This is a follow-up to my earlier post about the Ecosystem Architect now that I’ve actually gotten to use an Ecosystem book for a little while.
I prefer blank paper in my notebooks so when I decided to test drive one of Ecosystem’s new blank books I chose the Ecosystem Artist in my favorite color, green. I got the hardback version which I was hoping to be a solid competitor for my regular go-to book, the blank Moleskine in the 5.5×8.5 size.
The biggest differences between the Ecosystem and Moleskines is that the Ecosystem uses slightly heavier weight paper that is a crisp bright white rather than the thinner ecru-colored stock used in the Moleskine. Ecosystem books are made from 100% post consumer recycled paper and have a web site interface to track a lost book and find a recycling location when you are ready to get rid of your book. All of the pages in the book are micropreforated so if you need to remove a page, it can be done neatly. The Ecosystems are slightly cheaper than the Moleskine, available in several colors for the covers and available with plain paper, lined or grid, I can’t think of a reason not to try these books out.
Now for some of the pen tests:
The Ecosystem notebook handles almost any standard pen I used. The only bleed-through I got was from a standard Sharpie, which honestly was expected and a bit fron the Uniball Vision which is a fairly thick, very black ink. The Crayola marker got a little show-through as well but after awhile, I was really just trying to find something that would bleed through. On a standard blank Moleskine, pretty much everything beyond a pencil shows through to the reverse so I was pretty thrilled at how well the recycled paper of the Ecosystem performed.
I’ve continued to use the Ecosystem Artist with lots of pen colors and I’m able to use both sides of the paper without any noticeable show-through.
I highly recommend the Ecosystem Artist. I think for my next book, I’ll get the soft cover since I’ve been carrying it around inside my Rickshaw Folio.
