A notebook (also notepad, writing pad, drawing pad, legal pad, etc. ) is a book, usually of paper, of which various uses can be made, including writing, drawing, and scrapbooking. Drawing is a Visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium Scrapbooking is a method for preserving personal and family history in the form of photographs printed media and memorabilia contained in decorated albums or scrapbooks Notebooks can be distinguished along several dimensions and sub-dimensions:

• type of surface
• form factor (size and weight)
• binding and cover material (including printing and graphics)
• pre-printed material on writing surfaces (lines, graphics, text)

The specific dimensions determine the most suitable usage for a given type of notebook.

Notebooks on sale at a general store.

Binding and cover

Principal types of binding are padding, perfect, spiral, comb, sewn, clasp, disc, and pressure, some of which can be combined. Binding methods can affect whether a notebook can lie flat when open and whether the pages are likely to remain attached. The cover material is usually distinct from the writing surface material, more durable, more decorative, and more firmly attached. It also is stiffer than the leaves, even taken together. Cover materials should not contribute to damage or discomfort.

It is frequently cheaper to purchase notebooks that are spiral-bound, meaning that a spiral of wire is looped through large perforations at the top or side of the page. In Mathematics, a spiral is a Curve which emanates from a central point getting progressively farther away as it revolves around the point A wire is a single usually cylindrical, elongated string of drawn Metal. Perforation refers to the puncturing of a material with a harder (usually sharp object to create a hole or aperture Other bound notebooks are available that use glue to hold the pages together; this process is commonly referred to as "padding". Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a Book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of Paper or other material Polyvinyl acetate ( PVA or PVAc) is a Rubbery Synthetic polymer. ^[1] Today it is common for pages in such notebooks to include a thin line of perforations that make it easier to tear out the page. Spiral-bound pages can be torn out but frequently leave thin scraggly strips from the small amount of paper that is within the spiral, as well as an uneven rip along the top of the torn-out page. Hard-bound notebooks include a sewn spine, and the pages are not easily removable. Sewing or stitching is the fastening of Cloth, Leather, Furs Bark, or other flexible materials using needle and Some styles of sewn bindings allow pages to open flat, while others cause the pages to drape.

Variations of notebooks that allow pages to be added, removed, and replaced are bound by either rings, rods, or discs. In each of these systems the pages are modified with perforations that facilitate the specific binding mechanism's ability to secure them. Ring-bound and rod-bound notebooks secure their contents by threading perforated pages around straight or curved prongs. Ring binders (British file) are Folders in which punched pieces of Paper may be held by means of Clamps running through the Holes In the open position, the pages can be removed and re-arranged. In the closed position, the pages are kept in order. Disc-bound notebooks remove the open or closed operation by modifying the pages themselves. Disc-binding is a variation of Notebook binding that allow pages to be added removed and replaced easily A page perforated for a disc-bound binding system contains a row of teeth along the side edge of the page that grip onto the outside raised perimeter of individual discs. Pages can be added or removed at any time by peeling the perforations away from each disc.

Preprinting

Notebooks used for drawing and scrapbooking are usually blank. Notebooks for writing usually have some kind of printing on the writing material, if only lines to align writing or facilitate certain kinds of drawing. Inventor's notebooks have page numbers preprinted to support priority claims. An inventor's notebook is used by Inventors Scientists and Engineers to record their ideas Invention process experimental tests and results and Many notebooks have graphic decorations. Personal organizers can have various kinds of preprinted pages. A personal organizer, day planner, or personal planner is a small book/binder designed to be portable usually containing a Calendar, Address

Uses

Notes in a notebook

Artists often use large notebooks which include wide spaces of blank paper appropriate for drawing. Drawing is a Visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium Lawyers are also known for using rather large notebooks known as legal pads that contain lined paper (often yellow in color) and are appropriate for use on tables and desks. A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person A table is a form of Furniture composed of a surface supported by a base usually four legs A desk is a Furniture form and a class of table often used in a work or Office setting for reading or Writing on or using a Computer These horizontal lines or "rules" are sometimes classified according to their space apart with "wide rule" the farthest, "college rule" closer, "legal rule" slightly closer and "narrow rule" closest, allowing more lines of text per page. When sewn into a pasteboard backing, these may be called composition books, or in smaller signatures may be called "blue books" or exam books and used for essay exams. A composition book is one of a type of stock-bound Notebook commonly used by Writers and Students Although available in several Colours the In contrast, journalists prefer small, hand-held notebooks for portability (often called reporters' notebooks), and sometimes use shorthand when taking notes. A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends Reporter's Notebook is a news magazine Television show in the Philippines hosted by Jiggy Manicad and Maki Pulido and it is aired every Scientists and other researchers use lab notebooks to document their experiments. A scientist, in the broadest sense refers to any person that engages in a systematic activity to acquire Knowledge or an individual that engages in such practices A lab notebook is a primary record of Research. Researchers use a lab notebook to document their hypotheses, Experiments and initial analysis or interpretation The pages in lab notebooks are sometimes graph paper to make it easier to plot data. Format and availability of graph paper Graph paper is available either as Loose leaf paper or bound in Notebooks It is becoming Debt AIDS Trade in Africa (or DATA) is a Multinational non-government organization founded in January 2002 in London by U2 's Police officers are required to write notes on what they observed whilst on duty, to do this they use a Police notebook. A police officer (also known as a policeman or policewoman) is a warranted employee of a Police force. A police notebook, pocket notebook or PNB is a Notebook used by police officers to officially record details and incidents while on patrol

Possible electronic successors

Since the late 20th century, many attempts have been made to integrate the simplicity of a notebook with the editing and searching abilities of a computer. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. Laptop computers began to be called notebooks when they reached a relatively small size in the 1990s, but they did not have any special note-taking ability. A laptop computer, also known as a notebook computer, is a small Personal computer designed for mobile use. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 Personal digital assistants (PDAs) came next, integrating small liquid crystal displays with a touch-sensitive layer to input graphics and written text. A graphics tablet (or digitizing tablet, graphics pad, drawing tablet) is a computer Input device that allows one to hand-draw images and graphics Tablet PCs are considerably larger and provide more writing and navigation space. A Tablet PC is a Notebook or slate-shaped Mobile computer, equipped with a Touchscreen or Graphics tablet/screen hybrid technology which allows The fictional PADD of Star Trek is sometimes said to have been the inspiration for PDAs and tablet PCs, but the first PADD was not seen until "Encounter at Farpoint" in 1987, after the first flat calculator-like PDA was made in 1978. " Encounter at Farpoint " is the first episode of Star Trek The Next Generation. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar)

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