If you’re a designer, you’ve likely collected many notebooks from industry events over the years. While paper quality and finishes vary, these notebooks rarely surprise.
However, these intriguing volumes pack a secret—if you know where and how to look!
Blending Tradition with Innovation
At a previous PaperSpecs LIVE event, our friends at DataGraphic sought to connect with designers and offer fun prizes. They combined traditional finishing techniques with a unique “superpower” of modern digital printing. Even without knowing the hidden secret (more on that in a moment), these notebooks impress right from the start.
Designed by Alex Chirivas at DataGraphic, the notebook is super-handy. Inside: 30 interior sheets of 100 lb. Neenah Classic Crest Smooth Text. [PaperSpecs PRO Members: Get Free Swatchbook!]
The pages are glued together at the spine, creating a glue-padded text block. Therefore this allows easy page removal. It also makes the notebook lay flat—ideal for any doodler/ note-taker.
Swiss Binding and Sleek Design
The text block is Swiss bound into a cover made from two sheets of 100 lb. Neenah Classic Crest Bare White Eggshell Cover. These sheets are duplex laminated to form a smooth, substantial cover. (Swiss binding mounts the text block to the inside back cover.)
Inside the front cover, you’ll find production details and information about DataGraphic’s specialties.
It’s a handy volume, but what’s the “secret” I mentioned?
Unlocking the Secret
Look closely at the cover, and you’ll discover a special “easter egg” or three!
All the notebooks feature the same wave pattern. Yet shining a black light on them reveals one of three hidden illustrations. DataGraphic achieved this effect using HP Indigo’s Invisible Ink. Under ultraviolet light, the artwork springs to life.
Invisible ink is used as an exciting engagement tool here. In a nod to DataGraphic’s century-long history, one hidden illustration features their Heidelberg KSB Cylinder Press.
A Sensation at PaperSpecs LIVE
Designers at our New York event loved these notebooks, eagerly revealing the secrets hidden within their copies. In addition, some even discovered they’d won a special prize from DataGraphic!
With its lay-flat binding, solid feel, and innovative use of invisible ink, this notebook defies expectations. Who needs the sun when you’ve got a black light?!
