A hard cover notebook 13 x 21cm, which is narrower than a true A5 but the same height, laid out in 5mm squares, in Deep Indigo. The cover reads as a dark blue that reads almost black until light hits it. Inside are 80 sheets of 140gsm acid free paper, roughly double the weight of ordinary notebook stock, which is the reason your pen stays on the page it started on. Tall enough to write properly in, narrow enough that it does not fight you for space on a cafe table next to a coffee.

★ ART SHED STAFF TIP

Rounded corners are the single most underrated feature on a notebook that lives in a bag. Square corners are the ones that fray and curl within a month.

Perfect for

Plans and layoutsTables and trackersScale drawingLettering practiceEveryday carryDesk and cafe

The colour: Deep Indigo

Indigo is the dye behind Japanese workwear, noren curtains and every pair of jeans you own. Traditional Japanese colour naming calls this depth ai-iro, and it is the shade that deepens rather than fades with use.

Traditional Japanese colour name: ai-iro (藍色)

What 5mm squares actually give you

Five millimetre grid is the engineer's default, and it is the most versatile ruling in the range once you stop thinking of it as maths paper. Every square is a unit, so you can scale a drawing, rough out a floor plan, keep a table honest or write across it and use the grid as an invisible baseline.

Grid is the right call when things need to line up. Plans, tables, charts, lettering practice, anything where a wobbly column will annoy you later. At 13 x 21cm you get a full sentence without wrapping, which is the part people forget to think about until they are living with the book.

What you are actually getting

Paper

140gsm acid free FSC certified stock, 80 sheets giving 160 usable sides, in a warm cream white rather than a harsh bright white

Ruling

5mm squares, printed edge to edge with no pre-printed margin

Cover

Deep Indigo hard cover, rounded at every corner so nothing curls or catches

Fittings

elastic closure band, bound-in bookmark ribbon and an expandable pocket in the back for loose notes

Questions about the squared Deep Indigo notebook in 13 x 21cm

How big are the squares?

Five millimetres, the standard grid size. Each square works as one unit, so it doubles as scale paper for drawing and as an invisible baseline if you would rather write across it.

Is the grid printed dark or faint?

Faint enough to sit behind your work rather than compete with it, which is what you want from a grid you are going to draw over rather than fill in.

Will it fit in a handbag or a backpack?

Comfortably. At 13 x 21cm it slides into a laptop sleeve or the flat pocket of a backpack without being the thing that decides what else fits.

Will fountain pen ink bleed through this paper?

Very unlikely. The sheets are 140gsm, which is roughly double the weight of standard notebook paper, and Sakura specifies the stock as suitable for virtually any pen ink without bleed through. Very wet broad nibs and alcohol markers are always the exception on any uncoated paper, so test on the inside back cover first if you are using those.

How many pages do you actually get?

Eighty sheets, so 160 sides. At a page a day that is most of a working year, and at a spread a day it is about five months.

Can I see one before I buy it?

Yes, if you can get to a store. Art Shed has a Melbourne store in Moorabbin and a Brisbane store in West End, both family owned and Australian run. Otherwise we ship Australia wide from local stock and orders move quickly.

(NU94156803)

SKU NU94156803
Barcode # 8712079544485
Brand Sakura
Shipping Weight 0.3900kg
Shipping Width 0.050m
Shipping Height 0.050m
Shipping Length 0.050m