Customer Reviews

Mead Black n' Red Ruled Notebook, 11-3/4" x 8-1/4", Black, 96 sheets (D66174)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'll preface this review saying that I'm a bit of a notebook freak, I really do love stationary especially notebooks, and have way more than I could ever use. I know what I like in a notebook and what I feel is useful in a notebook and when I see it I grab it up.

I've used Black n' Red notebooks a number of times, for class notes when I was in college, lab notes at work and in graduate school, and personal notes for one of my older journals. I've got a lot of good things to say about them:
- Good binding: sturdy, even (no fluctuations in paper, except for one of the smaller versions of the Black n' Red I had), and lay-flat covers & paper through the entirety of the pages (not just the middle pages, this is very important for real usage)
- Solid covers
- Good paper size
- Good paper weight, not much bleed through even with dark ink pens
- good lining, a nice soft grey that is not obtrusive so if you choose to draw a diagram or do anything else that crosses the lines, the contrast of the pen is far greater than the line, preventing the line from being a disturbance (also surprisingly important, you see these only in a couple places, like the Peter Pauper notebooks or Staples' eco-friendly composition notebooks with hazel lines)
- bookmark, always a plus

There's no numbered pages or ToC pages, but that's no big deal for many uses.

My big complaint is the *paper quality*, it is not archival quality and is not even Acid Free. This is really a shame for an otherwise wonderful notebook. Many people think "what do I need acid free for? I don't need this to last a hundred years." But the sad reality is that many papers with low pH's (high acidity) may last more like only 20-30 years before yellowing and decaying. If you're taking valuable notes or writing thoughts you'll want to access later in your life, even just the next few decades, you really want to go for acid-free or even better archival (lignin free etc.). Non-acid-free notebooks and paper are good for things that you'll only need the next few years and then will throw away anyway, but for a notebook like this that you may want to access for decades, there's no excuse for it's beautiful, high-weight paper to not be acid free.

Hope that helps.

For years I used composition notebooks for journaling, but then I met this. The size is comfortable to write in, the paper surface takes ballpoint and gel pens nicely. It is well-crafted. Mine has an attached scarlet place-marker ribbon. The inside boards are noisily papered with odd maps and information. I kept the maps but covered what I did not need with vellum to make a place for jotting down quotes. The sheets are not perforated, which means no threat of a page growing ragged or falling out from use. Given its size, it fits okay in a tote or laptop bag, but may have problems being slipped into a backpack.

Black n' Red happens to be standard issue in my office. I always preferred the casebound notebooks because most of the notes I take I want to keep and a casebound, hardcover is what's proper for me.

I always expect quality and convenience from Black n' Red and this is what I am getting with these notebooks. In addition to the 192 lined sheets you get a date planner, 3 year calendars, a personal info. sheet, various conversion tables, maps, time zones info., even the subway maps of 4 major US cities.

Another positive: it fits well inside my laptop case.

I am happy that my office supplies me with these notebooks. They look stylish and they are, in fact, well made, of good quality materials.

I've used a variety of different soft- and hardbound books for my "book of jobs" at work and am now several pages into a Black and Red casebound. Wonderful paper quality rivaling Rhodia in terms of smoothness. The extras you get - conversion tables, calendars, and so forth - are useful. Would be nice if it came in a 150 or 300 page version, but for the price this is a superb notebook.

I would give these notebooks 5 stars, except for one thing. They DO NOT have 192 sheets. They have 96 sheets, or 192 PAGES.

That fact aside, these are fantastic quality! Not to mention that they look very professional!

Like I said, 5 stars, if it weren't for the misinformation.

Book is nicely bound, decent weight paper. I'm not sure the one page map of the US, or the inside back cover plates of NY, LA, Chicago subway systems are necessarily that useful. Also it would be nice to have an inside margin. As the book does not lay completely flat it is not possible to easily write in the 1-2" nearest the binding and there is no printed margin there.

I got the notebook for use as a design notebook in college. It is well bound and sturdy. The pages are in good condition and very clean. I see nothing wrong with this notebook.

This product is appropriate for the purpose I bought it for, which was to write in. It is true to the picture shown and description given. I am happy with this product and am satisfied with the amount of information given before purchasing.

Black n' Red happens to be standard issue in my office. I always preferred the casebound notebooks because most of the notes I take I want to keep and a casebound, hardcover is what's proper for me. This is a set of 5.

I always expect quality and convenience from Black n' Red and this is what I am getting with these notebooks. In addition to the 96 lined sheets you get a date planner, 3 year calendars, a personal info. sheet, various conversion tables, maps, time zones info., even the subway maps of 4 major US cities.

Another positive: it fits well inside my laptop case.

I am happy that my office supplies me with these notebooks although I doubt that they are paying this much for a set of five notebooks.

Item was in good shape and was shipped out very quickly. The price I feel was very decent also. Will continue ordering this item from Amazon.