Rhodia Dot Notebook or Wirebound? A Practical Checklist Before You Buy

In my role coordinating rush orders for creative teams, I spend a lot of time making quick decisions about notebooks. Sometimes a client calls with 36 hours to spare. Other times I’m ordering a single notebook to test whether a particular paper will work with a fountain pen. When I’m triaging a rush order, I don’t have time to debate paper weight. I use a checklist.

This article is for you if you’re deciding between a Rhodia dot notebook and a Rhodia wirebound notebook, or if you already have one and need to know how to erase colored pencil without ruining the page. It’s not a full review. It’s the checklist I use when the deadline is short or when the order is just one notebook. Six things.

1. Decide what the notebook is for before you worry about the grid

People start with the grid, but in my experience the binding matters just as much. A dot grid is a safe default: it’s visible enough to keep your writing straight, but subtle enough to let drawings stand out. The bigger question is whether you’ll be using the notebook at a desk, in a bag, or at a drawing table.

If you need to fold the cover back and tear out pages, the wirebound model is probably a better fit. If you want something that survives a bag and looks decent on a shelf, the dot notebook is better. That sounds simple, but I’ve watched people order the wrong format because they only thought about how the notebook would look online.

2. Check the paper for the way you actually write

Rhodia is known for smooth, fountain-pen-friendly paper. Most of the notebooks I’ve handled use around 90gsm paper, though I might be misremembering the exact spec on some wirebound pads. What I can say from experience: the paper handles a wet fountain pen well for a coated paper in this price range.

I won’t tell you any paper is 100% immune to feathering or bleeding, because that depends on the ink, nib width, and how wet the pen is. What I’ve found is that the coating gives you enough time to work before the ink misbehaves.

3. Measure the size against your actual bag

This is where most people go wrong. They order an A4 because it sounds spacious, then realize it doesn’t fit their laptop bag. Or they order the pocket version and it’s too small for daily use. Measure the bag, the desk drawer, or the shelf before you buy.

In March 2024, a client needed 30 A5 wirebound notebooks for a conference booth. Normal delivery was two days, but we had 36 hours. We found a local supplier who stocked them, paid a rush fee, and delivered with about 12 hours to spare. The format mattered because the client’s briefing folders were designed around A5.

4. Understand how the binding changes daily use

The wirebound notebook lies flat and folds back, which matters if you’re writing in cramped spaces or standing up. It usually has perforated pages, so you can tear out a sheet and hand it to someone. The dot notebook stays protected and feels more like a journal. It doesn’t tear out pages as easily, and forcing it flat on a desk can stress the spine.

Let me rephrase that: the wirebound is for active work. The dot notebook is for keeping things. Neither is universally better.

5. How to erase colored pencil from a Rhodia notebook

This is the part I get asked about most. Colored pencil is not graphite. It has wax or oil and pigment, so it doesn’t lift off the same way. The smoother and more coated the paper, the more the pigment sits on the surface. That’s good because a careful eraser can lift it. It’s also bad because pressing too hard can damage the coating.

The most frustrating part: the paper feels smooth, so you expect a soft eraser to work like it does on graphite. You’d think a simple pink eraser would do the job. It doesn’t.

Here’s the method that works for me:

1. Use a white plastic/vinyl eraser, not a pink rubber eraser. Vinyl erases cleaner with less rubbing.
2. Use light, circular strokes. Let the eraser do the work.
3. If the first pass leaves a stain, rotate the eraser to a clean edge and try again.
4. For heavy layering, use a kneaded eraser to press and lift the excess before going in with vinyl.
5. Brush away the crumbs with a soft brush. Don’t use your hand—you’ll just push wax back into the paper.

I don’t have hard data on how much pigment comes off a 90gsm coated sheet. What I can say anecdotally: a single layer erases fairly well after a few passes. A heavily burnished layer will probably leave a ghost mark. That’s normal.

6. Buy what you need, even if that means one notebook

I have a personal rule about small orders: they deserve the same care as large ones. When I was starting out, the vendors who treated a $20 order seriously were the ones I kept going back to when the budget grew. The ones who acted like a single notebook was a waste of time? I stopped calling them.

If you only need one Rhodia dot notebook, order one. If you’re not sure which format to choose, order one dot notebook and one wirebound, and test them side by side. A small order is a legitimate way to try a product.

Common mistakes to avoid

First, don’t buy based on the cover color. The paper and binding are what matter. A bright cover won’t make your ink dry faster.

Second, if you’re erasing colored pencil, don’t attack the page with a hard eraser. I’ve done it, and the result was a smeared, shiny mess. Use a light touch and stop after a few passes. A faint line is better than a damaged page.

Third, check the current specs. As of January 2025, Rhodia still sells both the dot notebook and the wirebound, but page counts and cover sizes change. Verify the size, paper weight, and page count before you order. Retail prices for an A5 dot notebook seemed to sit around $12–20 at most U.S. sellers when I checked in January 2025, but that can shift.

One more thing: if you’re testing an eraser on a Rhodia notebook, do it on the last page first. That sounds obvious, but I’ve ruined more than one sketch by assuming the eraser would behave the same way on a page with drawing underneath it.

This checklist isn’t the only way to choose a notebook. It’s what I use when the deadline is short or the order is a single test unit. If it helps, good.