There are many cheap (less than $10 USD) dot grid notebooks. One of which is the Artfan – lets see how the quality of the notebooks stacks up against the price!
Disclaimer: I received this notebook from Organizer Factory for free in exchange for this review. As always, all opinions are my own.
Quick facts
- Size: 5.25″ wide x 8.25″ high
- Hardcover
- Sewn binding
- 6mm / 0.25″ Dot grid pages
- 62 double sided pages (124 pages total)
- Cream pages
- Numbered pages
- Pocket folder
- Elastic band enclosure
- 2 Ribbon bookmarks
- Lay flat binding
Price: $8.20 USD
Let’s take a closer look!
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No boring black cover – a pretty blue instead!
Approx 1.7cm thick (between 0.5 & 0.75″ thick)
There are 22 dots horizontal and 36 dots vertically.
Some notebooks can print the dots too close to the page making it awkward to write on / rule up pages. This one has a few millimetres space on all sides so you don’t have to worry about that.
Related: How to choose the right bullet journal notebook for you (10 things to check)
Index
At the front of the notebook are 4 pre-printed index pages.
62 double sided dot grid pages. The paper is ivory.
5mm dot grid
Numbered pages in the bottom right hand corner. Unlike some dot grid notebooks (Rhodia… ), the page numbers sit below the dot grid not inside the dot grid – logical! 🙂
The pages lay flat on their own!
There 2 ribbon bookmarks
Pocket Folder
Pen Testing
I tried various ballpoint, gel, fine tip and marker tip pens. For the price of the notebook the paper didn’t fair too bad.
There was ghosting for the thicker pens and highlighters.
If you use this notebook I recommend a ballpoint pen, gel pen or the Frixion erasable pens.
Related:
Pros of the Planner
- Portable size
- Lightweight
- Pocket folder
- Functional dot placement (none too close to the edge of the page)
- Numbered pages
- Lay flat binding
- 4 Index pages (2 double-sided pages)
- 2 ribbon bookmarks
Cons of the Planner
- No cover personalisation
Would I use this planner?
Yes. You can never have too many dot grid notebooks!
More dot grid notebook reviews:
- Siwengde Bullet Journal Notebook Review
- Plum Paper Bullet Journal Custom Notebook
- Leuchtturm Slim dot grid notebook
Planning Tips:
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Thank you for the review. I’ve been using this same type of Artfan notebook for months and am so pleased with it, especially for the price. The TOC and numbered pages are a really nice touch – something you don’t always find even in pricier notebooks. Like you, I wish the paper was a brighter white. Still, it handles fountain pens really well, although there’s usually some minor ghosting. One issue that has cropped up over time is the back cover has developed a bubbled area as if the adhesive has worn off. It’s cosmetic only, but I’m glad it’s the back and not the front. My Artfan notebook is almost full and plan on buying another.
Ok, I love that it has pockets and two ribbons. And that index at the beginning is beautiful. It’s been hard for me to find a dot planner that doesn’t allow bright pens to bleed through.