“Gumdrop Green” Field Notes

I started using the Field Museum Field Notes at the beginning of this month, and it reminded me that there are other Field Notes editions that use the same green paper stock, French Paper Pop-Tone in Gumdrop Green. So here they are all together (pictured above, from left):

• Shenandoah “Sweet Birch” (Fall 2015 Quarterly Edition)
• Grass Stain Green (Summer 2009 Quarterly Edition)
• The Field Museum (released late 2017)

There may be other Field Notes that use the same paper, but these are all I have. As you can see, I don’t have the original, plain white belly band of Grass Stain Green (I only have a single), but don’t they look lovely all together? I think that these light brown belly bands  look especially great with the matte green covers.

Obviously, GSG stands out because it’s the only one that’s letterpressed (“blind hit” to be more specific). It’s one of the most beautiful Field Notes and certainly one of my top favorite editions, but so is Shenandoah, with its custom-duplex cover and brown ink that work together to complete the forest theme. The Field Museum edition may seem plain by comparison, but it’s still special to me because of all the memories I have of going on field trips to the museum when I was younger.

Back inside covers (from top): Grass Stain Green printed with “Green Mind” ink, Shenandoah “Sweet Birch” with “Shenandoah Salamander” brown ink, The Field Museum with “Lake Michigan Blue” ink.

All three editions use “Gumdrop Green” in 100#C for the cover, but Shenandoah feels the thickest because it is duplex-mounted to another sheet of paper, French Paper Pop-Tone in “Lemon Drop”, making it the only one whose cover looks different when you open it.

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From top: Shenandoah “Sweet Birch”, Grass Stain Green, The Field Museum

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From left: Grass Stain Green, Shenandoah “Sweet Birch”, The Field Museum

As for the body paper, they all use “white” paper, except GSG uses Boise Offset Smooth 50#T, which is what Field Notes used in the early days. Since Balsam Fir, they have been mostly using Finch Paper Opaque Smooth, which is what you’d find in Shenandoah and The Field Museum edition, both slightly thicker in 60#T. Both GSG and Shenandoah are graph grid (3/16"), printed in “Photosynthesizing Chlorophyll” light green and “Appalachian Moss” light green, respectively, while The Field Museum is ruled (1/4" or 6.4 mm) in “Double Knee Duck Canvas” light brown ink, the same color you’d find in Field Notes’ standard Kraft memo books. Fun (to me) side note: the inside cover of GSG specifies 4.5 mm for the grid size, but the conversion should’ve been 4.7 mm. I believe this doesn’t get corrected until National Crop (Spring 2012).

From top: Grass Stain Green, Shenandoah, and The Field Museum. Innards in Grass Stain Green are 50#T, making it the thinnest memo book in this group. Shenandoah feels the thickest with its custom-duplexed cover.

I like that these all have different sets of “Practical Applications”. The ones in GSG are not unique; they’re the same as the ones in the regular kraft books. But the other two have their own custom sets. Interestingly, there are only 15 applications in the Field Museum edition, and I admit I don’t recognize all the references. Maybe it’s time for me to revisit the museum. 😊

All have silver staples!

Back view, from left: Shenandoah “Birch”, Grass Stain Green, The Field Museum.

I’ve always been a fan of Field Notes memo books with French Paper Pop-Tone covers, so I was stoked when the Field Museum edition came out, even though “Gumdrop Green” has been used before (and despite the hefty price tag). It might not be exciting anymore to some fans, but I really like this green, and as a casual Field Notes collector, it’s fun to compare and see how the same paper is interpreted in different ways. Which do you like the best? I really like all three, but if I were offered extras of any of these (one can dream), I’d choose Grass Stain Green. 💚

Green color comparison

Related Links and Notes

• Field Notes Color Comparison: Green
• My previous post on Grass Stain Green
• My previous post on Shenandoah
• There’s a second set of The Field Museum Field Notes, with Earth as the theme! It is available online, here.
• The first version (the green 3-pack featured in this post) is now on sale, here.
• The Field Museum (Chicago, IL)

“Manila Yellow Kraft” Field Notes

February brought us a bunch of new Field Notes: “M × L × B × D” Edition, Signature, Heartbeat (for Wednesday Offer), and the 2018 Tournament of Books “Rooster” book. In this post, I’d like to focus on the 2018 Rooster and Heartbeat, along with the Summer 2015 quarterly edition, Workshop Companion “Automotive”, since they all use the same cover stock: French Paper Kraft-Tone in Manila Yellow Kraft.

I quite like Kraft-Tone. It’s an interesting line of matte paper with visible flecks and fibers. It looks textured, but it feels smooth and sturdy in the hands. It seems Field Notes likes it too, because since Workshop Companion, they used “Memo Kraft Orange” from Kraft-Tone for the Capsule Spring/Summer 2016 and Autumn/Winter 2016 editions, and now two more join this group of Kraft-tone Field Notes with “Manila Yellow Kraft” covers.

Inside back cover (from top): Workshop Companion with what appears to be black ink, Heartbeat, 2018 Tournament of Books.

My guess is that Heartbeat and 2018 Rooster were made at the same time because they share a lot of the same features: red ink on the outside and inside covers, “Wheat Gold” staples, and the now-standard Finch Paper Opaque Smooth 60#T body paper with graph grid printed in “Half Knee Duck Canvas Lighter Brown” ink. (Side note: the regular Kraft memo books feature “Double Knee Duck Canvas” light brown).

From left: Workshop Companion, Heartbeat, and 2018 Rooster.

Innards comparison (from left): Workshop Companion, Heartbeat, and 2018 Rooster. Workshop Companion uses Kraft-Tone 70#T “Standard White Kraft”, which is thicker and slightly warmer in tone than the Finch Paper Opaque Smooth 60#T found in Heartbeat and Rooster. It’s also dot grid in “Maple Lacquer”, instead of graph grid.

Inside cover comparison: Heartbeat (top left) and 2018 Rooster (bottom right). It's neat that Heartbeat has a new set of “Practical Applications” and in 2018 Rooster, they are replaced by the list of Tournament of Books contenders.

Red color comparison of Heartbeat (left) and 2018 Rooster (right)

The red inks used in Heartbeat and 2018 Rooster are specified as “Sanguine Red” and “Cockerel Red”, respectively, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re actually the same thing. Do they look different to you?

From left: regular Kraft (silver staples), 2018 Rooster (“Wheat Gold” staples), Heartbeat (“Wheat Gold” staples), and Workshop Companion (brass staples).

Another thing 2018 Rooster and Heartbeat share in common: they are both bound by “Wheat Gold” staples. I believe this is the first time we’re seeing these. Compared to the brass staples of Workshop Companion, this color is more subtle and appears duller, especially next to the regular Kraft memo book’s silver staples.

Do you like Kraft-Tone Field Notes? I especially like the Rooster one, not only because it’s for a good cause, but because I like its simple design, too. Particularly, the “Imitation Kraft” ink they used for logo and text on the outside cover.

By the way, Rooster books are now sold out, and I hear Field Notes raised over $10k for 826 National through the sales. In 2017, they raised over $8,600, so that’s great news! I wonder what they’ll do for next year... The bar has been raised again! 😊