Books made to be written in.

Paperie Lab makes dated planners, journals and notebooks in Cikarang, Bekasi, on paper chosen so a fountain pen does not go through it and a binding that lets a page lie flat on a desk.

What we make

A planner is a tool, and most of the decisions that make one good are invisible until you use it for a month. We make a small range rather than a large one so that every title can be argued over properly: the weight of the paper, how far the gutter eats into a spread, whether a layout survives a week you did not plan for.

Every book is sold in cover prints. The pages inside are identical; the print changes the cover and nothing else, and each one is its own SKU so what arrives is what was chosen.

The paper

Nothing is printed below 90gsm, and the planners are 100gsm. Both are heavier than the 70-80gsm most notebooks use, and paper weight is the single thing that decides whether a highlighter or a fountain pen shows through to the other side. It costs more per book and it is the reason people keep using the second half of the notebook.

Weights differ by title — the specification table on every product page states the exact stock for that book rather than leaving you to assume it.

The binding

The books are sewn, not glued. A sewn book opens flat and stays open, so you are not holding a page down while you write, and the spine does not shed pages in the second year. A glued spine is cheaper and faster and does neither.

Where it happens

Printing, binding and packing all happen in Cikarang, Bekasi. Orders go out within one to two business days and travel with J&T Express at live rates, so you pay what the parcel actually costs to send rather than a flat fee with padding in it. We also post to Malaysia and Singapore.

Talking to us

There is a person at the other end of the email. Write to help.paperielab@gmail.com about an order, a defect, a bulk enquiry or a layout you wish existed, and you will get an answer rather than a ticket number.