The first step in choosing a notebook is often to consider the format, i.e. the size of the notebook. The common format for office supply products notebooks is usually A4-A6, with smaller notepads possibly going down to A7 or A8.
Choosing the right format for your notebook depends on how much you need to record each time. If you need to focus your notes on the same sheet of paper each time, you may need to choose a larger B5 format. Some student professionals may need to draw diagrams, which would require an even larger A4 format. However, if you only need to record on a smaller scale, you may not need to choose a larger format; a notebook around the size of A5 would be sufficient. Still, there are people who want to carry a small notebook around in their purse or bag to record memos or ideas on the go, so a smaller A6 or even A7 format may be better.
If you do not have a clear understanding of what each format size means, you can use an everyday A4 printer paper as a reference point. A4 format notebooks are generally the same size as A4 paper, while A5 size notebooks are the same size as when A4 paper is folded in half. B5 size notebooks are somewhere between A4 and A5. A5 size notebooks folded in half would be A6, and B6 is between A5 and A6.
Additionally, storage is also an important consideration. If you have limited storage space for notebooks, it is not recommended to choose a larger format. It would be better to choose a relatively smaller format (such as A5). And if you need a portable office supply products notebook, a size of A6 would be more suitable.
After considering format size, you need to decide whether you want a notebook with fixed pages or loose-leaf. You will also need to consider the thickness of the notebook and whether or not you will need to add more pages at a later time.
If you want to record information for a long period of time, choose a thick notebook that has fixed pages; this ensures that your recorded content will not be lost. For students who need to note down course material, a thicker notebook would be more convenient, as only one notebook would need to be reviewed during exam preparation.
Typical notebooks come with either 40, 80, 120 or 160 pages. Consider selecting those with 40-80 pages as notebooks that are too thick may be bulky and cause unnecessary wastage.
Moreover, if you need to adjust or supplement your notes during your study process, you will need to choose a loose-leaf notebook. When recording course notes, often just the key points are written down in class with further supplementation added when reviewing. Loose-leaf notebooks provide more freedom in this situation compared to fixed-page notebooks.
Another crucial detail to consider when selecting an office supply products notebook is the inner page layout. Common page layouts for notebooks include ruled, blank, grid, dotted line, dot matrix, daily plans, etc.
Ruled pages are the most common inner page layout. The spacing between ruled pages is generally 6mm-8mm, with some specially designed layouts having 7mm or 8mm spacing for larger writing. Special cases may have a line spacing of 5mm.
Blank page notebooks allow for free planning of the notebook's content, without being confined by line spacing. You can write as much as you want on a page or even just one word. However, it may be more difficult for some people to organize their notes when using blank-page notebooks due to the lack of structure.
Grid notebooks allow for a more organized note-taking experience, while still being relatively freeing. Larger letters can use two squares as one line space while smaller letters may use one square as one line space. Grid lines also make it easier to divide note sections by content.