Review of the Francheville Dot Grid Journal from Spotlight (Including Pen Test)
Spotlight never seems to have much new stock however when they had a coupon I decided to see if there was anything new. While most of it was the same stock as usual, there was one new thing: a very cheap dot grid notebook!
Quick facts
- Size: 5.75″ wide x 8.25″ high
- Hardcover
- Cover color – beige, blue, purple, pink or orange
- 5mm dot grid
- 192 pages
- Available at Spotlight in Australia
Price: $6 AUD <<– so cheap
Let’s take a closer look!
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The Cover
I chose the hardcover version but there’s a softcover version too. Since I don’t have a beige notebook, I chose it for something different:
Approx. 1.4cm thick
The pages are bright white (the main reason I wanted this notebook). Unfortunately the cheap price tag means one crucial element is missing: numbered pages.
This was before I broke the spine:
Once I broke the spine the pages lay flat on their own. There is one grey ribbon bookmark.
The dot grid is 5mm spacing.
There is sufficient margin on all sides of the page that none of the dots are miss-printed / cut off.
Pen Testing
The paper is smooth to write on but unfortunately prone to ghosting. All pens had show through on the back side of the page (least amount for the ballpoint pens). Highlighters and stamps can be seen on the backside of the pages too.
Although there is ghosting, it’s about the same amount of ghosting I’ve seen in more expensive notebooks (some of which cost $20).. so I figure may as well get this notebook which is much cheaper.
Pros of the Notebook
- Portable size
- Very cheap
- Multiple cover colors to choose from
- 5mm dot grid
- Ribbon bookmark
- Pages lay flat on their own
- White pages
Cons of the Notebook
- Have only found it at Spotlight (Australia only)
- No pocket folder
- Paper is prone to ghosting
- No numbered pages
- No pre-printed pages e.g. index
Would I use this notebook?
The paper is not great, but I’m ok with that given the super cheap price tag. As there are no page numbers, this will be a notebook I use for drafting bullet journal spread ideas and brain dumping / lists.
More bullet journal notebook reviews:
- Bullet Journal Planner by Letter Love Designs
- Jumping Fox Designs Dot Grid Notebook
- CEDON dot grid notebook
Bullet Journal Tips:
- 26 Non-typical 2 page weekly spreads to try
- Pens & Highlighters Smear Testing: Which ones don’t smear
- 5 Things to do when you get a new bullet journal notebook
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From your pictures, it seems that the dots in this notebook are a little more pronounced. I am looking for a notebook where the dots are more easily seen, as I have vision problems. If this notebook doesn’t fit my need, could you suggest one that might have darker dots. I love making my own spreads when it isn’t so difficult for me to do.