Apica Notebook CD-11 lined light green (A5)

The Apica CD-11 is a slender A5 notebook from Japan – reliably bound, with a fresh light green softcover of thick cardboard and 56 pages of acid-free paper. The notebook feels comfortable in the hand and fits into any bag, any planner cover, any desk. For fountain pen users, this is paper that performs exceptionally well for its class.

Features

• Fountain-pen-friendly 81.4 g paper: The smooth, even surface lets nibs of all widths glide cleanly – from extra fine to medium. Ink flows in quickly without smudging; bleed-through is minimal with standard nibs and inks, and ghosting is barely noticeable.
• Acid-free paper: Without acid-induced yellowing, notes, sketches and ink samples remain legible and true to colour even after years.
• Thread binding: The individual leaves are sewn together with thread. The notebook opens flat without resistance – no paper pushing back against your writing hand.
• 25 lines with 7 mm ruling: A classic line height that accommodates both broad letterforms and fine handwriting. An unlined margin zone at the top – ideal as a title line or date field.
• Light green softcover of thick cardboard: The textured cover feels pleasantly rough in the hand; the clear colour makes the notebook immediately easy to spot in a stack or bag.
• Compact format: 56 pages – manageable enough for a topic, a project or a month, without the notebook becoming unnecessarily thick.

Use & Tips

• Fountain pens with fine to medium nibs: This paper works particularly well with fine-writing nibs and water-based fountain pen ink. With very wet nibs or fast-flowing inks, occasionally pause briefly – the drying time is slightly longer than on coated papers.
• Gel pens and liquid rollers: On the smooth surface, gel rollers and liquid ink rollers glide smoothly; the paper shows ink shading decently, though more subtly than on tissue-thin Japanese paper.
• Ink samples and colour comparisons: The 56 manageable pages invite you to use the notebook as an ink swatch book – one swatch per page, with nib notes and date.
• Inserting into A5 planner covers: The slender notebook fits perfectly into standard A5 leather covers or Traveler's Notebook systems in A5 format.
• Avoid hand oils: As with most smooth Japanese papers, it's advisable to use an underlay sheet beneath your writing hand – this paper is more sensitive to skin oils than heavily sized alternatives.
• Pencil: The smooth surface allows writing with pencil, but takes less graphite than rougher papers – for pencil-intensive work, choose a more textured paper.

For Fountain Pen Enthusiasts

The CD-11 is manufactured in Japan, and the paper is produced exclusively for Apica in collaboration with Oji Paper – a manufacturer known for sustainable forestry. The result is paper with a calm, even line: no fraying with fine nibs, barely any show-through on the reverse, enough smoothness for liquid rollers and gel pens. Ink sheen and shading are distinctly visible but appear more restrained than on very thin, slow-drying Japanese paper – the CD-11 is everyday paper that works reliably, not show paper for the camera.

Technical Specifications