Notebook Review: Rosetta Notes

Rosetta Notes are touted plainly on the back of each pocket notebook as “Fountain pen friendly paper” so I was eager to test them out and see if they lived up to their claims. The pocket notebooks are also in the favored 3.5×5.5″ size and are milled, manufactured and printed in Michigan. The paper mill of note in Michigan is, of course, French Paper.

The final feather in their cap is that the books are available with plain (with orange or chocolate covers), lined (with turquoise or black cover) or dot grid paper (with wine cover) and can be purchased in 3-packs for $7.99. A mixed pack is also available with one book each.

Inside each book is French Paper 70lb/105gsm Smart White ultra-smooth, bright white paper. It’s pH neutral and acid-free. Each book contains 24 sheets/48 pages. The covers are 100lb/260gsm cover weight in an assortment of colors, made from recycled paper. The covers are printed front and back with a compass rose on the front and branding information on the back in metallic ink. The books are staple-bound with two staples along the spine and the corners are rounded. On close inspection, the corner rounding was definitely done on a corner rounder after assembly as they are not consistent. For the price point and the purpose these notebooks serve, I’m willing to overlook some of the finishing issues. They are pocket notebooks with paper covers and high quality paper. For me, that’s the biggest and most important feature.

I assumed most folks would be most interested in the dot grid book so I thought I’d compare the dot printing in the Rosetta Notes (top) with the printing in other pocket notebooks currently available. In the middle is the Word. notebook in dot grid and on the bottom is the new Blackwing Clutch in dot grid. All three are 5mm spacing. This photo shows the size and color differences of the paper and dots.

The line spacing on lined paper is 6mm so you can see I write pretty small. The photo above is actually larger than actual size so you can see there’s a little bleeding with more watery inks like deAtramentis.

But when I turn the page over, there is NO show through or bleed through. So, I decided to push it a little further.

I got out some more artsy tools like a brush pen and some felt tip pens, just to see how the paper would hold up.

There is a little show through with the big brush pens but really… minimal. When compared with the results that is often found with most pocket notebooks, this is really something. And these Rosetta Notes are much cheaper. So, if you’re looking for (1) dot grid, (2) fountain pen friendlier and (3) cheaper options for your pocket notebooks, its definitely worth checking out Rosetta Notes.

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DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by iPenStore for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.