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When it comes to stationery terms like ‘GSM’ ‘perforated pages’ or ‘twin wire binding’, we are often faced with some very puzzled looks, or responses along the lines of ‘what does that even mean?!’
For those of us who pick up a notebook because of the pretty floral designs, holographic foil or bright patterns (guilty), it can be easy to get distracted and not pay attention to the smaller details. That’s why we’ve debunked all of the stationery terms you may or may not know, making your next stationery shop a walk in the park!
GSM more simply stands for ‘grams per square meter’ or in other words, how much your sheet of paper weighs! The higher the GSM of the paper you are using, the thicker the paper will be. 80 GSM paper is standard for notetaking, whereas a 160 GSM paper may be more suitable for cards!
Sheets refer to the number of pieces of paper you have in a notebook. Pages refer to the number of sides of writing paper there is. Each sheet of paper has 2 pages (front and back).
A sheet of paper that is perforated features a line of very very small holes punched into the paper. Perforated pages make it quick and easy for the user to tear their sheet of paper out of a notebook, and are particularly useful if you like to store your notes in a binder.
In a wire bound notebook, the pages are all joined together by a thin wire. This can either be spiral wire bound (think of a spiral staircase) or, twin wire bound (a continuous piece of wire that makes double loops to every hole punched).
As for a case bound notebook, a thick board cover is attached to the whole notebook – front, back and spine. Case bound notebooks can offer more protection to your notes, and often last longer, however they can be a higher price compared to wire bound notebooks.
Lastly, a tape bound notebook is where all pages are bound together using a thick tape and glue, either at the top or side. Tape binding is often used for refill pads, as they produce a clean and precise tear away from the top, or side.
B5 first became popular in the USA, but has recently started being used more in the rest of the world too. B5 paper measures 17.5cm x 25cm and is in between an A5 and A4 notebook. B5 is the ideal size if you find A5 slightly too small, and A4 a bit too big!
The margin on a notebook runs down the left-hand side of the page, creating a 4cm gap between the far left side of the page and the margin. Margins create a small space for planning, checklists, annotations and more when writing.
This phrase is much more common to Pukka Pad products, than to the stationery market as a whole. Most of our project books feature a repositionable divider, which can be torn out and inserted elsewhere in the pad. Repositionable dividers allow you to create more, or less, room for topics which may require space. For example, if you require more pages for English studies over history, you can reposition the dividers to allow more pages for this subject!
Most of our pads feature either a card cover, polypropylene (or polyprop) cover, or both. Card is exactly what it says on the tin, a thick card cover printed with our stand out designs. Polyprop is a soft, flexible and recyclable plastic that is considered safer than most other plastics. Polyprop covers can either be printed with our designs on, or clear with a card cover underneath. Polyprop covers are great for providing extra durability and security to your notebooks, and also offer a wipe-clean surface!
In short… no, a refill pad cannot be refilled with paper! A refill pad is designed to easily and quickly refill ring bound notebooks or in particular files. Refill pads feature glue bound spines, allowing you to tear paper out quickly and easily, as well as hole punched pages to store in a binder. The front and back covers of many refill pads are also hole punched, meaning the entire pad can be filed if needed!
FSC paper comes from forests that are managed by a council, and harvested in a responsible manner. Forests that are FSC certified ensure social, economic and environmental benefits for the animals and people living in them. To read more on this topic, you can view our blog on FSC here!
We hope this helps you with some of the terms on our website and stationery in general!
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