Review: Apica C.D. Premium Notebook

I finally got a chance to try out the much-touted Apica C.D. Premium notebook ($18.50). I got the A6 size (approx. 4″x6″) with plain paper. The notebooks have a bookcloth-wrapped perfectbound spine and the cover is a mica-flaked dark grey paper with embossed and foil-stamped “C.D. Notebook” on the cover. Below that printed in the same silver grey ink as the decorative border are the words “Choose the paper like you would a good pen.” This paper is definitely setting itself up to be a better quality than most. The price reflects this as well.

The metallic paper cover is pretty but just doesn’t feel durable enough for the price point and the quality of the paper. Maybe its just me but at the upper end of the price spectrum, I prefer my notebooks to have a full hardcover binding, not just a flimsy (though lovely) cardstock cover.

The notebook has a healthy 96 sheets and a traditional stitched binding, the pages are not simply glued to the tape. When opened, the book lays fairly flat too.

Of course, where this notebook really shines is the paper. It is silky smooth with no noticeable tooth. I tested fountain pens, felt tip, gel and pencil and all performed lovely with no bleeding or feathering and all dried in a relatively acceptable amount of time. The paper is also fairly opaque so it would be easy to use both sides of the paper making this an even better value.

From the reverse of the test sample, you can see there is no bleed-through at all. I can see just a hint of the burgundy LePen in the middle of the page but otherwise, the Apica Premuim paper really does live up to its name. The Apica C.D. series really is a stellar quality paper product.

Now if they only offered a hardcover version it really would be PERFECT.

I received this notebook as a gift from a friend but JetPens would happily sell you one. The Apica Premium line of notebooks are available in grid (5mm), lined (6.5mm and 7mm) and blank in A6 (approx. 4″x6″) and B5 (approx. 7.25″x10″) size, $18.50 or $32 respectively. There is also an option to buy a set of three at a reduced price ($33.30 and $57.60 respectively) which is a healthy reduction to the single notebook price.