The Hickensian

18.10.09 Whitelines + Behance Dot Grid Book

11 comments
Tagged with: reviews, stationery

In Squared I mentioned that I’d ordered both a Whitelines pad, and the Behance Dot Grid book to try out. After trying them both for a few days, I thought I’d just post a few words about them.

First of all, the Dot Grid Book. The packaging was sublime (see my photoset on Flickr), and the book itself has a rubberised card cover, wiro-bound, with good strong stock inside. The rubbery cover freaked some people out that I showed it to, and has the habit of collecting fluff!

There’s no show-through using black ink (maybe just the very, very slightest hint, but not enough to be a problem). The dots work quite well, and provide a lot of freedom. It’s also US letter sized, which is a change from A4. The only downsides are the that the wiro-bound spine gets snarled up (I’ve heard this from others, and experienced it already) and they felt the need to slap their logo on every page, which is a shame. Overall, a good idea, but really rather expensive for what it is (don’t faint -£14!). The more costly and elite a notebook is, the less I feel like using it. Too much pressure! I’ll enjoy using it, but I probably won’t be back for another one.

I found I preferred the Whitelines layout the most. The grid lines are still there, but the use of negative-space whitelines is just enough to draw by, without being too noticeable. The tinting drops out when copying, and every page is logo free! The binding was very good, but the only drawback was the weight of the paper. It’s fairly light compared the Dot Grid Book, and you definitely get show-through. On the A4 perfect bound pad that I bought that’s not a huge problem. It’s not nearly as expensive as the Grid Book, and feels OK to leave one side blank.

Looking over their product lines, my ideal Whitelines notebook doesn’t exist yet. I need one with a heavier no-show-through-paper, perfect bound with similar dimensions as my Moleskine sketchbook (21 × 13.2 × 2 cm). If by any chance the Swedish gods of negative space are listening -any chance of it?

Comments | RSS

No.1

∞ Sulcalibur said 78 days ago:

I use Tesco Value A4 paper and a pencil that I stole from the Argos booth.

Bish Bash Bosh, jobs a good’un :P

On a serious note, I’ve been keeping my eyes on these pads as they look awesome for logo sketching and designing. Really ideal. I’ve been using (and loving) various different Moleskines, but I wouldn’t mind trying these too.

After your notes, I might try the Whitelines pad first :)

~Sul

No.2

∞ Alexander Graf said 78 days ago:

I got the A4 hard cover Whitelines for less-frequent sketches etc. I must say, I’m pretty happy with it although I agree with you, the paper is too light. On the bright side, it’s produced with zero CO emissions! Also, my version has the Whitelines Logo on every page, on the bottom in the center, which, although it’s white and hardly noticeable, is rather annoying.

I still prefer it over simple white paper and over normal lined notebooks, so I’m probably getting the perfect bound version in the future for my regular sketches and note taking.

No.3

∞ Adam Farnsworth said 78 days ago:

Isn’t the Dot Grid book $14 not £14? Just wanting to make sure…

No.4

∞ Tim said 78 days ago:

Dot grid books are only $14 usd but you can get coupons to get discounts. Personally my fav because the dots dissapear when scanning.

No.5

∞ Michael said 78 days ago:

It is $14 for you guys in the States, but for us over here in the UK it is £13.95 a bit much methinks.

No.6

∞ Tony White said 78 days ago:

Thanks for this write-up. So what’s your pen of choice?

No.7

∞ Jon Hicks said 78 days ago:

I use and love the Pilot G2 gel pens in black, but I also combine it with a 2B automatic pencil

No.8

∞ Orlando Web Design said 77 days ago:

Whitelines fan here :)

No.9

∞ Gef Design said 75 days ago:

I like the Whitelines series because the white lines disappear if/when you scan a page. Perfect for taking your doodles to a digital level. But I agree that a thicker paper would be ideal.