In Link Love

Link Love: Up, Down or Over?

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Link Love: Up, Down or Over?

Today’s intro is going to be a little brief. This weekend I came down with a cold. By Sunday, I had to wonder… is it a cold? So, in a torrential downpour on Sunday, I went for a COVID-19 test, just to be sure. It was negative. Yeah, I don’t have the ‘rona. But I still have a cold. So, I have been slogging through the week with the sniffles and a cough and today my voice sounds all weird and gravelly — more so than usual. But no ‘rona. So I’m relieved, but still annoyed. 

I highly recommend reading our lone pencil post this week that delves into some patent disputes in the history of pens and pencils. It makes me wonder if these patent disputes regarding pen and pencil shapes could or do happen today?

Two lifelong debates are settled here this week: the first about how to store your pens and the other on which way toilet paper should be rolled.

Finally, big thanks to Laura and her exhaustive efforts, the Pen Show Schedule has been updated and includes all current show dates and links for 2021 and what we know for 2022.

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In Paper Review

Notebook Review & Giveaway: TRU RED Notebooks and Pens

Author Laura CameronPosted on 51 Comments

A few weeks ago we were contacted by Staples e-commerce team to see if we were interested in reviewing the TRU RED line of notebooks and pens. TRU RED is a brand developed and carried by Staples.com, but you can also find TRU RED products at Target and Walmart.

The TRU RED Expert Notetaking Collection was designed to expand and enhance the process of note taking. Studies of all ages have shown that taking notes with pen and paper is often more effective than taking notes digitally. For some reason your brain seems to remember and retain more through the process of physically writing. Taking notes by hand also allows you to doodle, sketch and add a little more creativity to the process. When developing the TRU RED line, the development team spent two years studying note taking techniques used by thinkers like Leonard da Vinci, Charles Darwin and Richard Branson to incorporate the best practices into the notebooks. The result is a line including Pocket, Starter, Explore and Mastery options to help you map, chart, and take great notes. They’ve also added some rollerball and gel pens to help you in the process (and add a little color coding).

I was sent quite a few products to review, and some duplicates for giveaways, so away we go!

The TRU Red Mastery Journal + Pocket Journal ($19.49)

The Mastery Journal has been designed for the “experienced notetaker.” The notebook is a simple black canvas hard cover journal, measuring 8.5″ x 10.25″ (the paper is 8″ x 10″), has approximately 96 sheets/192 pages of narrow ruled white paper. The front inside cover has an envelope for holding loose leaf notes. The first full page outlines the features of the book including: elastic closure, room between the pages and the edges of the journal for a pen, and three different colored ribbons for marking your place (red, black and white). Pages in the journal are numbered and include an index at the front, highlighted top corners for easy bookmarking, small tick marks to aid in adding lines to a page (for creating easy columns), and handy reminder tips at the bottom of the pages. The last pages of the book include a wrap-up section to summarize the contents of the book and highlight anything you might want to explore further.

This package also included a small pocket journal, measuring 3.5″ x 5.5″. The pocket journal has a soft red canvas cover, and contains approximately 24 pages of the same white paper.

The verdict: This is a reasonably priced journal with lots of freedom for note taking, journaling and recording your ideas. If you’re interested in keeping your notebooks longer term (as opposed to taking notes and tossing when you’re done), this is a nice choice. The slim line will be easy to store on shelves and keep things neat and tidy. I do like the metal reinforcements where the elastic loop fits and think they add a nice design touch, as well as a way to keep the edges of the notebook from getting bent with use. The paper is these notebooks is not bad (no specifics – just labeled as white premium paper). The rollerballs and gel pens that are part of the collection worked well, as expected. The paper did handle some fountain pen inks as well though I noticed some feathering of the Colorverse ink. Overall not much bleed through on any of the options. I’d say if you’re a fine to medium nib user and have a light hand (which I do not), you’ll get away with using your fountain pens with this one.

TRU RED Starter Journal ($17.99)

The TRU RED Starter Journal is designed for the notetaker who wants to accomplish their goals. This is a  textured grey hard cover journal, measuring 8.25″ x 10.25″ (the paper is 8″ x 10″), and has approximately 96 sheets/192 pages of narrow ruled white paper. The front inside cover has an envelope for holding loose leaf notes as well as some tips on how to best use the book for note taking. Other features include an elastic closure at the bottom right corner and an elastic pen loop at the spine. Pages in the journal are numbered and come in a variety of formats: plain, narrow-ruled pages for note taking, and every 5 pages a perforated edge for to-do lists, or blank pages for idea sketching.

The verdict: This journal is kind of a mixed bag in terms of what you could use it for. If you find yourself needing to take notes, make to-do lists and occasionally sketching out creative ideas this book might be a good fit for you. The paper in this journal is the same as that up above, albeit with slightly different formatting. Rollerballs and gels work just fine, use some caution with your fountain pens.

TRU RED Graphed Journal ($13.99)

The TRU RED Graphed Journal is a journal for those who love graph paper! The synthetic leather cover is a cross between a soft and hard cover – it has definite form, but it doesn’t feel like there is a harder bit of cardboard inside. The inside front and back pages are a grey and black graph design, and the remainder of the pages are ivory. The book contains 128 sheets/256 pages. There is also an elastic loop for closure, and there are two ribbon bookmarks in black and grey.

The verdict: This is probably the best format for me, mostly because of size and flexibility in taking notes, although of course I’m a dot grid girl. To me this is the perfect book to throw into a purse or a bag; large enough to take decent notes and sketch a design idea, and small enough to be portable. The paper in this book is slightly different, and I found a lot of bleed through with both the Rollerballs and the fountain pen inks. This book might be best for gel pens and ball points.

TRU RED RollerBall Pen (Assorted Colors, 3-pack, $5.99)

These are pretty standard RollerBall pens with a 0.5mm tip, available in Red, Blue and Black. I got one of each in a three pack. The pens are marketed as airplane safe, and have a black matte finish with a steel clip. One bonus is that they do have a small ink window so you can see when you’re running out of ink!

TRU RED Gel Pen (Assorted Colors, 5-pack, $7.29)

These might have been my favorite part of the package because I’m a sucker for a gel pen in fun colors! All of these were 0.7mm and are available in the standard red/blue/black as well as assorted color packs. My 5 colors were red, orange, lime green, teal blue and purple. The green is a bit light, and I didn’t feel like it showed up as well on the ivory paper, but I enjoyed these and will definitely keep using them! They were included as part of this collection so you can color code your notes (I’m totally nerdy enough to love that).

Keep reading for the Giveaway!

So if you’ve read through the reviews, now it’s time for the giveaways. Staples.com was generous enough to send us extras for two prize packages which are:

Prize Package 1 (above):

Prize Package 2 (above):

THE DETAILS: Two lucky winners will be selected from the comments on this post to win their choice of either of the above prize packages.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell us which prize you’d prefer to win and which journals/pens you find the most interesting in this review! Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by midnight CST on Friday, May 21, 2021. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Saturday. Winners will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 7 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purposes of this giveaway by Staples. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature

What’s Up With “A” sizing?

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments

In the stationery world, there are two types of “A” sizing: the European paper-based “A” designation and the US system based on envelope sizes, specifically envelopes referred to as “A” size or Announcement envelopes. The A-sized envelopes are frequently used for greeting cards, invitations and personal stationery. The envelope sizes specifically correlate to the size of the flat or folded card inserted into said envelope. The most commonly used A-sized envelopes in use in the US are A-2, A-6 and A-7. There is also arcane reference to baronial or 4-bar envelopes which are occasionally called A-1. 

Square Flap Envelope

The biggest distinction between Announcements envelopes and Baronial was that announcement envelopes originally had square flaps and baronial had pointed, triangle flaps. At some point though, envelope converters and paper companies made it possible to get envelopes with either square or pointed flaps. 

Pointed Flap Envelope

There are several other envelope categories like business envelopes (the Classic no. 10 envelope holds a sheet of US letter paper folded in thirds), catalog envelopes, remittance, coin, etc. and, depending on the source you use, these envelopes can have square flaps or pointed flaps. Of course, you can have custom envelopes produced with different flap shapes and a different size but that just muddies the waters when talking about the standard options and the arcane naming systems. 

Announcement (A-sized) Envelopes US from PaperSizes.org

The European “A” size is based on the paper size and the original uncut sheet of paper that was used. A-size paper starts with a full sheet at 841 x 1189mm (33.1 x 46.8 inches). When cut in half on the long edge those two sheets are considered A1, an A1 cut in half becomes two sheets of A2. Once an A2 sheet is cut in half to become A3 (297 x 420mm or 11.7 x 16.5 inches), the sheets become more manageable sizes and comparable to US ledger sized paper (11×17”). Then that sheet is cut to create the European A4 or standard letter-sized sheet (210x297mm or 8.3×11.7”). The sheet is continually cut in halves to the A10 measurement which creates tiny pieces of paper just 26x37mm or 1×1.5”. I can’t imagine that paper companies or mills find that size needed very often. I seldom see mention of stationery paper smaller than A6 or A7.

European A-Size Paper diagram from PaperSizes.org

So, if you ever find yourself wondering who in the world would be selling A2-sized cards and envelopes and thinking “that sounds enormous!” Consider the likelihood that it is an American vendor referencing the A-size based on Announcement envelopes and not the A-size based in European paper sizes. 

In Fountain Pen Review

Fountain Pen Review: Moonman S1 with Fude Nib

Author Laura CameronPosted on 8 Comments

Review by Tina Koyama

Readers of the Desk may associate me more with pencils, erasers, sharpeners and brush pens and less with fountain pens. Several years ago, however, I took myself on an epic journey to find my ideal fountain pen for drawing – one that would give me variable line widths. Although I tried a variety of specialty nibs and semi-flexible nibs, nothing gave me the lovely, organic line of a fude nib, and using one felt more natural and intuitive than other nib types. Ultimately, I found my grail (spoiler alert) in the then-hard-to-find 21kt gold Sailor Naginata Fude de Mannen (which is apparently not as elusive as it used to be; Pen Boutique has it in stock occasionally. Incidentally, if I had to choose a second-best fude that is more affordable and slightly easier to acquire, it would be Franklin-Christoph’s).

Before acquiring my grail, I tried many steel fude nibs, and even after, curiosity occasionally prompted me to continue trying fudes that crossed my radar. That curiosity still gives me a nudge now and then – which brings me to the Moonman.

I didn’t know much about the Chinese pen maker other than that its pens generally seem to be getting decent reviews (Ana and Laura have reviewed different models here at the Desk). When I saw that JetPens offered a fude version, I decided it was a good opportunity to give a Moonman a try. I chose the S1 model in koi red ($23.50) with bent nib. (I know that fude nibs are colloquially known as “bent” nibs, but why give something as elegant as a fude, which means brush, a descriptor like “bent”? I’ve heard every joke about whether I have dropped them, stepped on them or taken pliers to them to get my fude nibs to look that way. Yawn.)

I don’t usually have much to say about pen packaging, but it’s worth mentioning that my Moonman came in a simple but sturdy cardboard box that can be recycled easily. As you might guess, I have a bunch of plastic clamshell boxes that can’t be recycled, and since I don’t resell my pens often, they can be a nuisance. I appreciate simple, recyclable boxes.

The resin pen body weighs 15 grams, which is comfortable for me, as I tend to prefer lighter-weight pens. While some pens with fude nibs have long bodies to emulate traditional Asian calligraphy brushes or have ridiculously huge or heavy bodies (the Duke Confucius comes to mind; I needed a winch to lift it), the Moonman’s barrel has a conventional size and shape. The screw-on cap posts securely, which is a non-negotiable detail for me when I sketch on the street (believe me, a pen cap that doesn’t post will not remain with me long).

As mentioned earlier, I’ve used several steel fude nibs, and the Moonman has a bit more finesse than others in a similar price range. Its curved profile looks similar to several other Chinese fude pens I have owned (most of which were so terrible that I won’t name them).

The fude I cut my teeth on is Sailor’s 55-degree Fude de Mannen (steel nib). The 55-degree Sailor has a sharply angled bend, and it can be a challenge to learn to use. The Moonman’s curved nib is much easier to use by comparison. Since the price is not too much out of the range of the 55-degree Sailor, I’d probably recommend the Moonman over the Sailor to someone who wanted to try a fude for the first time.

The Moonman S1 comes with a converter that contains a spring-like agitator.

I inked it up with Diamine Sargasso Sea and took it out for a walk. Right away, I was pleased by how flawlessly it started. Smooth and responsive, it didn’t need any “breaking in,” like shoes, as some pens do. I chose some trees and shrubs in an alley to see the range of organic marks it could produce. Practicing the full range in this one sketch, I turned its widest angle sideways to get the broadest marks, like the large shadows. (Sketch made in Field Notes Brand Sweet Tooth notebook.)

Pleased with it, I came home and gave it a more formal scribble. That’s when I realized I had forgotten to test its reverse side on the sketch. I don’t use a fude nib upside-down too often, but occasionally when I need an extra-fine line or detail, turning it over comes in handy. Unfortunately, the Moonman’s reversed nib is dry, scratchy and non-useable. (What – you’re not supposed to use nibs upside-down?) That was disappointing, because otherwise the nib performs very well at all right-side up angles. (Testing done in Maruman Mnemosyne Special Memo Notepad.)

Upside-down usability is not a deal-breaker for me, but it might be for others. For a fude nib in its price range, the Moonman is a good value. I’m going to enjoy taking it out for walks.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

 

In Tools

GIVEAWAY WINNERS: Shibui 9-Vial & A6 Cases

Author Laura CameronPosted on Leave a comment

Sometimes it feels a little like Christmas around here, with this little Jewish girl playing the role of Santa. Today I get to announce the winners of the Shibui 9-Vial and A6 cases, generously sent to us by Shibui for review and giveaway. Without further ado, the winners are Alan and Natalie!

Congratulations to Alan and Natalie, and thanks to everyone who entered. I’ve got more goodies for review and giveaway coming up in the next few weeks!

In feature, Paper Review

Paper Review: Midori Color Paper Notebooks

Author Jessica ColesPosted on 3 Comments
Paper Review: Midori Color Paper Notebooks

Today I’m taking a look at a new notebook from Midori – the A5 Color Paper Notebook. I did order a notebook in each color – pink, yellow, turquoise, green, lavender, brown. They only come in ruled, A5 size with 56 pages and you can find these in-stock at Vanness for $3.50 each.

I chose the brown notebook for this review. The paper is a light tan color and I’ve found it can look quite different based on lighting and surroundings.

The notebook is made of 14 pieces of paper folded to make a single signature of 28 sheets or 56 pages (if you number front and back, the final number will be 56). It is held together with brass colored staples inside a thick cardstock cover.

I chose the brown notebook for this review since it is the least cheerful of the lineup – my reasoning was, if I love the brown notebook, I’ll have no problem loving the other colors!

I love these bright colors! They are perfect right now in the spring – cheerful, happy, lovely color.

The pages are a pastel version of the cover page in each notebook. Above, from top to bottom – turquoise, lavender, green, brown, pink, yellow. Showing the pages next to each other like this is really the best way to give a good idea of the paper color – without a point of reference, they can be tough to photograph.

So, on with the brown notebook. It will stay open on its own if given a bit of encouragement. The paper itself is thick – I would estimate 80-100 gsm although I can’t find a specific weight. The notebooks are made by Midori but this is not MD paper.

The paper is just a tad on the toothy side of average – pencil glides over the page without slipping. I’ve added stamps to my paper tests lately since I’ve noticed that several popular papers are terrible with stamp ink including Tomoe River, onion skin, cotton, and MD. The paper in the Color Paper notebook is good at taking stamp ink but not wonderful. There was plenty of show-through but no ink bled through the page.

On the reverse side, you can see some ghosting (the photo picks up more ghosting than I saw in person) but Sharpie is the only item that actually came through the page. Even Sharpie did not bleed through onto the next page, though. I was terribly impressed with the success of the graphic pens and the brush pen!

I used the first page of the notebook for my testing. The notebook stayed open to this first page with only a little encouragement, and I found that it is a great one to use with the pages folded back on themselves if needed for one-handed use.

I’m glad I purchased the whole set of these notebooks – they are perfect for an A5 Traveler’s-style cover or an A5 Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter cover and at $3.50 each, they are well worth the cost. Plus, the color! Love the color.

Susuwatari also love color.

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us at a discount for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: Cat(ch)-22 Edition

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Link Love: Cat(ch)-22 Edition

Droid stampsFirst, the USPS Droids stamps are out and available. When Bob picked up some at the local post office, the woman behind the counter said “these seem to be very popular”. Duh. These ARE the Droids we’re looking for.

This week, we had so many delightful cat links, our favorite pet gets its own cat-egory. Oh, the puns!

On a more serious note, Parka Blogs linked to an artist discussing why Instagram is not good for artists. I think her sentiments ring true for all creators not just artists but also musicians, illustrators, designers and even small makers. She delves into the issues that have been created as a result of the algorithms put into place by Facebook that makes it necessary for anyone who wants to be seen on Instagram to have to post repeatedly and create Reels and Stories in order to be bumped up in the viewing algorithm. All this creates exponentially more work for creators just to be seen in the cacophony of noise the Instagram perpetuates. This work to create eye catching posts, reels, and stories and post them daily takes away from the time they could be creating new work.

This “endless hamster wheel of posting” issue doesn’t even delve into the issues Instagram creates in viewers. Instagram presents an endless stream of products to purchase and people with whom to compare ourselves. We all know that social media presents a curated “perfect world” life of those who post but it doesn’t make it any easier for our ape brains that only see the things we are not, don’t have, haven’t accomplished or don’t look like.

This Instagram hamster wheel is something I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately. I was tired of being bombarded with moving images every time I “checked in”. I considered deleting the app completely until Laura reminded me I would be unable to post without it. The sad truth is that for many small creators, Instagram is still one of the key channels to reach potential clients, customers or readers. Instagram, at present, is the Catch-22 of the digital world right now. You can’t live with it, but you live survive without it either.

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Art & Creativity:

Cat-egory:

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