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November 20, 2019

Artfan Dot Grid Notebook Review (Including Pen Test)

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!

To enlarge the screen of the video, click the square icon in the bottom right hand corner of the video (it will say ‘full screen’ when you hover your mouse over the icon).

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No boring black cover – a pretty blue instead!

artfan dot grid notebook review 5mm spacing cheap notebook less than 10 usd ivory paper sewn bound

Approx 1.7cm thick (between 0.5 & 0.75″ thick)

artfan dot grid notebook review 5mm spacing cheap notebook less than 10 usd ivory paper sewn bound lightweight

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.

artfan dot grid notebook lay flat binding ivory paper 5mm cheap affordable numbered pages

62 double sided dot grid pages. The paper is ivory.

artfan dot grid notebook review pros and cons pen testing

5mm dot grid

artfan dot grid notebook

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! 🙂

artfan dot grid notebook numbered pages 5mm spacing

The pages lay flat on their own!

artfan dot grid notebook lay flat binding 5mm spacing ivory paper

There 2 ribbon bookmarks

artfan bullet journal notebook dot grid spacing 5mm

Pocket Folder

artfan dot grid notebook 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.

artfan dot grid notebook pen testing paper quality ghosting bleed through highlighter stamp pens

artfan dot grid notebook pen testing paper quality ghosting bleed through highlighter stamp pens ivory paper

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!

comparison of 30 dot grid notebooks pros and cons page size paper quality price binding index page numbers review video

More dot grid notebook reviews:

  • Siwengde Bullet Journal Notebook Review
  • Plum Paper Bullet Journal Custom Notebook
  • Leuchtturm Slim dot grid notebook

Planning Tips:

  • Bored with your planner? 25 ways to mix it up
  • 50 Themes for your planner or bullet journal spreads

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artfan dot grid notebook review bullet journal pros and cons all about planners numbered pages pen testing ghosting paper qualit

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Posted In: Bullet Journal, Bullet Journal Reviews · Tagged: 5mm dot grid bullet journal, 5mm dot grid notebook, artfan bujo notebook, Artfan dot grid notebook, Artfan dot grid notebook review, bujo notebook review, bullet journal notebook under $10, cheap bujo notebook, cheap bullet journal notebook, organizer factory, Organizer Factory dot grid notebook, review of Artfan dot grid notebook

Comments

  1. Janis says

    November 20, 2019 at 21:57

    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.

  2. Morgan says

    November 21, 2019 at 00:44

    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.

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