Have you received your pack of the “M × L × B × D” Edition? Here are some pictures of the two 3-packs that I purchased from the Field Notes website. FYI, unlike most of my previous Field Notes posts, this will be mostly photo-centric, with just a few observations and notes from me. You can find more details on this edition at the links listed near the bottom of this post.

I've been using one for daily notes and I like it a lot. At first, I thought the DDC “Totally Turquoise” graph grid inside could be too contrast-y for my writing, but since I've begun to use thicker pen tips with Field Notes (0.5 mm and higher), this has not been an issue. Other observations:

The turquoise foil on the cover is just gorgeous. I'm a fan of foil-stamped editions. :) By the way, product description calls this “Babe the Blue Ox” foil, but the specs printed on the back cover say “Totally Turquoise”.
As in other DDC issues, the front inside cover has a DDC pattern all over it, but this time it’s a diagonal pattern (loop of the text “DDC × MONDO × LANDLAND × BURLESQUE”). A very dynamic detail that I like a lot. You can also find this pattern on the inside of the belly band, printed in matching turquoise foil. Swoon.
The cover paper is French Paper Construction 100# in “Recycled White”. We saw this previously in Day Game.
The DDC-branded editions usually use Accent Opaque 50# for the body paper, and this “M × L × B × D” edition is no exception, specifically in “Absolutely Alabaster”. The DDC Pop-Up edition and the Dead Print edition also list this exact same color.
The edition size is 11,500 3-packs. That seems like a lot for a special edition. For comparison, Resolution (the latest quarterly edition) was 35,000 packs.
Has a DDC-branded edition (item no. “DDC-054”) ever been sold through the Field Notes website before? It’s interesting because my memory says no.
My order of 3-packs from FN came with a free pencil: their new red Valentine’s Day pencil. It was a nice surprise, as I was under the impression that it would be included with orders placed during the following Valentine’s Day week. Yay!

Turquoise foil on the inside of belly band.

The “Open All Night Sign Neon Red” on the inside cover is not showing up properly in this photo, but it really is fluorescent. The far right book with “U.S. Post Office” is my favorite.

“M × L × B × D” Edition product links, if you’re interested. Some may be sold out:

What are your thoughts on this edition? Any interesting details you noticed or would like to share? I hear it's nicknamed the “alphabet soup” edition. 😄 And that if you order from Burlesque, you get a mini print..? How many 3-packs did you end up getting and are you happy with the ones you received? Each vendor had a limit of 2 packs per household, so I just got 2, and I'm satisfied the variety I got. There was a set of duplicates but that made my decision on which to use first easier. 😊

Here’s another idea that inspired me to start this blog: Field Notes color comparisons! I’ve been sneaking some quick color comparisons in previous Field Notes posts but I think it’s high time that I do a dedicated post on a color. And I choose “white” first!

Can you think of all the Field Notes that have white covers?

COLORS Editions

Out of the Colors series, there have been three so far (as of January 2015): Northerly (Winter 2011), National Crop “Cotton” (Spring 2012), and Day Game “Hardball White” (Summer 2012). That’s three editions in a row!

I’ll just let the pictures do most of the talking.

From left: National Crop’s “Cotton”, Northerly, and Day Game’s “Hardball White”.

Back views, from left: Northerly, National Crop’s “Cotton”, and Day Game’s “Hardball White”.

Northerly easily stands out as the most different one here with its glossy cover, embossed logotype, metallic ink, colored body paper, and inverted graph grid. But Day Game is unique in that its cover is foil-stamped with red, features dot grid inside, and has a small home plate on the back. National Crop's “Cotton” is simply offset printed but its cover paper has a slightly speckled look (French Paper Speckletone) and includes extra text and graphics on the front and back. Well, looks like each one is pretty unique, doesn’t it?

From top: Day Game “Hardball White”, National Crop “Cotton”, and Northerly.

The inside cover on each of these editions is the same color as the outside cover. They all have silver-colored staples.

I could compare these until cows come home, down to ink colors, but I’m limiting myself to mainly the look and feel of the covers.

Northerly looks the “coolest” white among the three. “Cotton” looks slightly warmer than “Hardball White” with a red tinge to it, but that’s how I interpret colors. Describing colors can be quite personal, I think!

Non-COLORS Editions

Now, let’s compare them with a couple non-Colors Field Notes with white covers that I have: Capsule Autumn/Winter 2014 edition and TEDx Portland edition (official name on the back inside cover is “TEDx ✕ Ernest & Young”).

Inside covers, from right: Northerly, Day Game, National Crop, Capsule AW14, TEDx Portland.

The TEDx edition is a 3-pack, comprised of three colors: black, red, and white. Obviously, I’m comparing only the white book here. Key points to note about TEDx and Capsule editions:

The white covers on both have matte finish, making Northerly still the only glossy, white edition so far (that I know of).
Both are offset printed and have extra text and graphics on the back, like National Crop’s “Cotton”. “Cotton” is the only book with extra graphics on the front.
Both are printed with darker colors on the inside covers. Red in TEDx and copper in Capsule.The white in TEDx looks brighter but that might not be accurate because of these interior colors.
Both are as “cool” white as Northerly. Day Game is the most “yellow” white among these five editions.
TEDx’s outside cover is printed in two colors, not one as in the others.
Capsule AW14 has black staples.

As for the thickness, they all feel quite similar, except Day Game and Capsule don’t feel as stiff as the others. And TEDx’s cover feels the smoothest, besides Northerly. Of course, I’m no expert on paper, and these descriptions are just based on my own unscientific “testing”. Quotation marks galore!

Innards, from left: Northerly, Day Game, National Crop, Capsule AW14, TEDx Portland.

All have silver staples, except for Capsule AW14 edition (black staples).

At first glance, Northerly seems the most unique one, and it may very well be, depending on how you look at it. I personally feel that paired with slightly different details and colors, each white edition so far managed to have a very different personality. That’s one of the reasons why I love Field Notes. Give me another white edition and I bet it’d be just as fresh.

Here are the specific names of the white covers. Look who’s learning to make tables with HTML and CSS!

  
    Edition
    Cover Paper        
  
    Northerly
    Smart Kromekote 14pt C25 “White”
  
    National Crop “Cotton”
    French Speckletone “Starch White” (My guess is 100#C)
  
    Day Game “Hardball White”
    French Construction “Recycled White” 100#C
  
    Capsule AW14
    French Pop-Tone “Sweet Tooth” 100#C
  
    TEDx ✕ Ernest & Young
    Accent Opaque “Way White” 100#C

Other white Field Notes that would be fun to compare but are not in my possession:

J. Crew
Levi’s “Notes Along the Road” (French Construction #100C)
Capsule AW 2015

I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more! If you know of others, please let me know!

From left: Northerly, Day Game, National Crop, Capsule AW14, TEDx Portland.

Red in TEDx is lighter and more orange than the red in Day Game’s “Hardball White”.

French Paper samples, clockwise from top: Pop-Tone in Sweet Tooth (Capsule AW14), Speckletone in Starch White (National Crop’s “Cotton”), and Construction in Recycled White (Day Game’s “Hardball White”).

Just to show how white these are, compared to, say, the Doxie edition.

Which white Field Notes is your favorite? What should I do when I get another white Field Notes? Re-do this whole post? Ack!! That will be the challenge of these color comparison posts.

Which color should I do next? :)

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