Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book: 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.)

Once upon a time there was the Maruman Mnemosyne Word Book with lovely textured, cream-colored cards that many pen afficionados used for ink sampling. And then, suddenly, they were gone. No longer produced. No longer stocked. And, lo, pen addicts across the world knew not what to do—go back to gasp index cards?

Captured from JetPens.com

No! For along came a fountain pen Queen with pink hair to save the ink-testing world. Ana Reinert of The Well-Appointed Desk kindly created the Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book. And all was well again.

The Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book is a single-ring-bound book of 100 cards made of 100lb/160gsm acid-free white paper. Each book has a thick brown cardboard cover and back.

When you put a Mnemosyne card next to a card from the Col-o-ring notebook, you’ll notice several differences. First, the Col-o-ring cards are slightly smaller (2 inches by 4 inches vs. Mnemosyne’s 2.1 x 4.1). Second, the Col-o-ring paper is white whereas Mnemosyne is a yellowish-cream color. Third, the Col-o-ring cards are smooth whereas the Mnemosyne cards have significant texture.

Col-o-ring on left; Mnemosyne on right

I much prefer the Col-o-ring cards to the Mnemosyne. Although I love Mnemosyne’s texture for swabbing, it isn’t so great for nibs, especially flexible nibs which sometimes catch on textured paper. The Col-o-ring paper won’t catch your nibs. I also prefer Col-o-ring’s white paper to Mnemosyne’s cream. Inks look different on cream paper than true white paper, and when I’m testing ink, I want to see the actual color, not a slightly yellowed version.

I received a new batch of ink samples from Vanness Pens, mostly Kobe and Kyoto inks, so I used my Col-o-ring book to do initial swabs, splats, and swirls. I am so impressed with this paper. It is thick, smooth, and offers plenty of space for ink testing.

I like to do my swabs at the bottom so I can see the colors quickly when I fan out the cards.

The paper takes swabs well, though it does curl up slightly when it dries. Like Tomoe River Paper, it displays sheen beautifully:

Col-o-ring books are a steal at $10.00 a piece. The only problem is getting them! Queen Ana is hurriedly trying to meet demand, so be patient. She has pen shows to attend, pink hair to maintain, and other queenly duties. You can sign up here to be notified when the books are back in stock.

All hail Queen Ana!

(The Well-Appointed Desk provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Word Intergalactic Notebook Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

Word makes some of the prettiest pocket notebooks out there. I've found myself accidentally collecting these lovely books, and this new Intergalactic design is one of my favorites yet.

They're a standard-size pocket notebook at 3.5" x 5.5". They have a cardstock cover with rounded front corners and are staple bound with 48 pages of white 89 gsm paper. The pages have 6mm line spacing with a unique bullet-list margin.

There's a key for suggested uses for the list format inside the cover. I've found it to be really handy for list-making, but it's unobtrusive enough that it's easy to ignore the bullet points and use the page as a regular lined notebook page.

All 3 notebooks in the pack have identical covers. So while it lacks the pack variety and design excitement of Field Notes, that makes them (at least for me) easier to dive in and use. I don't have that nagging inner-notebook-collector warning me that if I use it, it'll be gone. There are two more just like it! And by the time I've used two, there's usually a new pack out for me to enjoy.

The paper quality, like many pocket notebooks, isn't wonderful. It does very well with pencil, ballpoint, gel pens, or extra-fine and dry fountain pens. But wet rollerballs and medium or broader fountain pens bleed through quite a bit. That hasn't interfered with my enjoyment of the books. Because I'm using them for quick notes and lists, I'm usually grabbing the nearest writing instrument--which is often my oldest son's school pencil, my youngest son's crayons, or the Fisher Space Pen in my pocket.

I do wish, given the bullet list format, that at least a few pages were perforated. I don't just make lists for myself, so sometimes I need to hand over a page to a partner-in-crime.

If you love pocket notebooks and lists (are there people who don't?), I definitely recommend giving these a try. There are lots of pretty designs to choose from, and I can't wait to see what the next one is. Designs are usually limited editions, so grab the ones you like while you can!

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

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Field Notes + Bellroy Everyday Inspiration Review

I’m always excited when two of my favorite brands collaborate on a product, and this one is right up there with the best I’ve seen. We are talking peanut butter and chocolate levels of goodness here.

Field Notes, one of the premier notebook makers on the planet collaborated with Bellroy, the Australian leather goods and accessory maker, to release the Everyday Inspiration, a compact leather memo book cover.

Field Notes launched a now-discontinued leather cover of their own in 2013 called the Gentlemans Memo Book Cover. I’m not sure what sales were like, but the product was pulled in early 2016. Anecdotally, I don’t recall ever seeing one in the wild, and I never owned one myself.

Bellroy launched their own Notebook Cover Mini in late 2016 and it was met with great feedback. In fact, it is currently available at Bellroy in five different leather colors. On top of that, it is the exact same cover as the Everyday Inspiration, minus a few special Field Notes Brand tweaks.

From the outside, the Everyday Inspiration is pure Bellroy. It is is clean with minimal stitching, with only a small stamped Bellroy owl logo on the entirety of the exterior. The interior is equally as clean, with the added Bellroy/Field Notes name stamping inside the front cover.

The inside also features an orange backing on the grey leather, which I wholeheartedly approve of. The large interior flaps (or pockets) where the notebook cover slides in are easily accessible with rounded corners and stitching only on two-thirds of the edge for easy in and out access.

Credit and ID cards have two sneaky interior pockets under the inside front flap as well, allowing the Everyday Inspiration to be used as an all-in-one wallet as well. Business cards stick out a bit, but the edge lands before the middle fold to keep them from getting damaged.

As with nearly every pocket notebook cover I have tried, space for a pen is at a premium, or non-existent. I’m completely ok with this because I’d rather carry a pen I want to use elsewhere on my person than sacrifice the pen quality just because it fits the cover. The Everyday Inspiration is no exception. You can fit a pen inside the fold, but I don’t plan on ever doing that.

Also included with the cover are three Bellroy-branded Field Notes memo books that looks fantastic. Plus, a single notebook in the case is able to be secured with thin magnets inside the front and back cover. They are so stealth I had no idea they were there when I first opened the package and was loading up the cover.

$85 is an excellent price point for a cover of this quality. Every detail is thoughtfully considered and executed perfectly. I’m a fan of what Field Notes and Bellroy have collaborated on with the Everyday Inspiration and I hope they can find a way to work together again in the future.

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

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