Notebooks
A sustainable notebook made from surplus paper
Notebooks, pads and sketchbooks made from surplus sheets from print shops. Limited editions, made in Germany and Austria. Colour and paper vary from batch to batch.
What surplus paper is
Every print shop has surplus sheets: offcuts from completed print runs, misprints, sample sheets and surplus speciality paper. Often these are fine papers ordered specifically for the original print run. There is not enough for the next order, but the material is too good to recycle.
We take these sheets from what are currently 15 partner print shops. So far, this has amounted to 12.4 tonnes of paper, used to produce, among other things, 10,378 copies across our editions. No new pulp was produced for these products.
Why every book is different
An off-the-shelf notebook is a catalogue item: the same colour, the same paper weight, available to reorder at any time. With us, the batch of paper determines the product. A cover made from coloured fine paper, inner pages in three different shades of white, coloured edges that suit this particular stack.
That is why all editions are limited and numbered. Once a batch is used up, the book will not return in exactly the same form. The Sketchbooks and the RetterBlock show what this looks like in practice.
From sheet to book
Sorting, cutting, binding: the sheets are sorted by colour and weight, cut to size and usually processed directly at the print shop holding them. Depending on the paper, they are thread-bound, saddle-stitched, perfect-bound or made into pads glued along the top edge.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about the notebooks
What is surplus paper?
Surplus paper consists of unused sheets from print shops: offcuts from completed print runs, misprints, sample sheets and surplus speciality paper. The material is new, but there is not enough for the next order — so it often goes into paper recycling.
Why do the notebooks differ?
We do not buy additional paper; we work with what is available. Colour, weight and surface vary from batch to batch. Inner pages made from different sheets produce books that differ from one another.
How large are the editions?
As large as each batch of paper allows — usually a few dozen to a few hundred copies. Once a batch is used up, the edition will not return in exactly the same form.
Are the books suitable as sketchbooks?
That depends on the paper. Heavier fine papers from around 120 g/m² are suitable for pencil, fineliner and dry media; each product in the shop specifies the paper used.
What is the benefit of a notebook made from surplus paper?
The production run uses existing paper from print shops rather than having new paper produced. Each sheet is reused in its existing form, without needing to be recycled first.