08 October 2015

A6 in summary


I have written quite a few posts in the last 6 months or so about A6 size organisers, or to be correct A6 paper size organisers. I thought this post should bring all that knowledge together so you have a hub to start from with links off to other posts to fill in any gaps in your knowledge. However there is some extra information in this post so do read on.

A6 the paper size. 
So what is so magical about A6 paper size and why has the planner world suddenly woken up to it? Until recently there were not many makes of organisers that fitted true A6 size paper, there now is, so people with a little hint from ourselves have started to look in to it a bit more.

A6 size is 148 mm by 105 mm, it is half the size of A5 paper. A lot of people already use A5 organisers, so the A6 is a smaller version. The same page height and width proportions so it feels quite natural to switch between the two sizes.

Alan did us an excellent paper size post some time ago on this very topic so it makes sense to mention it again.
So as you can see printing for A6 is relatively straight forward. 

Pre-printed A6 Inserts. 

If you don't like the idea of printing your own inserts there are a number of businesses on Etsy that offer inserts in A6 size. I can't offer any opinions on them, but ask on the various Facebook groups and I'm sure you will get some recommendations.
Diary Inserts
If you are buying a Gillio A6 then you will receive a set of inserts with that. So Philofaxy have also made available a range of inserts for A6 size paper. 
Printing A6 size inserts
You will of course need to know how to print your own inserts and I did a tutorial on how to do that in another post. 
Creating Inserts
You might also want to create your own pages too. 
So creating inserts for A6 is relatively straight forward, you do have to make some adjustments if you are going from an A5 insert down to an A6 one because everything is 70% the size of the original. So I generally still design in A5 but make the fonts bigger by a couple of  points and reduce the number of lines on a page by 30%, that then gives you the same line height as you have on A5.

You will be needing some paper, after a bit of research I found a friendly supplier of A6 paper who can supply it in different quantities and colours.

Check out The Stationery Emporium they also do A5 paper.

Punching inserts for A6 organisers
The ring spacing or hole spacing for A6 organisers is different to that of Personal size, but the Rapesco punch has a middle setting which is the correct spacing for A6 size organisers. The Rapesco also does Pocket and Personal size by moving the punch blocks together or apart.

If you own one already you might not have realised there is a middle setting. Take the bottom cover off and then move the punch blocks slowly to the middle on both sides and you will feel the middle detent for A6 size. 


Organisers for A6 size paper. 

We have recently reviewed the new Gillio A6 organiser and the redesigned Van der Spek Senior size Touch Me organisers. Both come with 25 mm internal diameter rings.
The Gillio A6 is currently available in 5 colours from €298 (€246 outside of EU).

The Van der Spek Senior Touch Me comes in four colours the price is €102.85 (€85 outside of the EU).

Van der Spek can also make you a custom leather Senior model the number of colour combinations runs in to the hundreds, prices start at €147.62 (€122 outside of EU) for a 20mm ring model, but there are options for 25mm rings plus addition things like:
  • Full width back pocket
  • Ring protectors
  • 2nd pen loop
  • Secretarial flaps
  • And anything else you consider extra... just email Petra!
Mulberry Agenda size is also a true A6 paper size organiser.

My own conversion from Personal size to A6 also deserves a mention because I'm sure a lot of others are going through this thought process at the moment as well. 
Finding more information.

Apart from Philofaxy, where if you can't find the information then just ask Steve (philofaxy at gmail dot com) or take a look at one of the Facebook groups:
Let us know if you have any questions in the comments. 



12 comments:

  1. Great post Steve! You were definitely one of the first who made me consider the A6 size. In addition to Gillio and Van Der Spek, don't forget that the Mulberry Agenda is also A6. I believe they were the first! They do not offer Personal size interestingly, only A6 and pocket. Thank you for all your informative posts, I always make sure to check your page several times a week. Take care

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    1. Thank you I've added in a link to the Mulberry ones, I notice they only list black and brown these days. Quite expensive too.

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  2. Thanks Steve, for including the link to my new Facebook group: "Using A6 planners, Info and Resources." Our membership has more than doubled over the past 10 days!
    Whether you're considering the transition to this convenient size, or are in the middle of the process, there are resources that will prove helpful to you.
    Our group doesn't focus on any one specific brand. You'll be able to learn about, and compare, such brands as: Mulberry, Van Der Spek Gillio and many others.
    There is also a "sister" group that has been created to accommodate the Sales of A6 planners. Pre loved may be a good way to get started using this size.
    No matter what the reason, if you're considering, or already using, the A6 size planner--please consider joining our group today!����
    .

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  3. You can also use the Pocket Size setting on a Franklin Planner hole punch for some A6 size planners e.g. Mulberry Agenda. It was one of the thing that helped me transition from Franklin compact size to the A6 size. Franklin regular hole punch (not the plastic portable one) is adjustable for its compact and pocket sizes. Just remember it's the pocket size of the Franklin Planner, not pocket in Filofax.

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  4. Your post "To A6 or not A6..." definitely inspired me along with pictures from the VDS Facebook group. I bought a light brown Touch Me and love it! The binder itself is very wide and I still need to get used to that, but I love the surface to write on and how easily I can print inserts. Also, it is easy to get A6 notebooks over here for a good price so I just need to hole punch it and bam, I have tons of notepaper :) I just wish there were more options for today markers, dividers (also A-Z etc.).

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  5. Your post "To A6 or not A6..." definitely inspired me along with pictures from the VDS Facebook group. I bought a light brown Touch Me and love it! The binder itself is very wide and I still need to get used to that, but I love the surface to write on and how easily I can print inserts. Also, it is easy to get A6 notebooks over here for a good price so I just need to hole punch it and bam, I have tons of notepaper :) I just wish there were more options for today markers, dividers (also A-Z etc.).

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  6. Love this post! I was goldilocks looking for the right size. A5-too big. Personal-awkward size for writing. I tried the bound Hobonichi, and fell in love with the A6 size. But what about rings? I have found planner peace with this size and now just need to save up for a VDS senior. Thanks!

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  7. I wondered what A6 was. (Runs off to convert metric to American measures...)

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  8. Tsking one step further in cutting an A* piece of paper in half, when you do that with A6, you get A7 (74x105). That is therefore 1/8th of an A4, and 1/4th of an A5. It is also the size of a Poketmod made from an A4 piece of paper. I've been using this size for a very long time and, although briefly I was using personal size, I quickly went back to A7 for my calendar (diary) and notes (I also use A4, A5, A6, and A8 for other Porto pourposes). What's even better is that A7 is the exact height of Filofax's mini and only 7mm wider, which allows me to use the beautiful A7 pages on the several Filofax mini organisers that I have (being my lovely Filofax Mini Deluxe Executive Leather my favorite one).

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  9. Any suggestions on software to print iPhone contacts for the Personal size Filofax? In iCloud, I can gain access to the addresses in a few different formats, but getting the custom size format correct is tricky. Thanks for any advice.

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    1. Use a 3rd party app to export your contacts to a CSV file, then use this data file as a mail merge file in to a Word file to create an address book you can print out.

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  10. Has anyone ever tried a6 inserts but personal height? i like the width of the a6 but prefer the height of personal paper, wondering if i should fully customise my inserts or just stick with a6

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