Trying out the Plum Paper Dashboard – must have accessory or waste of money?
Plum Paper is one of my favorite planner companies so when they introduced dashboards I wanted to try them out!
Plum Paper Dashboards
I’ve used dashboards before (made a DIY one and laminated it – free printable + tutorial here) and it worked well so figured one that was set up as a weekly planner would work well alongside the weekly to do list.
I couldn’t choose so bought a few of the dashboards.
I ended up choosing the My Week dashboard.
The dashboards feel really smooth – similar to the material of the Plum Paper covers.
The dashboard extends above the page to act as a bookmark too!
The spacing is a bit off – Tuesday is shorter than Monday and Wednesday :/
What pens to use?
The dashboards feel really smooth but they’re not laminate and I’m not sure how well they’d hold up being pulled in and out of the coil a few times. They recommend using a Bic Mark-It Fine point permanent marker or any fine tip dry erase marker and wiping clean with disinfectant wipes. Those Bic pens are hard to come by in Australia and with the amount of pens I own I thought surely one of those would work.
I ended up experimenting with a few different pens. I tried:
- Papermate Flair Ultra Fine
- Inklab (a cheaper version of the PaperMate Flair UF)
- Tombow Twin Tone
- Staedtler Twin-Tip
The fatter tip pens worked best but would still rub off. I left it for a few hours to let the ink ‘set’ on one side but it was still smudging when I went back and finished blog planning the rest of the days on the back. Not practical and the smudging is annoying but I suppose better than having to use a fat marker pen as is the case with laminate dashboards.
I’d say the Tombow Twin Tone worked best (the fatter tip). If I used it again I’d try the Sharpie Ultra Fine Permanent.
By the end of the week the ink had finally dried but then I had the problem where I couldn’t get the ink completely off. I tried cleaning wipes (which they recommend) and then when that didn’t work I tried soap but it wouldn’t budge so now there is permanent ink dried in. I definitely won’t be using the dashboard again.
Would I use the Plum Paper dashboards again?
They’re a good idea but they need specific pens otherwise the ink smudges or permanently stains so it’s a definite no from me.
I’d much rather a stack of pre-punched half sheet paper like the ones from MAMBI. Then you can just tear it out and throw it away when done. Or just cut a piece of A5 paper in half and use that.
As for the A5 size Plum Paper Notebook I also used? Love it! Definitely like A5 page size – roomy enough for one column lists without feeling like I’m wasting any paper as can be the case with bigger page sizes.
More Plum Paper
- How to print printables at Plum Paper planner size from your home printer (step by step tutorial)
- Ultimate Comparison: Erin Condren Life Planner versus Plum Paper Planners – Which planner is better?
- Plum Paper Horizontal Lined + Notes (and a comparison or colorful versus neutral)
Planning tips & Ideas
- Quick and easy weekly meal planning using sticky notes
- 7 Planner supplies I don’t regret splurging on
- How to easily print printables double sided (duplex printing tutorial)
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Hi
Try using straight rubbing alcohol to remove the marks. I use permanent markers on laminate all the time and that’s what works for me. On older marks I may need to scrub with the rubbing alcohol a couple times but it works for me about 98% of the time.
Thank you for your reviews!
Kt
You may want to try hairspray. That’s what my mother used to use to get ink stains out of her white nursing uniforms, and it worked like magic.