{"id":1331,"date":"2013-01-16T19:03:50","date_gmt":"2013-01-17T01:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/?p=1331"},"modified":"2013-01-16T08:38:44","modified_gmt":"2013-01-16T14:38:44","slug":"review-arc-notebook-system-from-staples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/2013\/01\/review-arc-notebook-system-from-staples\/","title":{"rendered":"Review:  Arc Notebook System from Staples"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>4 out of 5 stars<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_1337\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_23231.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1337\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1337 \" title=\"IMG_2323\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_23231.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" alt=\"Arc notebook and accessories\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_23231.jpg?resize=300%2C225 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_23231.jpg?resize=1024%2C768 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_23231.jpg?resize=150%2C112 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_23231.jpg?resize=400%2C300 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_23231.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_23231.jpg?w=1440 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1337\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Arc notebook and accessories<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Pros:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>versatile, customizable system<\/li>\n<li>easy to use<\/li>\n<li>good quality<\/li>\n<li>inexpensive<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Cons:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>hole punch is expensive<\/li>\n<li>some wearing on pages where it attaches<\/li>\n<li>only sold at Staples<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Review:<\/h3>\n<p>I was excited to receive a complimentary <a href=\"http:\/\/www.staples.com\/Arc-Customizable-Notebooks-Notebooks-Pads-Filler-Paper\/cat_CL165557\" target=\"_blank\">Arc notebook<\/a> with some accessories as part of my attendance at the 2012 NAPO conference.\u00a0 I\u2019d heard some discussions about it from other organizers although I had never seen it in person.\u00a0 From the moment I looked at it, I suddenly understood why people talked about this style notebook.\u00a0 Nevertheless, I wanted to use it for a while before I shared more about it with you, my readers.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1339\" style=\"width: 390px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Arc-leather-notebook.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1339\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1339\" title=\"Arc leather notebook\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Arc-leather-notebook.jpg?resize=380%2C380\" alt=\"Arc leather notebooks\" width=\"380\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Arc-leather-notebook.jpg?w=380 380w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Arc-leather-notebook.jpg?resize=150%2C150 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Arc-leather-notebook.jpg?resize=300%2C300 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1339\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Arc leather notebooks<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Let\u2019s begin with the notebook itself.\u00a0 There\u2019s 2 different notebook sizes \u2013 a 6 3\/8\u201d x 8 3\/4&#8243; and a 9 3\/8\u201d x 11 1\/4&#8243; and 2 different ring sizes \u2013 1\u201d and 1 1\/2&#8243;.\u00a0\u00a0 You are able to purchase just the notebook with rings.\u00a0 When considering the notebook, you have choices between leather ($14.99-$19.99) and poly ($7.99-$9.99).\u00a0 The leather notebook is thicker than the poly style.\u00a0 As you would expect, the thicker rings allow more paper to be stored within the notebook.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1340\" style=\"width: 390px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Arc-poly-notebook.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1340\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1340\" title=\"Arc poly notebook\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Arc-poly-notebook.jpg?resize=380%2C380\" alt=\"Arc poly notebooks\" width=\"380\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Arc-poly-notebook.jpg?w=380 380w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Arc-poly-notebook.jpg?resize=150%2C150 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Arc-poly-notebook.jpg?resize=300%2C300 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1340\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Arc poly notebooks<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The rings are a special design and provide the system with much of its uniqueness.\u00a0 Its appearance is quite different and I discovered that I had to rethink how I thought about the available space.\u00a0 Since the rings stick out, I needed to limit how much paper to store in the notebook.\u00a0 What makes this so unique is the style of the punch, which you can see in the picture \u2013 it looks a bit like a mushroom.\u00a0 This means that the paper can be pulled in and out.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1341\" style=\"width: 624px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_2821.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1341\" class=\" wp-image-1341 \" title=\"IMG_2821\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_2821.jpg?resize=614%2C461\" alt=\"Close-up of punch and ring\" width=\"614\" height=\"461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_2821.jpg?resize=1024%2C768 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_2821.jpg?resize=300%2C225 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_2821.jpg?resize=150%2C112 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_2821.jpg?resize=400%2C300 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_2821.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_2821.jpg?w=1440 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1341\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Close-up of punch and ring<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I\u2019ve had some concerns about the paper since the little side parts are being bent each time you pull out or put paper into the notebook.\u00a0 Would it really hold up?\u00a0 It certainly looks like they get tired, yet the papers continue to work well.\u00a0 I expect there\u2019s still a limit to how many times a paper can go in and out of the notebook.\u00a0 Yet, this style is exactly what drew me to this notebook.\u00a0 You might know that I\u2019m not a big fan of 3-ring style binders \u2013 they can be a hassle for the paper to go and out of with having to pop the rings open and closed.\u00a0 It takes a little time to adjust to getting the papers in completely \u2013 it\u2019s something different to wrap your head around using.<\/p>\n<p>There are many different accessories for the notebook \u2013 from the standard lined paper, to-do lists, project planning pages, graph paper, calendar pages to poly tab dividers, poly zip pockets, poly pocket dividers.\u00a0 There are also smaller inserts available: a task pad and page flags.\u00a0 This means that you can get only the accessories that make sense for you.\u00a0 Most people I\u2019ve talked about this notebook have opted for no calendar pages, yet one person chooses to include the calendar pages.\u00a0 Although I don\u2019t use them much, I do appreciate the task pad, with only a handful of pages kept inside the notebook though other people find them borderline useful.\u00a0 I am disappointed in the page flags since pen ink doesn\u2019t set on them \u2013 so the writing can be hard to read and smudges easily, though their stickiness is good so if you simply use them as page flags without labeling them, they\u2019re good.<\/p>\n<p>They sell a hole punch so you can make any piece of paper can be inserted into the notebook.\u00a0 I find the price, at $39.99, to be more than I want to spend.\u00a0 One person I showed the notebook system to did purchase the punch and shared that she finds it indispensable for her usage of the notebook.<\/p>\n<p>As I get more digital, there were some things that I needed paper for.\u00a0 This fits my needs extremely well.\u00a0 I have the tabbed sections to divide categories into and even places to collect those papers that don\u2019t fit into another area.\u00a0 There has been some evidence that our brains process better with the process of handwriting and there seems to be some truth to that for me \u2013 I want a place to write some things and this notebook has become my place.\u00a0 Since there are some papers I want to keep longer though not in the active notebook, I set up an archival type notebook.\u00a0 Due to the relative inexpensiveness of a notebook, it\u2019s easy to do this.<\/p>\n<p>There are so many things I could say about this notebook, but there\u2019s only so much space!\u00a0 Levenger sells a similar notebook system at a higher price.\u00a0 I found one review online that actually commented the paper from Staples is thicker and better quality.\u00a0 And as with everything else, this can be a fabulous tool for people though you need to consider your own needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After receiving an Arc notebook at the 2012 NAPO conference, I finally understood what made this system more unique.  I think it can be a great option for some people, see why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[10,8,5,22,15,4],"class_list":["post-1331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-behavior","tag-discipline","tag-household","tag-productivity","tag-resources","tag-routines"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7p82c-lt","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1331"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1346,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1331\/revisions\/1346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}