with thicker pages if this bothers you. I plan to stick with the CD15 in the future for this reason.

I give this notebook an A- rating. It’s a great looking notebook with many features that I enjoy, such as the indentation guidelines, the dots for counting the lines, and, of course, the fountain-pen friendly paper. But there are still a few quirks that annoy me, namely, the thin pages, the flimsy cover, and the relatively small number of sheets.

If you like the paper in this notebook but aren’t thrilled with the cover, I recommend the Apica Wizard notebook. It’s the same size and has the same paper as the Paris motif notebook, but there are 70 sheets, a sturdier cover, and twin ring binding. I used this notebook for a chemistry class, and when writing with an extra-fine pen, it was awesome. Twin ring binding is great because the metal coils don’t twist their way out of the notebook over time, which is a common problem I had with traditional spiral notebooks.

What would you use these notebooks for? Which cover design do you like best? Have you ever been to Paris? Drop me a comment!

Bonus pictures: Behind the Scenes of Mary’s Ink Test

I feel like a watercolor artist after cleaning my pens.

My “uh… is this Gatorade…?” glass of inky water.