Comparing Different Apica Paper Weights

Recently I was contacted by Kenji, a representative from Apica. They had found my Figurare Notebook Review and wanted to let me know that that product has been discontinued. I never knew it was an Apica product, so that was interesting to hear. Kenji went on to let me know that the same paper used in Figurare notebooks was still being used in other Apica notebooks. In fact, you might have one of those notebooks right now and not even know it.

In this post, I don’t plan to discuss the features of these Apica notebooks, just the difference between papers. For a general notebook review, please refer to my Apica CD15 Notebook Review.

The Two Paper Weights And Where To Find Them

When Kenji told me that Apica notebooks come with different papers, he wasn’t talking about regular Apica notebooks and Apica Premium C.D. notebooks. He was talking about different regular Apica notebooks. This came as a surprise to me. Why would the same notebooks have different paper in them?

When I mentioned that I didn’t know about the different types of paper in different notebooks, he kindly offered to send a sample of each. With that being said, I did receive the notebooks that were used in this comparison for free, but to be fair, I already had quite a few Apica notebooks on hand.

So what is the difference and how can you find each different type of paper? The main difference that Kenji mentioned between the two papers is the weight. One type is 70gsm, the other is 81.4gsm. Paper weight alone is not enough to make a big difference in the paper, especially such a small difference. In my comparison, I did find that there were other slight differences between the two paper types, which I’ll mention a bit later.

The different types of paper are found in different notebook sizes. Yes, you read that correctly. Apica uses different types of paper in their different notebook sizes. The 70gsm paper is found in their A5 and A6 notebooks, while the 81.4gsm paper is found in their B5 and A4 notebooks.

The Apica notebooks have different paper, depending on the size you use

Another strange thing about this is that the A5 notebooks don’t say the paper weight on them, but the B5 notebooks do. It seems that most people, including some major retailers, don’t know that the papers differ between notebook sizes. Most list both the B5 and the A5 notebooks as having 81.4gsm paper in them.

The back cover of the B5 (CD15) shows the paper weight, but the A5 (CD11) does not.

So now that you know what the different paper types are and how to find each one, let’s take a look at the paper itself.

The Details

All info found in this post refers to the basic Apica CD notebooks, not the Apica Premium CD notebooks.

• Pages: A5, A6 – 56, B5 – 68, A4 – 80
• Paper Weight: A5, A6 – 70gsm, B5 and A4 – 81.4gsm
• Binding: Stitch
• Page Style: Lined
• Size: A6, A5, B5, A4

Ink-handling characteristics

70gsm – A5

• Sheen: Average
• Shading: Average
• Bleeding: Low
• Ghosting: Average
• Feathering: Very Low
• Dry Time: High

81.4gsm – B5

• Sheen: Average
• Shading: High
• Bleeding: Low
• Ghosting: Low
• Feathering: Very Low
• Dry Time: High

Apica 70gsm paper test: Front

Apica 70gsm paper test: Back

Apica 81.4gsm paper test: Front

Apica 81.4gsm paper test: Back

Actual Use

Comparing the two different papers, there’s not a significant difference in feel when writing on one versus the other. The 81.4gsm does feel smoother to the touch and this does carry over into the writing experience, but I don’t know if it’s enough to make me purchase the B5 over the A5 size. As you probably noticed with the above testing info, both papers perform very similarly. The 81.4gsm does perform better, showing more shading and less ghosting, but again, it’s not a significant difference.

So is that the end of the test and we conclude that they’re basically the same paper? Nope. Just because the two papers perform similarly and don’t feel significantly different to write on, it doesn’t mean your writing will look the same on them. I found that the 81.4gsm has more contrast, so inks look better and tend to pop off of the page when compared to the 70gsm. Given that the 81.4gsm performs slightly better and not worse in any way than the 70gsm, I would choose it any day. Unfortunately, it only comes in the B5 or A4 notebooks, neither of which I use.

Apica 70gsm Writing Detail

Apica 81.4gsm Writing Detail

Conclusion

I find this whole situation very interesting. First, why does a notebook company use two different papers in the same product line? Second, why is one notebook size marked with the paper information, but the other isn’t? Third, how do vendors not even know that the different sizes of notebooks have different papers in them?

Regardless of how this situation came to be, I am glad that it got pointed out by an official source. I always enjoy trying new papers and this was kind of like a new paper for me. Since I mainly use A5 notebooks, I hadn’t actively used a B5 Apica. Although it’s the same paper that was used in the Figurare notebooks, it had been a long time since I’d used that particular notebook.

While both papers are solid choices and more than adequate for use with fountain pens, I have to say I prefer the 81.4gsm paper. It feels a bit nicer to write on, performs slightly better, but most importantly, makes your inks look good. If you’re a fan of Apica notebooks and haven’t tried the A4 or B5 sizes, I’d encourage you to give one a try. I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the paper.

If you’d like a bit more information about how I test papers and notebooks, I wrote an article about my paper rating system.