14 May 2018

A4 practical or not?


Filofax A4.. I realise this isn't a popular or common size for a lot of our users, but I thought I would look in to the pros and cons of the size.
  • Big - yes but that might be an advantage if your hand writing is difficult to read on the smaller sizes;
  • Paper commonly available, well in Europe that is;
  • Templates already in this size, I create my templates in A4 format and then reduce them to A5;
  • Limited selection of diaries and inserts, for some people this might be the 'show stopper'. However, all of the Philofaxy A5 diary inserts are created in A4 size, so these can easily be used;
  • Common hole spacing ISO838? The 4 holes are 8cm apart. Four hole punches are quite cheap;
  • Possibly thinner than an A5 so less bulky. If you are used to using a Week on Two pages inserts, then with the increase in page size you might easily be able to use Week on One page in A4 size;
  • Price wise they often come up on offer, so may be about the same price as an A5;
  • Lots of card slots! But I wouldn't suggest using one as a wallet!!
  • Not available in the US, mainly because of the paper size I suspect?
  • A lot of people in business carry A4 folders around, so an A4 Filofax won't look too out of place.
Why not check out the A4 Filofax range it is a bit limited these days. However, Van der Spek also make A4 Writing Cases with ring mechanisms in them. They are shown on their old website, if you are interested in to know what they have available it is best to email Petra.

I have just the one A4 Filofax, an A4 Classic. I have used it a few times, but I find it a bit too big to leave open on my desk.




If you have used an A4 already we are of course interested to hear your views in the comments.

9 comments:

  1. What is the percentage reduction to reduce to pocket size please?

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    Replies
    1. 16% (approximately). Or put another way, there is about five and a half times more space to write on a sheet of A4! There was a Philofaxy post/ article about this on 20th October 2011.

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  2. I have one A4 and have just converted it to be my sewing Filofax. Blog piece coming soon.
    It would be too bulky to use as a main planner but is a fabulous project planner.

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  3. I have three all of which are in use. One for my Self Assessment/Tax records, second one for To do lists and diary planning and the third for any online courses I do and genealogy notes. They are large and not really suitable on my desk for every day planning.

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  4. I used to own an A4 Strata, but sold it as I didn't like the hard bonded leather. I had planned to find a replacement, but purchased a cheap A4 project notebook instead as it's much more portable & easier for using on my desk. However, I did get an A4 Logic for my Mum to help her keep her paperwork organised & she loves it!

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  5. I love this size, and used one at work for many years. I love that it is so easy to print diary inserts and other pages. Now that I am retired, I have plans to use all of them - 3 Finsburys (black, aqua and raspberry) and another black zipped one I got second hand from eBay.

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  6. I have one as a teacher. I decant what I need for that evening's planning into it and it saves the lugging of a huge A4 arch file back and forth. xx

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  7. loving my a4 Finsbury for work and carry it back and forth in my rucksack. have adapted your template to meet my needs. love taking it into meetings :)

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  8. I have an A4 which Inuse for FutureLearn (Open University) courses.minprint off stuff from the course, take note and save bibliographies to it. It is an orange zipped Metrolpole. For other uses, i.e. notes taken at Jane Austen Society Society, I use one of my Deskfaxes. I love both sizes, but use A5 note taking when "on the Run", that is when I need a more portable solution. For the usual diary I have a green personal and a Lefax in black of the same size.

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