Comment by encomiast
10 days ago
I've been trying binders instead of notebooks (especially the mini-binders from folks like Maruman). Binders allow you to easily remove and add pages (and tabs, dividers, etc). This gives you the satisfaction of making something aesthetically pleasing, while also knowing you can move a 'messy' page somewhere else.
Ok. Let me try to spoil you. You are looking for this https://plotterusa.com
And here is a review from Fatih Arslan at https://arslan.io/2025/02/24/plotter-notebook-system/
Their largest one, which is smaller than a standard piece of paper, starts at $200 and goes up to $270.
For a notebook. With what might be proprietary refills.
What.
Looks like a standard 6 ring binder and standard paper sizes. You can probably buy the refills from anywhere.
It's just A6-sized. You can get a soft A6 binder including refills for a tenth that price.
Oh wow, that is impressive and gorgeous. I love that I can get a bespoke horsehair leather brush for my binder. Not sure I would be allowed to write in it without a matching Japanese whiskey.
This looks quite expensive for note taking. I have a midori travellers notebook (wow they got expensive now!) and bought myself a stapler that you can rotate (so together like 50€ and I still thought it was quite expensive at the time). I make my own refills out of whatever paper I want.
The japanese page says "© Designphil Inc." at the bottom. Designphil also owns Traveler's Company which makes traveler's notebooks, another interesting system, and MD product.
this is not a new system... my father had it 20 years ago, sold for dirt cheap by the local stationary shop (not leather of course).
Great idea about ring binders. They also solve another problem that I've always had with paper notebooks: When a glue/stitch-bound paper notebook gets full, I have to start a new one. But there will always be some pages with unresolved issues, open to-dos or important knowledge that I want to carry around with me. Carrying two notebooks doesn't work, insufficient pocket space. Copying things is a chore, so I won't reliably do it. But just keeping some binder pages when refilling and putting the rest into some archive binder on a shelf sounds perfect.
Thanks!
Conventional wisdom is to use a bound notebook, as a court will discount reliability if pages can be removed without leaving a trace.
Why would I care about a court?
There are a hundred different issues that are more important to me than the usability of my notebook in a court proceeding. And even so, that proceeding might easily be one against you, so why would you want to produce reliable evidence against yourself?
evidence that you reduced an idea to an invention before someone else so you can exercise IP rights
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