Field Notes Notebooks

THE 17TH QUARTERLY EDITION

VIRTUALLY INDESTRUCTIBLE

FNC-17 marked the start of our fifth year of Quarterly Editions. In that time, we had explored a wide variety of papers, colors, and printing techniques, but with this new Expedition edition, for the first time, we actually expanded the type of paper used in our notebooks.

Aesthetically, you’ll find a design with plenty to like: a hi-visibility “Antarctic Survey Orange” front cover and “Polar Night Black” back cover, with a subtle varnish effect featuring a topographic map of Antarctica. The body pages feature our popular dot-graph paper printed in light gray.

But the real innovation here is the paper. It’s maybe not even fair to call it paper. The whole book is printed on Yupo Synthetic paper,an amazing tearproof and waterproof paper extruded from polypropylene pellets in Chesapeake, Virginia. We could go on and on about our new notebooks’ durability and incredible properties and we will, in this series of 12 (reasonably) scientific tests.

Months of development and testing were required to get these books just right, and we’d like to thank Yupo for their extensive support, as well as the great printers and ink technicians that pitched in to help.

The majority of our customers may not test the limits of these notebooks, but the map of Antarctica is neither hyperbole nor coincidence. We sent the Expedition edition to the South Pole with explorer Ben Saunders back in October 2013 as he and his team retraced Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated journey to the Pole and back, on foot and unsupported.

AN HONEST NOTEBOOK

To make a long story short. When Aaron Draplin made the very first Field Notes by hand, as a holiday gift for friends, they looked pretty much like these notebooks. When we started the company we had only one product, a 3-Pack of Kraft Memo Books with graph paper inside. And we expect, we’ll always have those as the heart of our product line.

Our original 48-page notebooks are available in three variations – graph, ruled, or plain paper – or as a mixed 3-pack that includes one of each paper type. Each Original Kraft memo book measures 3-1/2" wide by 5-1/2" tall and is bound by a rugged three-staple saddle-stitch process.

A LEFT-HANDED NOTEBOOK, DONE JUST RIGHT

With ten percent of the world’s population left-handed, we figured it was about time to make a notebook just for them. It’s identical to our Original Kraft Ruled Memo Book in every way except for this. We reversed the direction, and put the staples on the other side. Got a southpaw in your life? Get ’em a 3-Pack of our new Left-Handed Ruled Memo Books.

SEE THE WORLD IN SHAPES

“Flora” was (or is, depending on your theology) the Roman goddess of flowers, the fertility of the land, and the coming of spring. We’ve borrowed her name for our 62nd Quarterly Edition. Three original designs (A, B, and C) by Chicago artist, muralist, and designer Emmy Star Brown grace the covers of these bright, joyful Memo Books. 

Emmy‘s work evokes the creativity of our youthful selves…

WHAT COLOR ARE THEY? YES.

It‘s been some time since we’ve offered anything this colorful. These vibrant colors and shapes, printed on high-quality 100#C McCoy cover stock from Sappi, are precisely what we all need to break out of the bleak winter and into the hopeful spring. The artwork is enhanced by the subtle application of contrasting glossy and dull varnishes. Inside you’ll find three distinct page styles: one ruled, one dot graph and one plain, featuring subtle grey ink on excellent Domtar Lynx 60#T paper. Glossy red staples tie it all together, figuratively and literally.

Our Quarterly Editions are limited. So like spring itself, they won‘t be around long.

GROW WITH US

Appropriate to the designs, and the season, American and Canadian subscribers will receive a custom packet of wildflower seeds to brighten a yard, garden, or anywhere that gets sunshine and water. (Sadly, shipping agricultural products internationally is prohibited.) Of course, you’ll also get two 3-Packs of “Flora,” followed by the next three Quarterly Editions as they’re released.

Subscribers can also save 30% on the Flora Art Prints we’re offering along with this edition, and 10% on pretty much everything else on our site, plus free U.S.A. shipping on all four of their subscription shipments.

SIX 3-PACKS, EIGHTEEN PARKS

Since the early days of Field Notes we have been searching for just the right way to create an edition celebrating America’s National Parks. When we saw the work of the artists of The Fifty-Nine Parks Print Series, we knew exactly what to do. We’re proud to present this collaboration and invite you to check out six 3-Packs and millions of acres of American treasure. Every sale contributes to the work of the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s National Parks, to help preserve and expand on our nation’s best idea.

Gorgeous illustrations of iconic National Parks are featured on the covers of these Memo Books, which are grouped into 3-Packs that make up the “National Parks” Series. Choose your favorite 3-Pack, or collect them all.

A STEP BACKWARDS

The covers are printed on a variety of colored 100-lb. cover stocks from the French Paper Company of Niles, Michigan, using a custom, five-color process that started with under-printing white ink. This allowed us to incorporate the color of the paper into the artwork. The illustrative styles, the printing process, and the copper staples recall the heritage, and archival promotional materials and publications, of the National Park System.

Each book features a brief history of the park on its inside back cover, a spot for the official National Park Passport Stamp on the inside front cover, and 48 pages of Finch Opaque 60#T marked with a 3/16" graph to record your plans, routes, notes, and memories.

15 MILLION ACRES IN A BOX

For gift-givers and completists, we’ve put together a special set including all six 3-Packs –18 parks in total– plus two of our “Official National Park Exploration Vehicle” Water-Transfer Decals. They fit nicely in a custom box. Save some money whether you’re buying or giving. National Park Box Sets are available right now with free USA shipping.

NATIONAL TREASURE

These Field Notes are a tribute to places in the U.S.A. that can only truly be appreciated in person. Please visit, enjoy, and support our National Parks. We hope when you visit your favorite national park, you’ll bring along your new favorite memo book, get it stamped, and tag us in your photos.

PRESS SHEETS

Occasionally, when we’re running a print job, and the raw Press Sheets look particularly sweet, we put some aside to sell in our Shop at HQ, and once in a while, online too. This is one of those times.

They’ll look great framed in a workshop, kids room, den, or even near the kitchen in a timber-framed lodge with huge windows overlooking a meadow at dusk.

THE ARTISTS:

Yosemite, Zion, and Denali - Dan McCarthy
Acadia - Telegramme Paper Co.
Grand Canyon - DKNG Studios
Joshua Tree - The Little Friends of Printmaking
Mount Rainier & Sequoia - Glenn Thomas
Rocky Mountain - Rory Kurtz
Great Smoky Mountains - Chris Turnham
Yellowstone - Brave the Woods
Grand Teton - Eric Nyffeler
Arches - Nicolas Delort
Cuyahoga - Kim Smith
Olympic - Daniel Danger
Glacier - Laurent Durieux
Hawai’i Volcanoes - Vincent Roché
Everglades - Mike Tabie

“THE BIRDS AND TREES OF NORTH AMERICA” EDITION

Our 64th Quarterly Edition is “The Birds and Trees of North America” Edition, featuring the artwork of Rex Brasher (1869–1960). We’ve added a third 3-Pack to the series and are restocked with the original two.

Rex Brasher’s artistic talent, love of nature, technical expertise, and persistence offer an inspiring story that should be better known by anyone with an interest in birds, nature, or art. From a young age, Brasher committed to visitingallof America’s bird species in their natural habitats. He spent a lifetime traveling, collecting notes and drawings, writing personal, insightful descriptions, and painting and re-painting birds.

By the late 1920s, Brasher — nearly 60 years old — was finally satisfied with his paintings, and set out to publish a collection of his work. Unhappy with color printing options at the time, Brasher had the paintings reproduced in black-and white, then hand-colored all 87,000 pages of the nearly 100 sets of twelve volumes of The Birds and Trees of North America, which he completed in 1932.

We’ve carefully reproduced nine of Brasher's colorful illustrations for three 3-Packs of Field Notes Ruled Memo Books. Covers are a lovely felt-textured 100#C Mohawk Via “Pure White,” bound by three stainless steel staples. The bodies are 60#T Domtar Lynx Opaque Ultra, ruled with pale gray lines. The first two packs are available again, by popular demand, and we’ve introduced a third pack to add to your collection:

“Pack A” features:
Rocky Mountain and Mexican Screech Owls (Tulip tree)
1915, Volume 6, Plate 373e 373f
Blue Jay (Swamp White Oak)
1911, Volume 8, Plate 477
Brewer Sparrow (Cassie)
1912, Volume 9, Plate 562

“Pack B” features:
Pine Grosbeak(Oldfield Pine)
1911, Volume 9, Plate 515
Baltimore Oriole(Crabapple)
1912, Volume 8, Plate 507
Sulphurbelly Flycatcher(Ironwood)
1911, Volume 7, Plate 451

“Pack C” features: 
Painted Redstart (Birchleaf Mountain Mahogany)
1912, Volume 11, Plate 688
Cardinal 
1912, Volume 8, Plate 507
Redshoulder Hawk 
1912, Volume 10, Plate 593

Sales of this edition will help the Rex Brasher Association open Brasher’s Kent, Connecticut property to the public as a museum and nature area dedicated to the artist’s life and work.

AN UPDATED CLASSIC

We introduced our “Pitch Black” dot-graph Field Notes Memo Book in 2013, and it quickly became one of our most popular memo books. After a few reprints, we made some upgrades, and we’re now offering a range of Pitch Black books with a variety of options.

Our classic 3-1/2" × 5-1/2" Pitch Black memo books are available in 3-Packs with 60# Finch Opaque body paper in Dot-Graph or Ruled styles. They're bound with glossy black staples and sturdy 118# covers featuring a Field Notes-exclusive black/kraft duplex paper from French Paper Co. (see film below). The family also features a Pitch Black logo discreetly printed on the back. (We just might get that tattooed somewhere…)

Pitch Black has always been considered Field Notes’ more “urbane” offering, a favorite everywhere from the white-collar downtown boardroom to the black-turtleneck uptown studio. The new kraft inside covers add a hint of earthy charm to Pitch Black’s hip professionalism. Or professional hipness, if you prefer. Either way, Pitch Black makes a fashionable home for your best ideas.

2 SIDES TO EVERY STORY

Pitch Black has always been one of our best sellers. Aside from expanding the Pitch Black series to include additional sizes and interior page styles, we’ve also upgraded the look and feel of the books. Perhaps the most significant change is moving the series to custom-duplexed covers. Working with our pals at the French Paper Company in Niles, Michigan, we created a Field Notes-exclusive cover stock made up of “Blacktop” for the outsides and fused it to our standby “Packing Brown Wrap” for the insides. It was a big undertaking, involving lots of steps and the final result is pretty special. For those who dig machines in motion and sweet and messy industrial environments, we present “Cover Story”, a documentary on the whole process.

1. Proudly printed by the good people of eDOC Communications, Mount Prospect, Ill.
2. Cover: waterproof/tearproof Yupo Synthetic 74#C, with thick, brute force applications of “Hi-Visibility Orange” and “Low-Visibility Black” soy-based Saphira inks and a tinted spot varnish.
3. Innards: waterproof/tearproof Yupo Synthetic 57#T with a 1-color application of “Cartographer’s Gray” soy-based Saphira ink. (Use pencil/ballpoint pen for best results.)
4. Cover and innards printed on a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 40" 6-color printing press.
5. Bound by a Harris Bookbinder 6-pocket saddle stitcher with cover feeder, with appreciation to Samuel Slocum, George W. McGill, and William J. Brown, the “Founding Fathers of the Staple.”
6. Corners rounded to 3/8" (9.5mm) by a Challenge DCM round-corner machine.
7. Dot-graph grid: 3/16" × 3/16" (4.7mm × 4.7mm).
8. Memo book dimensions are 3-1/2" × 5-1/2" (8.9cm × 13.9cm).
9. FIELD NOTES uses only the Futura typeface family (Paul Renner, 1927), in collaboration with Monotype.
10. All FIELD NOTES memo books are printed and manufactured in the U.S.A.
11. SKUs & UPCs: Expedition 3-Pack FNC-17 858493003127, Expedition Subscription FN-SUB17

1. Proudly printed by the good people of Service Graphics, Inc., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
2. Cover: French Dur-O-Tone 80#C "Packing Brown Wrap," with a thick, brute force, 1-color application of "Dachshund Nose" black soy-based Toyo ink.
3. Innards: Finch Paper Opaque Smooth 60#T "Bright White," with a fine, 1-color application of "Double Knee Duck Canvas" light brown soy-based Toyo ink.
4. Cover printed on a Mitsubishi Diamond Series 40" 6-color printing press.
5. Innards printed on a Miller TP104 28" × 40" 2-color printing press.
6. Bound by a Heidelberg ST350 "Stitchmaster" 8-pocket saddle stitcher, with appreciation to Samuel Slocum, George W. McGill, and William J. Brown, the "Founding Fathers of the Staple."
7. Corners precisely rounded to 3/8" (9.5mm) by a CRC round-corner machine.
8. Graph grid: 3/16" × 3/16" (4.7mm × 4.7mm). Ruled lines: 1/4" (6.4mm). Crisp plain paper. 48 Pages.
9. Memo book dimensions are 3-1/2" × 5-1/2" (89mm x 140mm).
10. FIELD NOTES uses only the Futura typeface family (Paul Renner, 1927), in collaboration with Monotype.
11. All FIELD NOTES memo books are printed and manufactured in the U.S.A.
12. SKUs & UPCs: Graph FN-01 858493003004, Ruled FN-02 858493003011, Plain FN-03 858493003028, Mixed FN-04 858493003035, Left-Handed FN-02L 858493003561

1. Cover artwork by Emmy Star Brown, Chicago Ill., emmystarbrown.com
2. Proudly printed by the good people of The Graphic Arts Studio, LLC, Barrington, Ill.
3. Cover: Sappi McCoy 100#C Gloss “White,” with a 4-color application of process soy-based Superior inks with added soft touch and gloss varnishes.
4. Innards: Domtar Lynx 60#T “White,” with a subtle, 1-color application of “Spring Mist Warm Gray” soy-based superior ink.
5. Cover and innards printed on a Heidelberg Speedmaster C 102S six-color printing press.
6. Bound with 24-gauge WCJ Pilgrim “Red” stitching wire on a Muller Martini 6-pocket saddle stitcher with cover feeder/scorer.
7. Corners precisely rounded to a 3/8" (9.5mm) radius with a Challenge DCM double round-corner machine.
8. Dot-graph grid: 3/16" × 3/16" (4.7mm × 4.7mm). Ruled lines: 1/4" (6.4mm). Third book is blank.
9. Memo book dimensions are 3-1/2" × 5-1/2" (89mm × 140mm).
10. FIELD NOTES uses only the Futura typeface family (Paul Renner, 1927), in collaboration with Monotype.
11. All FIELD NOTES memo books are printed and manufactured in the U.S.A.
12. Limited Edition of 30,000 3-Packs.
13. Subscriber seed packets contain seeds to cover a roughly 5' × 5' area (25 cu.ft.)
14. SKUs & UPCs: Flora 3-Pack FNC-62 850032279277, Flora Subscription FN-SUB62

1. Proudly printed by the good people of eDOC Communications, Mount Prospect, Ill.
2. Cover: A variety of French 100#C papers, some with a few burly hits of opaque white under process cyan, magenta, yellow, and black soy-based Toyo inks.
3. Cover printed in two passes through a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 40" 6-color printing press.
4. Innards: Finch Paper Opaque Smooth 60#T “Bright White,” with a fine, 1-color application of “Green Earth” soy-based Toyo ink.
5. Bound with a Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 270 5-pocket saddle stitcher.
6. Corners rounded to a 3/8" (9.5mm) radius with a Challenge round-corner machine.
7. Graph grid: 3/16" × 3/16" (4.7mm × 4.7mm).
8. Memo book dimensions are 3-1/2" × 5-1/2" (89mm × 140mm).
9. FIELD NOTES uses only the Futura typeface family (Paul Renner, 1927), in collaboration with Monotype.
10. All FIELD NOTES memo books are printed and manufactured in the U.S.A.
11. Series A 3-Pack: FNC-43a Yosemite, Acadia, Zion UPC: 858493003813
12. Series B 3-Pack: FNC-43b Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Mount Rainier UPC: 858493003820
13. Series C 3-Pack: FNC-43c Rocky Mountain, Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone UPC: 858493003837
14. Series D 3-Pack: FNC-43d Grand Teton, Arches, Sequoia UPC: 858493003851
15. Series E 3-Pack: FNC-43e Denali, Cuyahoga Valley, Olympic UPC: 858493003929
16. Series F 3-Pack: FNC-43f Glacier, Hawai'i Volcanoes, Everglades UPC: 858493003967

1. Images courtesy of Rex Brasher Association, Inc. ©2024, rexbrasher.org
2. Proudly printed by the good people of Classic Color, Broadview, Ill.
3. Cover: Mohawk Via Felt 100#C “Pure White,” with a 4-color application of process-color soy-based inks.
4. Innards: Domtar Lynx Opaque Ultra 60#T “White.”
5. Cover and innards printed on a Komori Lithrone G40" 6-color UV printing press.
6. Bound by a Muller Martini Presto II saddle stitcher with appreciation to Samuel Slocum, George W. McGill, and William J. Brown, the “Founding Fathers of the Staple.”
7. Corners precisely rounded to a 3/8" (9.5mm) radius with a Challenge round-corner machine.
8. Ruled lines: 1/4" (6.4mm).
9. Memo book dimensions are 3-1/2" × 5-1/2" (89mm × 140mm).
10. FIELD NOTES uses only the Futura typeface family (Paul Renner, 1927), in collaboration with Monotype.
11. All FIELD NOTES memo books are printed and manufactured in the U.S.A.
12. SKUs & UPCs: Pack A FNC-64a 850032279314, Pack B FNC-64b 850032279321, Pack C FNC-64c 850032279352

1. Proudly printed by the good people of eDOC Communications, Mount Prospect, Ill.
2. Cover: French Paper Co. custom-made 118#C “Pitch Black Duplex” (“Blacktop” and “Packing Brown Wrap”) with a brute force application of “Stephanite” (outside) and “Dachshund Nose Black” (inside) soy-based Saphira inks.
3. Innards: Finch Paper Opaque Smooth 60#T “Bright White,” with a fine, 1-color application of “Light Mist Gray” soy-based Saphira ink.
4. Cover and innards printed on a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 40" 6-color press.
5. Bound with gloss black staple wire on a Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 270 5-pocket saddle stitcher with cover feeder/scorer & Rima RS 10S in-line stacker.
6. Corners precisely rounded to 3/8" (9.5mm) radius with a Challenge SCM double round-corner machine.
7. Dot-Graph grid: 3/16" × 3/16" (4.7mm × 4.7mm). Ruled lines: 1/4" (6.4mm).
8. Memo book dimensions are 3-1/2" × 5-1/2" (89mm × 140mm).
9. FIELD NOTES uses only the Futura typeface family (Paul Renner, 1927), in collaboration with Monotype.
10. All FIELD NOTES note books are printed and manufactured in the U.S.A.
11. SKUs & UPCs: Dot-Graph 3-Pack FN-33 858493003523, Ruled 3-Pack FN-34 858493003530