Notebooks & journals

• Ruling 101
• Common sizes
• Spiral, sewn or stapled?
• Featured types

Ruling 101

American notebooks mostly come in two line spacings. Wide ruled (about 11/32 inch) gives younger kids and big handwriting room to breathe. College ruled (about 9/32 inch) fits more on a page and is the go-to for high school, college and the office. Beyond lines you'll find graph (quad-ruled, commonly four or five squares per inch) for math and engineering, blank for sketching, and dotted pages that guide your hand without boxing you in.

Common sizes

Spiral notebooks are usually close to 8.5 × 11 inches (Letter) or a bit smaller to fit a binder. Composition books run roughly 7.5 × 9.75 inches. Journals often borrow the international A5 size (about 5.8 × 8.3 inches), and pocket memo books are often around 3.5 × 5.5 inches, sized for a back pocket.

Spiral, sewn or stapled?

Spiral binding folds flat back on itself, perfect for a lap or a cramped lecture-hall desk, and pages tear out cleanly if they're perforated. Sewn (or "smyth-sewn") journals open flat and hold up for years. Saddle-stitched (stapled) memo books are thin, light and cheap to replace.

If you use gel pens, markers or a fountain pen, check the paper spec. Heavier paper, roughly 90–120 gsm (about 24–32 lb bond), bleeds and ghosts less. Our paper weight guide translates the numbers.