Notebooks & Notepads

When choosing a notebook, you might notice GSM in the paper details. It stands for grams per square metre and tells you how much the paper weighs. A higher number means heavier paper, though weight alone won't tell you how thick a page feels or how it handles your ink.

For notes you’ll write on both sides, pay attention to how visible the ink is on the reverse. You may notice a faint shadow of your writing, even when the ink hasn't soaked through. This is typically called show-through, while bleed-through happens when ink passes through the paper itself.

Give your pens and writing tools a small test before starting the first spread. Try a sentence, a heading and any highlighting you’d normally add. Once everything is dry, turn the page over and you’ll get a better idea of how your notebook will suit your lifestyle.

Bound vs Refillable

Depending on what you use your notebooks for, choosing a bound or refillable option can change how you organise your notes and projects. If you prefer one place for each subject, a bound notebook gives you a clear, workable space to keep related ideas together.

For work that changes week to week, consider a holder with replaceable notebooks. You can leave a finished subject at home and carry the notes you’re using now. When one fills up, replace it and carry on using the others, with the same holder keeping your current work in place.

Keep the small jobs easy to spot too. By having separate to-do lists, you can give calls, errands and reminders their own space so they won't disappear and be forgotten. If you choose a refillable holder, check its dimensions and compatible inserts to make sure your writing space fits the way you work and travel.

Notebook and Notepads FAQs