Manufactum’s ATOMA loose-leaf binders – notebook and organizer in one. Ready-to-use or assemble as you wish.

Last year we presented you with the Belgian ATOMA note-book system for the first time. It’s 60 years old, and consists simply of circular rings and loose-leaf sheets of paper. As you will see, there is a wide variety of lined and plain paper formats available – with patented holes for extra-easy insertion or extraction – to help you put your note-books together to suit your particular needs: the plain sheets are good for copying your own designs e.g. from your PC, like official documents, calendars or address books. Since last year we’ve worked on the quality of the paper itself, the range of loose leaf refills and the binder covers, and also seen to the production, for the first time, of a special ATOMA punch.

Information on material used.

What is Texon?
Texon is a leather substitute used mostly in the textile and shoe industries or, as here, for book covers. It makes sense in more ways than one: first, Texon is manufactured by means of a production process similar to paper. The cellulose fibres are however rubberized, making them considerably more damp-resistant than paper or cardboard - in fact, more robust in general. Second, it never becomes 'delaminated', the term of the trade used for the process of deterioration by which cardboard after a certain time starts splitting up into separate layers.

Technical details for paper-lovers.
No-run, surface sized, heavy, smooth natural paper made of pure cellulose. Ideal for hand-writing. Cream, with 90% opacity. Manufactured in Italy, FSC certified, bleached without the use of chlorine, age-resistant (according to DIN 6738), suitable for laser and ink-jet printer.

From Brussels.
G. Mottart, the well-known Brussels stationery firm, have been producing exercise-books for schoolchildren since 1948 under the trade name "Atoma". Every Belgian child has come to know and love the simple but immensely practical ATOMA loose-leaf books and pads. However, the full range of their qualities isn't apparent at first sight - which is perhaps why it's taken so long for other countries to catch up with the 'ATOMA era'.

First principles: spiral notebooks and ring binders...
The advantages of a notebook bound together by a series of aluminium rings opening and closing in the middle are the same as those of the traditional spiral notebook: it can be fully opened - back to back- so taking up less space than an ordinary book or ring binder - and can be written on without the addition of a stiff backing pad. But: unlike spiral notebooks, but like ring binders, individual pages of ATOMA notebooks can be removed and put back where you like - you can also switch between different sizes and formats.

...and much, much more.
So far, so good. But it is the variability and adaptability - to your personal needs - of ATOMA notebooks that make them so special.

• First and foremost, the ATOMA system facilitates logic - in terms of subject or chronology - in the structuring of notes and commentaries (similar to an exchange of office memoranda).
• Notes can at any time be added to or brought up to date, not only in hand-written form on A4, A5 or A7 ATOMA paper, but also with digital or printed information such as e-mails, text or pictorial data, copies of newspaper articles, advertisements, brochures etc. You simply print or copy the material on to unlined ATOMA paper.
• The option to print or to copy pages means that the user can give blank sheets specific layouts with regard to particular trade fairs, business talks, minutes or check-lists - or forms, e.g. order forms.
• Finally, ATOMA provide sheets with a variety of rulings, an advantage much appreciated by Belgian children, as they don't have to carry around a separate exercise book for each lesson.

Our ATOMA note-, exercise- and address books come in 3 formats and have aluminium (not plastic) rings and strong, 0.8 mm thick Texon covers. The rulings are in fine blue - incidentally, we offer our A4 paper with, among other things, 10 mm squares, hard to find these days!, and all lined or squared pages are provided with a margin. Paper in white, weight 90g/sq. M.