10 ms·

Custom-printed Moleskine notebooks

100 points by kirillzubovsky 13y ago

honestcoyote 13y ago
For my last year of classes, I made something similar, though for a lower cost. I used http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/ http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/ to make a custom dot grid to accomodate my large handwriting, imported it into InDesign to create 200+ numbered pages of the grid and then added a few pages front and back of reference items. Finished up with a color cover of my own design, and then sent the resulting PDF to an online printing service, Lulu, and the resulting 8 x 10 notebook was quite nice. It didn't have the feel of a Moleskin but the spiral binding was pretty resilient to the daily abuse, the thick cover also held up perfectly, the paper was thicker than normal notebook paper, and it was nice having a notebook which fit my writing style perfectly. Total cost per book was around $15.
spodek 13y ago
Am I missing something with Moleskine notebooks? I kept a diary for two decades, going through over two dozen notebooks in the process. In graduate school I also kept lab notes for years. I used cheap notebooks. Never did I see the value of Moleskines justifying their five- to ten-times higher cost. Am I missing something? They only remind me of this Onion article -- http://www.theonion.com/articles/privileged-little-artiste-writing-something-ohsopr,6938 http://www.theonion.com/articles/privileged-little-artiste-w... Privileged Little Artiste Writing Something Oh-So-Precious Into His Moleskine Notebook SAN FRANCISCO—After gently unfastening the elastic strap keeping his dearest musings safe from prying eyes, little literary artiste Evan Stansky penned a few more darling thoughts into his clothbound Moleskine notebook Wednesday. "These are much higher quality than the notebooks you find at CVS," lilted the auteur, who couldn't be bothered to use—dare it be said—a journal of lesser craftsmanship or pedigree, or one not famously used by such legendary artists as van Gogh and Hemingway. "They're a little more expensive, but I try to write on both sides so I don't go through them as quickly." At press time, the princely scribe was seen finishing his apricot jasmine tea, asking a mere mortal sitting nearby to watch his literary accoutrements, and then prancing off to the Starbucks powder room, light as a feather.
- pastylegs 13y ago
  Price isn't the only thing that dictates value
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - _ZeD_ 13y ago
    yes it is
    - hangonhn 13y ago
      If it is then a $500 refrigerator would have the same value to an Inuit as a $500 heater.
    - biot 13y ago
      You get no value from the free air you breathe?
    - alecdbrooks 13y ago
      Market value [0] ≠ value. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_value https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_value
    - 6d0debc071 13y ago
      One of the underlying assumption of trade is that you both (tend) to gain value in transactions. One party wants the money more than they want the item, and the other party wants the item more than they want the money. If the item was worth the same to both parties, then there'd be no reason to swap.
- arjunnarayan 13y ago
  They're good quality notebooks. I've had a few. But you're right - at the end of the day they're just notebooks.
  - 13y ago
spankalee 13y ago
What does "Made from Paper" mean? As opposed to a book made from plastic?
- daeken 13y ago
  No, this is referring to their app, Paper. These are notebooks printed straight from their app, using your art.
- irq 13y ago
  In this case "Paper" refers to the name of the app that you can order these notebooks from, Paper: http://www.fiftythree.com/paper http://www.fiftythree.com/paper
- asciimo 13y ago
  To assure consumers that it's not actually made of mole skin, despite the spelling in the headline.
- dannowatts 13y ago
  it's a clever and cute double entendre :)
- DanBC 13y ago
  As an aside: See papers like "RockStock", "FibreStone", "Parax", etc, which are "made from stone" (80% Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) and 20% non-toxic HDPE.) EDIT: Here's a wired article (http://www.wired.com/design/2013/02/stone-paper-notebook/ http://www.wired.com/design/2013/02/stone-paper-notebook/)
- dxm 13y ago
  This is my only criticism, the vernacular and wordplay on the website is sometimes confusing. Having made it through, I'm definitely interested in their product though.
jotm 13y ago
I'm kinda sad that even though tablets are multipurpose and go for less than $200, people still manufacture paper notebooks and books. What happened to save the environment, reuse, save the trees?
- unreal37 13y ago
  Don't waste your time being sad about this. Paper products will exist approx. forever, long after either of us is dead. If you watch the video, the book is actually a work of art. It's not like people printing 10 copies of TPS reports that nobody will read, just to file in a filing cabinet.
- lemonberry 13y ago
  Of course, there are no adverse environmental effects from manufacturing tablets, circuit boards, etc.
  - dllthomas 13y ago
    In principle, they last longer than a paper notebook. In practice...
- TylerE 13y ago
  Outside the Amazon rainforest, "save the trees" is stupid and meaningless. They haven't touched old growth forest to make paper in over a century.
- fotbr 13y ago
  My (paper) note book (a cheap $0.50 mead spiral bound model) can be thrown in my bag without any concern over it being damaged, or remembering to charge it, and it will remain functional. It has no obvious value to thieves, and leaving it lay visible in the car does not appreciably increase my risk of the car being broken into. It is also lighter, and quicker to use than any tablet I've used.
  - keithpeter 13y ago
    And in these days of network printers that can also scan an email a PDF back to you, backups are easy.
ISL 13y ago
Moleskine with an 'e'. Custom Moleskin is also an interesting product, but relevant to preventing blisters on unhappy feet.
uptown 13y ago
Reminds me a little of this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6599075 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6599075
Cthulhu_ 13y ago
Does anyone else get envious for not having the artistic ability to make cool stuff like they show in Paper and the ads around it?
- rfnslyr 13y ago
  Not really. If I wanted to be a good artist, I'd take to the time to be a good artist. Until then, I have a million other things to prioritize than "draw". Check out this thread: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=870 http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=870 MindCandyMan has been posting his artistic progress for over 10 years. Look at what he started with versus what he's produced recently.
31reasons 13y ago
Hipster Biz!
- jamesbritt 13y ago
  Don't knock it. :) I'm happy drawing my own stuff on plain paper and adhering it with clear packing tape. Helps protect the cover. But that's me. Folks want to pay for this or that indulgence, I say have at it.
fit2rule 13y ago
Is it really custom if its got the 53 logo all over it? I'm all for having a nicer looking collection of organized Moleskines (already have 10 'normal' moleskines on the shelf, easily spotted among the noise) but I abhor the idea of my 'customized' set nevertheless looking like they were published by 53. If there's an easy way to remove all branding, I'd be into this in a heartbeat ..
- PilateDeGuerre 13y ago
  I think you may not understand this product. 53 makes the Paper app and these are not custom blank Moleskine's but they are printed inside and out with what you select from the Paper app.
  - javajosh 13y ago
    I think he understands quite clearly, that based on the product photos the 53 logo appears on the spines of the custom printed moleskins. It makes sense to me that one would not want such a logo, preferring the default moleskin look (or, and this would be cool: getting your own logo on the spine).
  - fit2rule 13y ago
    I fully understand the product, because I use the Paper app. Its currently not possible to print these custom booklets without the 53 logo on the spine. I find that distasteful, personally, which is why I raised the issue. If I could put my own logo on there (and someone please correct me if there is a way to do this) then I'd be all over this ..
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
llamataboot 13y ago
So no way to upload art unless you have an ipad?
- fit2rule 13y ago
  Yeah this is definitely a weakness in this whole scheme..
yeah_ok 13y ago
I feel like the website doesn't really explain what they're offering. It's a little cryptic to me, I can see lots of beautiful artwork, but am I the only one who still doesn't understand what problem they're trying to fix or what they're offering me?
welder 13y ago
This company will stamp a logo on a moleskin-like notebook for $4.45 (min 100 quantity): http://www.chameleonlike.com/CategoryListing.asp?catid=14 http://www.chameleonlike.com/CategoryListing.asp?catid=14
theboss 13y ago
App is free. You get a fountain pen and an eraser. If you want a marker, pencil, or whatever, it is $1.99. And if you want the notebook? Not sure what they are going for here....

100 points by kirillzubovsky 13y ago

For my last year of classes, I made something similar, though for a lower cost. I used http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/ http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/ to make a custom dot grid to accomodate my large handwriting, imported it into InDesign to create 200+ numbered pages of the grid and then added a few pages front and back of reference items. Finished up with a color cover of my own design, and then sent the resulting PDF to an online printing service, Lulu, and the resulting 8 x 10 notebook was quite nice. It didn't have the feel of a Moleskin but the spiral binding was pretty resilient to the daily abuse, the thick cover also held up perfectly, the paper was thicker than normal notebook paper, and it was nice having a notebook which fit my writing style perfectly. Total cost per book was around $15.

spodek 13y ago

Am I missing something with Moleskine notebooks? I kept a diary for two decades, going through over two dozen notebooks in the process. In graduate school I also kept lab notes for years. I used cheap notebooks. Never did I see the value of Moleskines justifying their five- to ten-times higher cost. Am I missing something? They only remind me of this Onion article -- http://www.theonion.com/articles/privileged-little-artiste-writing-something-ohsopr,6938 http://www.theonion.com/articles/privileged-little-artiste-w... Privileged Little Artiste Writing Something Oh-So-Precious Into His Moleskine Notebook SAN FRANCISCO—After gently unfastening the elastic strap keeping his dearest musings safe from prying eyes, little literary artiste Evan Stansky penned a few more darling thoughts into his clothbound Moleskine notebook Wednesday. "These are much higher quality than the notebooks you find at CVS," lilted the auteur, who couldn't be bothered to use—dare it be said—a journal of lesser craftsmanship or pedigree, or one not famously used by such legendary artists as van Gogh and Hemingway. "They're a little more expensive, but I try to write on both sides so I don't go through them as quickly." At press time, the princely scribe was seen finishing his apricot jasmine tea, asking a mere mortal sitting nearby to watch his literary accoutrements, and then prancing off to the Starbucks powder room, light as a feather.

pastylegs 13y ago
Price isn't the only thing that dictates value
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- _ZeD_ 13y ago
  yes it is
  - hangonhn 13y ago
    If it is then a $500 refrigerator would have the same value to an Inuit as a $500 heater.
  - biot 13y ago
    You get no value from the free air you breathe?
  - alecdbrooks 13y ago
    Market value [0] ≠ value. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_value https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_value
  - 6d0debc071 13y ago
    One of the underlying assumption of trade is that you both (tend) to gain value in transactions. One party wants the money more than they want the item, and the other party wants the item more than they want the money. If the item was worth the same to both parties, then there'd be no reason to swap.
arjunnarayan 13y ago
They're good quality notebooks. I've had a few. But you're right - at the end of the day they're just notebooks.
- 13y ago

spankalee 13y ago

What does "Made from Paper" mean? As opposed to a book made from plastic?

daeken 13y ago
No, this is referring to their app, Paper. These are notebooks printed straight from their app, using your art.
irq 13y ago
In this case "Paper" refers to the name of the app that you can order these notebooks from, Paper: http://www.fiftythree.com/paper http://www.fiftythree.com/paper
asciimo 13y ago
To assure consumers that it's not actually made of mole skin, despite the spelling in the headline.
dannowatts 13y ago
it's a clever and cute double entendre :)
DanBC 13y ago
As an aside: See papers like "RockStock", "FibreStone", "Parax", etc, which are "made from stone" (80% Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) and 20% non-toxic HDPE.) EDIT: Here's a wired article (http://www.wired.com/design/2013/02/stone-paper-notebook/ http://www.wired.com/design/2013/02/stone-paper-notebook/)
dxm 13y ago
This is my only criticism, the vernacular and wordplay on the website is sometimes confusing. Having made it through, I'm definitely interested in their product though.

jotm 13y ago

I'm kinda sad that even though tablets are multipurpose and go for less than $200, people still manufacture paper notebooks and books. What happened to save the environment, reuse, save the trees?

unreal37 13y ago
Don't waste your time being sad about this. Paper products will exist approx. forever, long after either of us is dead. If you watch the video, the book is actually a work of art. It's not like people printing 10 copies of TPS reports that nobody will read, just to file in a filing cabinet.
lemonberry 13y ago
Of course, there are no adverse environmental effects from manufacturing tablets, circuit boards, etc.
- dllthomas 13y ago
  In principle, they last longer than a paper notebook. In practice...
TylerE 13y ago
Outside the Amazon rainforest, "save the trees" is stupid and meaningless. They haven't touched old growth forest to make paper in over a century.
fotbr 13y ago
My (paper) note book (a cheap $0.50 mead spiral bound model) can be thrown in my bag without any concern over it being damaged, or remembering to charge it, and it will remain functional. It has no obvious value to thieves, and leaving it lay visible in the car does not appreciably increase my risk of the car being broken into. It is also lighter, and quicker to use than any tablet I've used.
- keithpeter 13y ago
  And in these days of network printers that can also scan an email a PDF back to you, backups are easy.

ISL 13y ago

Moleskine with an 'e'. Custom Moleskin is also an interesting product, but relevant to preventing blisters on unhappy feet.

uptown 13y ago

Reminds me a little of this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6599075 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6599075

Cthulhu_ 13y ago

Does anyone else get envious for not having the artistic ability to make cool stuff like they show in Paper and the ads around it?

rfnslyr 13y ago
Not really. If I wanted to be a good artist, I'd take to the time to be a good artist. Until then, I have a million other things to prioritize than "draw". Check out this thread: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=870 http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=870 MindCandyMan has been posting his artistic progress for over 10 years. Look at what he started with versus what he's produced recently.

31reasons 13y ago

Hipster Biz!

jamesbritt 13y ago
Don't knock it. :) I'm happy drawing my own stuff on plain paper and adhering it with clear packing tape. Helps protect the cover. But that's me. Folks want to pay for this or that indulgence, I say have at it.

fit2rule 13y ago

Is it really custom if its got the 53 logo all over it? I'm all for having a nicer looking collection of organized Moleskines (already have 10 'normal' moleskines on the shelf, easily spotted among the noise) but I abhor the idea of my 'customized' set nevertheless looking like they were published by 53. If there's an easy way to remove all branding, I'd be into this in a heartbeat ..

PilateDeGuerre 13y ago
I think you may not understand this product. 53 makes the Paper app and these are not custom blank Moleskine's but they are printed inside and out with what you select from the Paper app.
- javajosh 13y ago
  I think he understands quite clearly, that based on the product photos the 53 logo appears on the spines of the custom printed moleskins. It makes sense to me that one would not want such a logo, preferring the default moleskin look (or, and this would be cool: getting your own logo on the spine).
- fit2rule 13y ago
  I fully understand the product, because I use the Paper app. Its currently not possible to print these custom booklets without the 53 logo on the spine. I find that distasteful, personally, which is why I raised the issue. If I could put my own logo on there (and someone please correct me if there is a way to do this) then I'd be all over this ..

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

llamataboot 13y ago

So no way to upload art unless you have an ipad?

fit2rule 13y ago
Yeah this is definitely a weakness in this whole scheme..

yeah_ok 13y ago

I feel like the website doesn't really explain what they're offering. It's a little cryptic to me, I can see lots of beautiful artwork, but am I the only one who still doesn't understand what problem they're trying to fix or what they're offering me?

welder 13y ago

This company will stamp a logo on a moleskin-like notebook for $4.45 (min 100 quantity): http://www.chameleonlike.com/CategoryListing.asp?catid=14 http://www.chameleonlike.com/CategoryListing.asp?catid=14

theboss 13y ago

App is free. You get a fountain pen and an eraser. If you want a marker, pencil, or whatever, it is $1.99. And if you want the notebook? Not sure what they are going for here....