MD Notebook A5

Midori has been making the MD Notebook since 2007, and in that time has changed almost nothing about it. The cover is the same cream card. The paper is the same 80gsm MD Paper. The thread binding still allows it to open flat from the first page to the last. When something works this well, you don’t tinker with it.

The paper

MD Paper is the reason people seek this notebook out specifically. It’s a Japanese paper developed by Midori for fountain pen use: smooth without being slick, with almost no bleed-through even with wet nibs, and a slight cream tone that’s easier on the eyes than bright white. Ink dries quickly, lines look crisp, and the paper has a quality of resistance — a slight tooth — that makes writing feel deliberate rather than frictionless.

It’s not the thickest paper. At 80gsm it’s lighter than many European notebooks. But it handles ink better than paper twice its weight because the surface sizing is done well. If you write with a fountain pen, this is the notebook that will make you notice your ink colours properly for the first time.

The binding

Thread-stitched, and it opens completely flat at every page. This sounds like a small thing until you’ve spent years fighting notebooks that fight back — the ones that close on you at page three, or that require a hand to hold them open while the other tries to write. The MD Notebook stays open without assistance. It sits flat on a desk. You can fold it back on itself without damaging the spine. For daily writing, this is not a luxury — it’s a basic requirement.

The format

A5 — 210mm × 148mm — is the right size. Large enough to write proper sentences without cramping your handwriting, small enough to fit in a coat pocket or bag without bulk. 176 pages is enough for several months of daily use. Available in blank, lined (7mm), dot grid (5mm), and grid (5mm) — I use the blank.

The packaging

It comes wrapped in glassine paper with a bookmark ribbon and index stickers. The glassine wrapper is worth keeping — it protects the cover during use. The whole thing is packaged with the kind of attention that makes you slow down when you open it, which is a reasonable way to start a notebook you’re going to spend months with.

Materials: MD Paper (80gsm), thread-stitched binding, card cover
Size: A5 — 210 × 148mm, 176 pages
Made in: Japan
Layouts: Blank, lined (7mm), dot grid (5mm), grid (5mm)