Apica Notebooks Overview
Overview:
In this first video, I show the different sizes of Apica CD and Basic notebooks.
The notebooks range in size from a small A7 (2.75" x 4") to the larger B5 size (7" x 10"). The main idea with these notebooks is that they're relatively thin, and great for single-subject or single-topic applications. The CD's are the thinner notebooks, and the Basics are more like lab notebooks. There's also a Premium collection available that I don't cover in this video.
None of the paper is perforated, and it's all lined. The line rulings range from 6-7mm, and the paper is all the same weight except for the largest size. For all the tech specs, you can check out our product pages or scroll down to see more images and details.
Writing Tests:
This video on the brand overview ended up being really long, so I broke out the writing test into a separate one. The CD paper is good, similar to Rhodia in smoothness and performance. It's not quite as ink resistant with wetter pens and inks, but it holds up about as any non-Rhodia paper I've seen. The paper is slightly different in the CD than the Basic notebooks. The Basics have a lightly gray tinge, and have a longer dry time than the CD paper. Still pretty darn good stuff, but it is different enough where it was worth comparing in the video.
If you're curious, here are the fountain pens and ink I used for these writing tests:
- Pilot Custom 823 medium with Pilot Iroshizuku Ama-Iro
- Pilot Metropolitan medium with Diamine Red Dragon
- Pilot Custom 74 medium with Noodler's 54th Massachusetts
- Pelikan m200 italic with Noodler's Southwest Sunset
- LAMY vista fine with Noodler's Black
All the Details:
Apica CD-5 & CD-7:
The Apica CD-5 and CD-7 notebooks have the same specifications; the only difference is the cover colors. The CD-5 come in four assorted pastel colors, while the CD-7 come in four assorted bold colors. These tiny A7-sized notebooks measure 72mm wide by 102mm high (approx. 2.8" by 4.0").
The lines are spaced 6mm apart, which is very narrow, with 13 lines on a page and a blank margin at the top. Each reinforced side-stitched notebook features 36 sheets (72 pages) of 70gsm paper.
Apica CD-5 Assorted Pastel Notebooks - Sky Blue, Light Green, Yellow, and White
Apica CD-7 Assorted Bold Notebooks - Navy, Black, Red, and Mustard Yellow
Apica CD-10:
The Apica CD-10 notebooks are sold in individual colors. These A6-sized notebooks measure 105mm wide by 148mm high (approx. 4.1" by 5.8").
The lines are spaced 6mm apart, again which is fairly narrow, with 20 lines on a page and a blank margin at the top. Each reinforced side-stitched notebook features 52 sheets (104 pages) of 70gsm paper.
Apica CD-10 Notebooks - Black and Navy
Apica CD-11:
The Apica CD-11 notebooks are available in individual colors. These A5-sized notebooks measure 148mm wide by 210mm high (approx. 5.8" by 8.3").
The lines are spaced 7mm apart, with 25 lines on a page and a blank margin at the top. Each reinforced side-stitched notebook features 28 sheets (56 pages) of 70gsm paper.
Apica CD-11 Notebooks in Sky Blue, Light Green, Mustard, White, Navy, Black, and Red
Apica CD-15:
The largest in the CD series, the Apica CD-15 notebooks are also sold in individual colors. These B5-sized notebooks measure 179mm wide by 252mm high (approx. 7" by 10").
The lines are spaced 6.5mm apart, with 32 lines on a page and a blank margin at the top with a space for the page number and date. Each reinforced side-stitched notebook features 34 sheets (68 pages) of a slightly thicker and smoother 81.4gsm white paper.
Apica CD-15 Notebooks - Black, Light Green, Navy, Sky Blue, Red, and Mustard (not pictured: Light Blue)
Apica Basic 6A-100:
The Apica Basic 6A-100 notebook isn't technically part of the CD collection but it's similar enough to talk about here too. Like the CD-15 notebooks, these B5-sized notebooks measure 179mm wide by 252mm high (approx. 7" by 10").
The lines are spaced 7mm apart, with 30 lines on a page and a blank margin at the top with a space for the page number and date.
Each reinforced side-stitched notebook features a whopping 100 sheets (200 pages) of 70gsm paper.
Apica Basic 6A-100 Notebooks
Here's a quick breakdown of the differences:
| CD-5 & CD-7 | CD-10 | CD-11 | CD-15 | Basic 6A-100 | |
| Overall Size | A7 | B6 | A5 | B5 | B5 |
| Line Ruling | 6mm | 6mm | 7mm | 6.5mm | 7mm |
| Paper Weight | 70g | 70g | 70g | 81.4g | unknown |
| Sheet Count | 36 | 52 | 28 | 34 | 100 |
We hope this was a helpful overview to understand the similarities and differences among all these Apica notebooks! You can find these and other fountain pen friendly notebooks here on our store.
