Skip to content

All About Planners

Printable planners to organize your home, business and life!

Menu
  • Home
  • Planning
    • Blog post index
    • New to planning? Start here
    • Planning Tips & Inspiration
      • Planning with Highlighters
      • Planner Newbie
      • Planner pens
    • 52 Planning Systems in 52 Weeks
    • Planner Reviews
      • Planner Comparisons
      • Happy Planner (MAMBI)
      • Horizontal Weekly
      • Horizontal 1 Page Weekly + Notes
      • Categories Weekly
      • Hourly Planners
      • Budget Planners
      • Daily Planners
      • Student Planners
      • Discbound Planners
      • Planner Roundups
    • Resources & Tools I Recommend
    • Rachael’s Favorites
    • Bullet Journal
      • Bullet Journal Reviews
      • 160GSM Dot Grid Notebook Reviews
      • Bullet Journal Spreads
      • Bullet Journal Tips
    • Digital Planning
    • Stationery Shopping
    • Recipe Organisation
  • FREE Printables
    • FREE Printables
    • Free Printables Library – Subscribers Login
  • Graphic Design
    • Affinity Publisher
    • Photoshop Tutorials
    • Microsoft Word
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Silhouette Studio
    • Canva
  • Learn
    • ECOURSES
      • Printables in Affinity Publisher
      • How to Make Planner Stickers
      • How to Make Printables
      • Digital planners and notebooks in Microsoft PowerPoint
      • How to Make Labels in Photoshop
      • Printables in Microsoft Excel
      • Printables in Microsoft Word
      • How to Write Product Descriptions
      • Learn How to Make Printables
      • Free Graphic Design Video Tutorials Library
      • Make Patterns in Photoshop
      • Party Printables
      • Ecourse Bundles
    • Ebooks
      • 1200 Blog Post Ideas (Exclusive Download Content)
      • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (Exclusive Download Content)
      • 54 Mistakes Etsy Sellers Make (And How to Fix Them)
      • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (For Any Type of Blog)
      • 1200 Blog Post Ideas
    • Blogging & Online Business
  • SHOP
    • My online store
    • My Etsy store
    • Shop my favorite planner supplies on Amazon
    • Planner Supplies (my sister’s shop!)
  • FAQ
    • About
    • Downloading Files
    • How to Open Zipped File Folders
    • Printing Tips
    • What does EDITABLE mean?
    • Printable Planner Stickers
    • Why printables? Do you sell printed versions of your products?
    • What is a Printable? What happens when I purchase a printable from you?
    • I’ve purchased printables from you – how should I set up my planner?
    • Feedback & Testimonials
    • Disclaimer and Privacy Policy
  • Travel
    • Australia & New Zealand
    • Japan
    • Europe
    • Itineraries
Menu
scribe dot grid notebook review pros and cons pen testing paper quality ivory paper 5mm dot grid

Review of the Scribe Journal by Best Self Co (Including Pen Test)

Posted on July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 by Rachael

You might have heard of the Best Self Journal, but did you know the Best Self Company have a dot grid notebook for bullet journaling too?

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking one of these links I’ll receive a small commission in exchange for referring you (at no extra cost to you).

Quick facts

  • Size: 5.5″ wide x 8″ high (14.3cm wide x 20.3cm high)
  • Softcover
  • Sewn binding
  • Only 1 cover style – navy blue plain cover
  • No page numbers
  • 5mm dot grid
  • Perforated page corners
  • 100 GSM paper
  • Pocket folder
  • 1 Ribbon bookmark
  • Ruler guide on the inside of the front cover
  • 8 Perforated pages at the back of the notebook

Price: $17 USD on Amazon

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).

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more planner videos!

The Cover

The cover looks like faux leather and is very bendy. Unfortunately, it only comes in one style – a plain navy cover.

scribe dot grid notebook review pros and cons pen testing paper quality ivory paper 5mm dot grid softcover

best self co scribe journal review pros and cons pen testing ghosting bleed through softcover video perforated pages 5mm dot grid amazon

Approx 1.5cm / 0.59″ thick

scribe journal dot grid notebook review softcover navy ivory pages pen testing pros and cons video walkthrough

Ruler Guide

At the front of the notebook is a built in ruler / marker. I really like this but wish it had been a removable ruler guide (kind of like the Ink by Jeng row and column stencil). As the dot grid in this notebook is 5mm I’d be able to use the guide in other notebooks too.

scribe dot grid journal measuring rulers dot grid pen testing pros and cons video review

scribe notebook review journal dotted 5mm ivory paper simple minimalist gender neutral lay flat binding softcover

Dot Grid Pages

There is no contents / index page or pre-printed pages – the entire notebook is 5mm dot grid.

scribe journal dot grid notebook review pros and cons pen testing ghosting bleed through perforated pages ivory

None of the dots are printed close to the edges of the page or the margins making it easier to rule up spreads (ruler is less likely to slip).

There are 38 dots vertically and 25 dots horizontally.

This is the only dot grid notebook that I can think of, which has perforated corners. Apart from a custom Agendio notebook (which would be far more expensive).

Related post: Trying out my custom Agendio bullet journal (is a 0.25″ grid too big?)

scribe dotted journal notebook review ivory 5mm dot grid pros and cons amazon video flipthrough

Pages lay flat on their own

scribe dotted journal notebook review pros and cons video flipthrough pen testing ghosting ribbon bookmark perforated pages

There is a pocket folder at the back.

scribe journal notebook review pocket folder pen test softcover perforated pages video flipthrough

Pen Testing

The paper is smooth and easy to write on, but it’s very thin. Surprisingly there was no indenting of pens on the back side of the pages. But, there was ghosting for all of the pens, highlighters and stamps that I tested. There was bleed through for the MAMBI stamps too.

The website says ‘premium, fountain pen friendly paper’…

scribe best self notebook journal review pen testing gel ballpoint fine tip highlighters stamps ghosting show through

… but the pen test shows otherwise.

scribe best self journal notebook review pen testing gel ballpoint fine tip highlighters stamps ghosting show through

Pros of the Notebook

  • Portable size
  • Lightweight
  • Perforated pages
  • Pocket folder

Cons of the Notebook

  • No page numbers
  • Thin paper with ghosting and bleed through
  • Only 1 cover style available (plain and boring)
  • No contents page / index
  • Only 1 Ribbon bookmark

Would I use this notebook?

No. The paper is too thin. There are other dot grid notebooks in this price range that have better paper (less ghosting and bleed through), page numbers and multiple cover colors to choose from. I would only get this notebook if you want the perforated pages.

If you like this notebook, I purchased it on Amazon.

More bullet journal notebook reviews:

  • Dingbats* Notebook for Bullet Journaling Review (super smooth paper!)
  • Posy Paper personalised coil bound notebook
  • Bullet Journal notebooks with the best paper (my top 7)
  • 10 Cheap bullet journal notebooks (that cost less than $15 USD or less)

Bullet Journaling Tips:

  • Lined, dot grid, graph or blank: what paper type is right for your bullet journal?
  • How to use the Helix Circle maker
  • 20 Bullet Journal Weekly Spread Ideas (One Page Layouts)

Browse all posts

Found this post helpful? Pin it!

scribe journal dot grid notebook review pen testing pros and cons paper quality perforated pages video all about planners

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Continue Reading

Previous Post:
Scribbles That Matter: Iconic versus the Pro Version with 160 GSM paper (Which is better?)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hello

Welcome to All About Planners! I’m Rachael, a 20-something Australian planner addict. On the blog you’ll find more than 1,000 posts about all things planning including planner reviews, tips, favorite supplies and some of my past weekly spreads.

Subscribe and join 60,000+ others on the quest to find planner peace!

If you have a question or there is a planner you’d like me to review, I can be contacted via [email protected]

Subscribe

free printables library sign up all about planners blog image graphic subscribe

Search

Shop At Etsy

The photos and content on this site are the property of All About Planners. They are not allowed to be used without permission from All About Planners.

Categories

Recent Posts

  • ZenArt Bullet Journal Notebook review (7′ wide x 10″ high notebook)
  • Using ChatGPT to create a travel itinerary – time saver or waste of time?
  • What dot grid size is best for bullet journaling?
  • The best budgeting sticker books for your planner or bullet journal
  • Archer and Olive versus Notebook Therapy: Which Dot Grid Notebook is better?

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Disclaimer

All About Planners is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Printables

  • Learn How to Make Printables
  • How to Make Planner Stickers
  • Resources & Tools I Recommend

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Privacy
©2023 All About Planners | Built using WordPress and Responsive Blogily theme by Superb