ystudio Letter Paper Set Review

As I do with every ystudio review, I start off by stating how much of a fan of the brand I am. The look, the feel, the marketing - all of it works for me. That extends to the Letter Paper Set as well, but there is one additional question I have to ask of the brand for the first time: Why?

The design of the Letter Paper Set is as beautiful and well made as all ystudio products that have come before it. It’s listed as part of their Brassing lineup, which is a bit confusing as this isn’t a writing instrument. It does carry the same black and brass aesthetic though.

This A5 writing pad contains a feature that you don’t normally see in other stationery products, at least not ones from this century. Behind each of the first 10 sheets is a second, carbonless, copy sheet. The idea, according to ystudio, is to write a letter, mail it off, and keep a copy of the correspondence for yourself.

I get it. It’s not a bad idea at all. Carbon and carbonless copy papers have been around for as long as we have been writing regularly, but I have to ask: Do we need it?

Even as a fun, throwback, stationery product, the ystudio Letter Paper set leaves a lot to be desired. For starters, there are just 13 sheets per pad, with only the first 10 of those sheets backed, as mentioned above. It also ships with 5 envelopes as part of the set, so in combination with the page counts, you have a lot of management ahead of you if you want to make the best use of it.

If you want to use this product as intended, you should know that fountain pens need not apply. I have a heavy hand when writing, so using something like the ystudio Brassing Rollerball is the perfect choice to effectively copy your handwriting to the carbonless page. With fountain pens, I don’t - and don’t want to - press as hard as it would require to see my words on the copy page, even with the built-in backing board giving me something to press down on.

As odd as I find this product, I can’t help but be enamored with the paper itself. Maybe it’s the ystudio fanboy in me coming out, but the brass lines on the off-white page really pop. The pages are thin, so there is some ghosting, and it is absorbent, so you won’t see much shade or sheen if you do choose to use a fountain pen, but there is no feathering to speak of. I wouldn’t want a 200 page journal with this paper, but give me a 30 page pad, drop the copy sheets, and sell letter envelopes as a separate 10-pack. Then we have a product I can really get behind.

Because right now, at $40, this is not a product I can recommend. Yes, it features the ystudio style I love, and yes, this is a brand that makes premium products and charges accordingly. The difference is that I can see a use case for their other products. There is a very limited use case to be made for the Letter Paper Set.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Ink + Volt 2020-2021 Academic Planner: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

I left my office for Spring Break on March 6th and didn't return until last week because: COVID. I didn't realize that I wouldn't return after Spring Break, and I left my Hobonichi planner on my desk. Honestly, I left all plans behind in March. Those 2020 goals I set in January? Poof. Gone. Like many of you, I've spent my summer in a haze of uncertainty, not knowing how to set any goals much less have any.

But the fall is around the corner, and I needed a hard reset in order to start working on my courses. After Brad reviewed his Ink + Volt Executive Notebook, I headed to the Ink+Volt website and discovered their 2020-2021 academic planners. "Perfect!" I said. "This may be the thing that will help me reset my life." Plus, it's my last year as a professor, and an academic planner seemed like a little going away (cough . . . you've been fired . . . cough) present to myself.

The Ink+Volt Academic Planner is a hardcover, lay-flat notebook with 280 pages of 70 pound paper. It measures 6 x 8 1/2 inches and is a little over 1 inch thick. The corners are rounded and the cover material is textured but soft. The only branding is on the back cover, and it is subtle.

Two thick ribbons allow you to mark your place (I use them to mark the current month and week), and a back corner pocket can hold any extras.

There's a cover page where you can write your name (and add kitty stickers).

The next two pages provide complete 2020 and 2021 monthly calendars, which is helpful for reference.

Planning for the Year

One of the reasons I wanted to try the Ink+Volt Academic Planner is because of the guided planning it provides. As I said earlier, I needed a reset for 2020, and the first few pages of the planner offered that. Before I started filling them in, I printed the free Mid-Year Review provided in the "Guides" section on the Ink+Volt website. This review helped me to assess where I was as of July 2020.

Then I filled out the pages in the Academic Planner, starting with "Bringing Your Year Into Focus."

The next page asked me to declare a theme for the year that would both inspire and empower me. I chose a line from Maya Angelou's famous poem, "Still I Rise" as my theme: "But still, like dust, I'll rise." As part of my reflection, I had to come up with a Five-Year Vision and key actions and milestones to help me achieve that vision.

A two-page spread offers space for a timeline with goals for the first and second halves of the year. My goals are pretty much the same for both halves, though in the spring one unhappy goal is moving out of my office where I've spent the past 28 years.

Planner Features

The planner is divided into months and weeks. There are no daily pages. Each month appears as a two-page spread with plenty of space for writing down events. The right margin provides a focus box and space for notes.

Next is a page for the month's goals with checkboxes and space below for notes or additional goals.

Each month you choose a 31- (or 30-) day challenge. This offers you an opportunity to create a new habit or try something fresh for the month. In addition to stating what the challenge is, you explain why you want to do this particular challenge and offer a precise plan of action to make it happen. There's a place to sign your commitment (which felt a little silly to me, but okay) and a "Challenge Tracker" to circle or highlight all the days when you completed the challenge.

Prior to each week, you are given a unique question to consider. For this week, the question was, "What are you most looking forward to in the months ahead?" Questions from other weeks include "Are you holding on to things that no longer serve you? . . . What can you let go of this week?" "Hard work and focus can sometimes feel lonely. Is there time for human connection in your life?" "The smartest people are always learning. What is a lesson you can take away from a recent experience?"

I love these weekly questions. They offer an opportunity to consider things beyond goal planning. Contemplating a question you might not think of yourself prior to beginning each week is inspiring.

The next page asks you to write at least three goals for the week and the tasks you'll need to do in order to complete those goals. There's a box where you can reflect and celebrate what you accomplished the previous week. A checklist at the bottom of the page reminds you to do a weekly review of your goals.

Another two page spread provides plenty of space to plan your week. Each weekday is divided into three boxes: Morning, Noon, and Night. If you want to subdivide the boxes into hours you can, or you can simply write goals or tasks for each time period. I thought I would miss not having a "Daily" page, but the weekly spread provides enough room for me to write the things I would ordinarily put on a daily page. The greatest benefit to this approach is I can see the entire week at a glance. This is so helpful for my ADHD brain that forgets anything out of sight.

There's a section at the end of the planner for documenting your achievements for the year and reflecting on the events.

The 70 pound paper in the Ink+Volt Academic Planner is smooth and thick with dot-grid format for notes. From the feel of the paper between my fingers, I expected it to perform well with fountain pens and ink. It does and it doesn't. In my fountain pen test, the paper handled finer nibs and drier inks without much difficulty and with little show or bleed-through. However, wider nibs and wetter inks created some bleed-through.

I also tested various pens (gel, rollerball, felt tip). The paper handled these easily, but both the Sharpie pens bled through.

I decided to do a swab test even though this planner wasn't designed for wet swabs of ink. I know some folks like to use monthly spreads to do ink challenges. The swabs look great on this paper with rich color, sheen, and shading, but there's significant bleed-through.

One of the most disappointing aspects of the paper is that many of the fountain pen inks feathered, even with fine and extra fine nibs. The feathering isn't all that noticeable to the naked eye, but I'm surprised the paper isn't as fountain-pen friendly as I expected it to be.

I'm looking forward to using the Ink+Volt Academic Planner for my last year as a professor. I've already benefitted from doing the Mid-Year Review and yearly planning. The weekly reflection questions will give me something different to consider as I prepare for each week. I think the Weekly Outlook format be excellent for planning. Having the entire week before my eyes will help me keep on top of things.

In addition to the planner, the Ink+Volt website offers numerous free resources, including printable worksheets and blog posts covering all sorts of helpful topics. I've read several of the posts and plan to use the printables.

If you need a reset as August arrives, I highly recommend the Ink+Volt Academic Planner with the caveat that the paper isn't completely fountain-pen friendly. You can purchase one from Ink+Volt for $42.75, but they are running low on stock and color choice is limited. Act quickly if you want one. If an academic calendar format isn't for you, Ink+Volt has their 2021 planners ready to go. Prices vary depending on the series you choose. You don't have to purchase a planner to start using the Ink+Volt website with all the wonderful resources provided. It's a great way to sample the Ink+Volt methodology before you commit to a planner.

(Ink+Volt provided this Academic Planner free of charge to Pen Addict for review.)

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Apica Blank Twin Ring A5 Notebook Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

There's something to be said for the allure of a plain and simple tool when compared to the luxurious. Fine luxury items have their place, but no matter how expensive your tastes might become, it's difficult to ignore a good basic option. To me, that's exactly what the Apica Blank Twin Ring notebook line exemplifies. It's a no-nonsense, no frills, basic notebook with zero branding and good paper. The latest version I've added to the notebook collection is the Apica Blank Twin Ring A5 lined notebook. It's a spiral-bound notebook that gets the job done for a low price, and I love it for that.

This notebook is a slim spiral-bound format with 30 sheets of 70 gsm white paper with lines spaced out by 6.5mm. You have your choice of either red or blue rings, but that's where the customization ends. The plan brown cardstock covers are lightweight but also offer a fair bit of protection against everyday use. The corners of the cover and sheets are rounded off, meaning they won't snag as easily on bags and other objects. Apart from the retail SKU/barcode sticker on the back cover of the notebook, there's zero branding to be found. I like this minimalism quite a bit, and it adds to the sparse feel of this notebook.

The 70 gsm paper is thin but highly effective. I only notice writing showing through from the other side of the sheet when using a large stub nib or extremely wet nib/ink combinations. For everyday conditions and "normal" EF-B nibs, it works great. The paper feel is smooth with a small amount of feedback, and it doesn't cause any weird bleeding or feathering like other papers I've tried in cheaper notebooks. It's a great paper, and I really enjoy using it. I know that lined paper is not everyone's favorite style, but it's a fantastic notebook option if you like lines.

This notebook (and brand) is ubiquitous and utilitarian in Japan, but not in the US. I'd like to think that this notebook is similar to how someone who grew up in the US might think about standard Mead spiral notebooks. They're incredibly cheap, available at basically every store, and you go through dozens of them while in school. They're not the most robust notebooks, but you can't beat the price! It's this utilitarian and minimalist design that I really like about this notebook, and it's also whey I always have one going in some way or another around my desk. If you haven't checked these out and could use a great "throw-around" notebook, the Apica Blank Twin Ring A5 notebook is a fantastic option.

If A4 isn't your thing, you can also pick these up in semi-B5.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!