I’ve noticed that it can be hard to write things down and draw designs in the standard engineering notebook, just because the pages can’t lie that flat. I have to try to draw things over the “hill” that forms when I open the notebook on the table. This doesn’t give me drawings that look that spectacular, and it doesn’t help that you have to use a pen.
What are people’s remedies to this problem? Is there a way to “break in” your engineering notebook so the pages are flatter? Is there a binding style that is superior to the style used in the standard notebook? Do I dare buy a spiral engineering notebook? (That last one probably won’t fly as “bound”, even if it is a permanent spiral)
You don’t have to use the official VEX notebook for this. Just use a different notebook that you like, and maybe put a vex sticker on it if you’r feeling fancy…
We order our noteboook from The Book Factory. They are pricey but very much worth it for the professional look and helpfulness in writing an efficient notebook
So I should just buy a notebook with a good spine.
How does this look? Notebook
It has the layout of more expensive notebooks, and it has a great page to price ratio.
I can second the recommendation of the Vela notebooks. We like the Vela Advanced Pro (as opposed to the Advanced) because it has a built-in ribbon bookmark that is surprisingly awesome.
It lays flat, and is wider than the pages of the standard VEX notebook.
Our team cuts down pieces of graph paper, and we tape/glue them down into the notebook so drawings can be done on a flat surface then inserted into the notebook.