Review: Quattro Notepad

Here’s one I hadn’t seen before.  I haven’t had a chance to give it a real thorough test, but here’s a short take.

It’s an 80-sheet pad that’s styled a little like the Rhodia pads, with the stiff glossy-ish cover that folds over (this one has a pea soup-colored cover).  Overall size is 3.4″ x 5.5″, and the sheets are micro-perforated.  It’s made by the Hand Book Journal Company (an offshoot of Global Art Materials) based in Kansas City, MO.  I picked it up at The Art Store in Des Moines for $3.  They’re available in an interesting 8×8 quadrille-ruled format (scan below), a lined format that I didn’t look at, and a blank one.  One thing that’s cool about these things is that Hand Book has also released leather foldover covers for them.  I didn’t check the prices, but with the notepad priced at $3, it probably won’t break the bank for the leather cover to go along with it.  If I decide I like these, I might spring for one. 

The paper is finished, but it’s not the same type of finishing process that Clairefontaine uses for their Rhodia pads; it’s more like the finish on the Ampad Gold Fibre legal pads.  Still, with a fine point, you shouldn’t have many issues. 

Initially I tested it with a Vanishing Point loaded with Pelikan Royal Blue.  Seemed to work fine, although I think the line might have spread out a little further than I’d have expected.  Later, I used a wet-writing Omas 360 on it with good results (better than I expected, actually).  I also tried out a needlepointed nib on it and got predictable results. 

I couldn’t find any traces of feathering, and no bleedthrough.  Granted, I wasn’t using the world’s most saturated inks, but with the Omas being such a wet writer, if it was going to bleed, it would have. 

If you want to try one, here’s a few pictures so you’ll know what to look for.  Happy hunting!  (Pardon the poor photo quality on these…pressed for time!)

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