Paper
Midori MD vs Leuchtturm1917
Two thread-bound notebooks that both open flat and both take a fountain pen properly. They disagree completely about everything else, and that disagreement is the decision.
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These are the two notebooks most often recommended to someone who has just discovered that their fountain pen destroys ordinary paper. They cost roughly the same, they are the same size, they are both thread-bound, and they both state that they open flat.
And they are built on opposite philosophies. The Midori MD removes everything it can. The Leuchtturm1917 adds everything it can think of. Neither is wrong, and which one is right for you is not a close call once you know what you want from a notebook.
The two notebooks
Quick picks
Ranked for the beginner buying their first setup. Every pick names who it is wrong for.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Midori MD Notebook A5, blank A plain sewn notebook with no cover, no elastic and no branding on the page, made from paper developed specifically for fountain pens. | Writing on paper designed only for writing | $12.80 · View on Amazon #ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded |
| 2 |  LEUCHTTURM1917 A5, dotted Numbered pages, a printed index and a pocket, in the notebook that made bullet journaling a thing — but at 80 g/m2 the paper sits right at the floor for a wet nib. | Structure, if your ink is well behaved | $31.50 · View on Amazon #ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded |
| 3 |  Midori MD Notebook A6, ruled Midori's MD paper in a plain paperback cover - the least designed notebook here, and the one people describe by how it feels to write on. | The writing experience, in the smallest format it comes in | $9.99 · View on Amazon #ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded |
| 4 |  LEUCHTTURM1917 A6 pocket, dotted The A5 journal shrunk to a coat pocket, thread-bound and numbered - and unlike the A5 listing, this one publishes its paper weight. | A hardcover pocket book with numbered pages | $20.50 · View on Amazon #ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded |
1. Writing on paper designed only for writing
Midori MD Notebook A5, blank
A plain sewn notebook with no cover, no elastic and no branding on the page, made from paper developed specifically for fountain pens.
#ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded
MD is the most stripped-back good notebook on this page. No cover, no closure, no logo on the paper: a sewn block of writing paper and a paper wrapper.
It lies completely flat, which sounds trivial until you have fought a hardcover for the bottom two lines of a page.
The blank version is the one to buy if you draw as well as write. Midori sells lined and grid versions of the same paper.
| Paper | MD Paper, developed by the maker as a writing paper resistant to bleeding throughThe maker's own description.Source: Midori, MD Notebook (read 2026-09-01) |
|---|---|
| Size and ruling | A5, unruledSource: Midori MD Notebook A5, unruled (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Paper weight | Not published |
| Binding | Sewn, lies flatSource: Midori MD Notebook A5, unruled (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
What it does well
- Paper developed specifically for writing rather than for printing
- Lies genuinely flat
- No branding anywhere on the page
What it does not
- No weight published
- No cover at all — it needs one if you carry it
- Blank pages are hard work for list-makers
Skip this if you need lines or a cover — buy the ruled version and the MD cover, or buy something hardbound.
2. Structure, if your ink is well behaved
LEUCHTTURM1917 A5, dotted
Numbered pages, a printed index and a pocket, in the notebook that made bullet journaling a thing — but at 80 g/m2 the paper sits right at the floor for a wet nib.
#ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded
The structure is genuinely excellent: numbered pages, an index you fill in yourself, two ribbons and a pocket. Nothing else at this price is as well organized out of the box.
The paper is the argument against, and the listing now puts a number on it: 80 g/m2. That is the lower end of what a fountain pen is comfortable on — adequate for a dry nib, marginal for a wet one.
If you write with a fine nib and a dry ink, this is a fine book. If you have just bought a broad nib and a wet blue, it is the wrong one.
| Extent | 251 numbered pages, A5, dottedThe edition currently listed is the Bauhaus special edition; the format, extent and ruling are the standard Medium A5 dotted hardcover.Source: LEUCHTTURM1917 A5, dotted (retail listing, read 2026-10-10) |
|---|---|
| Maker's claim | Acid-free paper with high ink compatibility, to help prevent bleed-throughThe maker's own wording. It is a comparative claim rather than a measured one, which is why we do not repeat it as a finding.Source: LEUCHTTURM1917 A5, dotted (retail listing, read 2026-10-10) |
| Paper weight | 80 g/m2, acid-freeNow stated on the listing for this edition. 80 g/m2 is the lower end of what a fountain pen is comfortable on.Source: LEUCHTTURM1917 A5, dotted (retail listing, read 2026-10-10) |
| Extras | Blank table of contents, expandable gusseted pocket inside the back cover, two page markers, elastic closure band and eight perforated detachable sheetsSource: LEUCHTTURM1917 A5, dotted (retail listing, read 2026-10-10) |
What it does well
- Numbered pages and printed index
- Hardcover with a pocket and two ribbons
- The most widely stocked structured notebook
What it does not
- 80 g/m2 is the floor for a wet nib
- Thinner paper than the 90 and 100 gsm books on this site
- Costs as much as notebooks with better paper
Skip this if you write with a broad nib or a wet ink — pair the structure you want with paper that can take it.
3. The writing experience, in the smallest format it comes in
Midori MD Notebook A6, ruled
Midori's MD paper in a plain paperback cover - the least designed notebook here, and the one people describe by how it feels to write on.
#ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded
Midori does not publish a gsm figure for MD paper anywhere we could retrieve, and we are not going to invent one. What the maker does describe is the paper being developed specifically for writing rather than printing, which is a different design brief from most notebook paper.
In the hand it behaves like a well-made uncoated sheet: it takes ink without feathering and it dries faster than a coated paper like Rhodia's. That is a description of behavior, not a measurement, and we are labeling it as such.
The cover is deliberately blank cardstock. Midori sells separate clear and leather covers for it, which is the same buy-the-cover logic the leather journals page argues for at A5.
| Size | A6Source: Midori, MD Notebook (read 2026-09-01) |
|---|---|
| Cover | Paperback, no cover design or branding on the frontSource: Midori MD Notebook A6, ruled (retail listing, read 2026-09-13) |
| Ruling | Horizontal ruledSource: Midori MD Notebook A6, ruled (retail listing, read 2026-09-13) |
| Binding | Thread-bound, opens flatSource: Midori, MD Notebook (read 2026-09-01) |
| Paper weight | Not published |
| Page count | Not published |
What it does well
- Paper designed for writing rather than printing
- Opens flat despite being a paperback
- Cheapest way into MD paper
What it does not
- No published paper weight or page count
- Bare cardstock cover marks easily without a separate cover
- Ruled only in this listing
Skip this if you want a notebook that protects itself. This is a paper block in a card wrapper, and it assumes you will add a cover or accept the wear.
4. A hardcover pocket book with numbered pages
LEUCHTTURM1917 A6 pocket, dotted
The A5 journal shrunk to a coat pocket, thread-bound and numbered - and unlike the A5 listing, this one publishes its paper weight.
#ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded
This is the interesting one. The A5 Leuchtturm listing that this site covers elsewhere publishes no paper weight at all, and the argument about whether it bleeds is unresolved because of that. The A6 listing states 80 g/m2 outright.
Eighty gsm is real information and it is a modest number - below Field Notes' 90 gsm, above Moleskine's 70. A Fine nib and a dry ink will be comfortable; a wet Medium will show through.
Everything else is the full-size journal in miniature: thread binding that opens flat, numbered pages, an index page, two ribbons and a rear pocket. At A6 that is a remarkable amount of book.
| Paper weight | 80 g/m2, acid-freeSource: LEUCHTTURM1917 Pocket A6-187, Indigo, Dotted (retail listing, read 2026-10-03) |
|---|---|
| Size | Approximately 3.5" x 5.9" (90 x 150 mm)Source: LEUCHTTURM1917 Pocket A6-187, Indigo, Dotted (retail listing, read 2026-10-03) |
| Extent | 187 numbered pages, 8 perforated detachable sheetsSource: LEUCHTTURM1917 Pocket A6-187, Indigo, Dotted (retail listing, read 2026-10-03) |
| Binding | Thread-bound, opens flatSource: LEUCHTTURM1917 Pocket A6-187, Indigo, Dotted (retail listing, read 2026-10-03) |
| Fittings | Gusseted rear pocket, two ribbon markers, elastic closure, blank contents pageSource: LEUCHTTURM1917 Pocket A6-187, Indigo, Dotted (retail listing, read 2026-10-03) |
What it does well
- Publishes 80 g/m2, which the A5 listing does not
- Thread-bound and opens flat despite the small format
- 187 numbered pages is a lot for a pocket book
What it does not
- 80 gsm is below Field Notes' 90 for four times the price
- Hardcover makes it bulky in a trouser pocket
- Ink-proof is claimed but not measured
Skip this if it needs to survive a back pocket. This is a hardcover book for a bag or a coat, and a staple-bound memo book is the thing that folds.
What each maker publishes
| Midori MD | Leuchtturm1917 | |
|---|---|---|
| Paper | MD paper, stated as developed for pens from fountain pens to pencils | 80 g/m2 acid-free, stated as high ink compatibility |
| Paper weight published | No figure given | Yes, 80 g/m2 |
| Pages | 176, unruled | 251, numbered |
| Binding | Thread binding, stated to open 180 degrees flat | Thread-bound, stated to open flat |
| Cover | MD paper with a glassine wrapper | Hardcover, FSC MIX paper |
| Extras | Bookmark drawstring, index sticker | Gusseted pocket, 2 bookmarks, elastic band, 8 perforated sheets, contents page, labeling stickers |
| Dimensions | 210 x 148 mm | 145 x 210 mm |
Two rows deserve attention before the rest.
Leuchtturm publishes a paper weight and Midori does not. That is a point for Leuchtturm on disclosure, and this site generally rewards it. But 80 g/m2 is not a high figure - it is the weight at which fountain pen performance depends entirely on how the paper is made rather than how much of it there is, which is the argument the GSM guide makes at length.
Midori's cover is made of the same paper as the pages. That is not a cost saving; it is the design thesis. The glassine wrapper exists so the plain cover can be marked by use rather than protected from it.
The paper, which is what most people are buying
Both are good. They are good in different ways, and the difference shows up with a wet nib.
MD paper is Midori's own stock, and the company states it was developed to be comfortable with everything from fountain pens to pencils. It is cream rather than white, and it is the smoother and more absorbent-feeling of the two to write on.
Leuchtturm's 80 g/m2 is a capable paper that the company states has high ink compatibility to help prevent bleed through - note the hedge in the maker's own wording. With a fine nib and a well-behaved ink it is fine. With a broad or a wet nib, or with a heavily saturated ink, it will ghost, and it is the paper most often named when people are disappointed by a notebook that was supposed to be fountain pen friendly.
The system, which is the real difference
Leuchtturm numbers every page and gives you a blank contents page at the front. That sounds trivial and it is the entire reason the brand dominates one specific market.
Bullet journaling depends on being able to index what you wrote and find it again. Numbered pages plus a contents page is the whole infrastructure that method needs, and Leuchtturm ships it as standard - along with an elastic band, two bookmarks, a pocket, eight perforated tear-out sheets and stickers for labeling the spine when the book is full. Bullet journaling with a fountain pen goes into how that works in practice.
Midori gives you a drawstring bookmark and an index sticker, and stops. If you want your pages numbered you will be numbering them yourself.
For a lot of people that is the point. A blank unruled page with nothing printed on it is the least prescriptive writing surface there is, and every feature Leuchtturm adds is also a decision it has made on your behalf.
Page count, and what it means for the price
Leuchtturm gives 251 numbered pages against Midori's 176. At similar prices, that is a meaningful difference in cost per page and it favors Leuchtturm clearly.
It also makes for a thicker book. Which of those matters depends on whether the notebook stays on a desk or goes in a bag every day, and it is worth deciding that before choosing on page count alone.
Both open flat, and it is worth knowing why
This is the rare specification both makers actually state. Midori states that its binding opens 180 degrees flat and names the construction as thread binding; Leuchtturm states that it is thread-bound to open flat.
Same mechanism, same result, and it puts both of them in a minority - most notebooks make no such claim, which the lay-flat roundup covers across the category. If a flat page is what you are shopping for, these two are both correct answers and you can decide on everything else.
Which to buy
- Bullet journaling, project notes, anything you need to find again - Leuchtturm. The numbering and the contents page are infrastructure you would otherwise build by hand.
- Drawing, drafting, longhand writing, anything unstructured - Midori. Unruled MD paper with nothing printed on it is the least opinionated surface here.
- The best paper of the two for a fountain pen - Midori, by a modest margin, and by more if your nib runs wet.
- The most notebook for the money - Leuchtturm, at 251 pages against 176, with the extras included.
- A wet broad nib or a stub - neither. Buy something heavier.
If you are still undecided, both are made in pocket sizes as well, and buying the small version of each is a cheaper way to settle the argument than reading another comparison. The B6 roundup and the pocket notebooks page cover those.
Questions people actually ask
Is Midori MD paper better than Leuchtturm1917 for fountain pens?
Modestly, yes, and more so with a wet nib. MD paper is Midori's own stock, stated as developed for everything from fountain pens to pencils. Leuchtturm's 80 g/m2 is capable but the company's own wording is that it helps prevent bleed through, and it ghosts with broad or wet nibs.
Do both Midori and Leuchtturm notebooks lay flat?
Yes, and both makers say so. Midori states that the binding opens 180 degrees flat and names it as thread binding; Leuchtturm states that it is thread-bound to open flat. Most notebooks make no such claim at all.
Which has more pages, Midori MD or Leuchtturm1917?
Leuchtturm, by a wide margin - 251 numbered pages against the Midori A5's 176 unruled ones, at a similar price. Leuchtturm also includes an elastic band, two bookmarks, a pocket, perforated sheets and stickers.
Which is better for bullet journaling?
Leuchtturm, and it is not close. Numbered pages and a blank contents page are exactly the infrastructure the method needs, and they are why the brand dominates that market. Midori gives you unnumbered pages and an index sticker.
Why does Midori not publish a paper weight?
It does not state one in the listing we read - it names the stock as MD paper and describes what it was developed for instead. Leuchtturm does publish a figure, 80 g/m2, which is a point for it on disclosure even though the number itself is not high.
Is the Midori MD cover really made of paper?
Yes. The listing states that the cover and the body are both MD paper, with a glassine wrapper over it. It is a design decision rather than a saving - the plain cover is meant to show use.