The book matters more in junk journaling than in any other kind of journaling, because you are gluing wet things to the pages and stuffing objects between them. A book that would be perfectly good for writing will buckle, split at the spine, or refuse to close by page twenty.
Three specifications decide it, and only three.
The three that matter
| Spec | What to look for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Paper weight | 100 gsm minimum; 120–160 is better; mixed-media 200+ is ideal | Glue, paint and tape warp thin paper permanently |
| Binding | Something that opens fully flat and tolerates expansion | Layered pages add bulk the spine has to absorb |
| Expansion room | Can you add pages, or at least does the spine flex? | A finished junk journal is roughly twice its original thickness |
Everything else — cover design, page color, ruled or blank, elastic closure — is preference. These three are function.
Paper weight, in plain terms
Paper is measured in gsm, grams per square meter. Copy paper is 80. Most notebook paper is 70 to 90. Cardstock is 200 to 300.
| Weight | Behavior with glue and layers |
|---|---|
| Under 90 gsm | Buckles from a glue stick alone. Do not. |
| 100–120 gsm | Handles a glue stick and dry layers; buckles with liquid glue or paint |
| 120–160 gsm | The sweet spot. Takes liquid glue, pockets and light paint. |
| 200 gsm+ (mixed media) | Takes anything, including wet paint. Heavier and fewer pages per book. |
If a listing does not state the gsm, assume it is low. Sellers who use good paper say so.
Binding types compared
| Binding | Lies flat | Add pages | Handles bulk | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discbound | Yes | Yes, freely | Yes — swap to bigger discs | Best for most people |
| Ring binder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Works; bulky and the rings dent pages |
| Spiral or coil | Yes | No | Poor — pages catch and tear | Avoid for layered work |
| Hand-sewn signatures | Yes | No, but you sized it | Good, if you left spine room | Excellent if you made it yourself |
| Sewn hardcover (Smyth) | Mostly | No | Fair; spine eventually splits | Fine for light layering |
| Glued or perfect-bound | No | No | Poor — pages fall out | Avoid |
| Traveler’s notebook | Yes | Swap inserts | Good — the elastic gives | Good, if you like thin books |
Why discbound wins for most people
Three reasons, and they all come from the same property: the pages come out.
You can add pages where you need them. A spread that wants a fold-out gets one. A page you hate comes out entirely, which is not possible in a sewn book and is a bigger relief than it sounds.
The bulk problem is solvable. Layered pages roughly double a book’s thickness. In a bound book that means a spine under permanent stress; in a discbound book you swap 28mm discs for 32mm and it closes flat again.
You can work on a page off the book. Take the page out, glue and press it flat under a weight, put it back when dry. This alone solves most buckling.
The practical setup: a 5x7 discbound notebook as the base and a larger disc set ready for when it fills. Sizing detail is in discbound insert sizes explained.
Size
| Size | Good for | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| A6 / pocket | Daily use, travel, tuck-ins | Too small for most collected ephemera |
| 5x7 / A5 | The default. Fits envelopes, tickets, most paper. | Nothing much |
| 7x9 / B5 | Layered spreads, larger photos | Heavy in a bag |
| 8.5x11 / A4 | Full sheets, art journaling | Intimidating; large pages are harder to finish |
5x7 is the right first size. Most of what you collect — envelopes, receipts, tickets, postcards — fits without trimming, and a page that size can be finished in twenty minutes.
Page count
Sixty to a hundred pages. Under sixty and you finish too fast to develop a habit; over a hundred and the book takes so long that it becomes a monument you are afraid to ruin.
Eighty is close to ideal. At a page a week that is about eighteen months, which is a satisfying length for a first volume.
Four books to avoid
Cheap spiral notebooks. Thin paper, and the coil catches every layered page and tears it.
Anything perfect-bound. Glued spines fail once pages thicken. You will be re-gluing loose pages within a year.
Very expensive leather journals. Usually thin paper, and too precious to glue a cereal box into. The whole point is a book you are willing to ruin.
Pre-made "junk journals" sold as finished books. Fine as objects and often lovely, but they are somebody else’s pages. The making is the hobby.
Two things that are not the book but change it more
Vellum. One translucent sheet over a busy background quiets it and makes handwriting readable. It is the cheapest single improvement available and it works in any book.
A press. Not a real one — two heavy books and a night. Every wet page pressed flat overnight is a page that does not buckle, and buckling is the main way a good journal turns into an unusable brick.
If you would rather not choose
A kit removes the decision and makes sure the components suit each other. Our junk journal starter kit is a notebook, vellum pockets, die cuts and washi in one box, and the rest of the range is in junk journal supplies.
Or make one
The honest answer for a first book is that the best journal for junk journaling is one you made, because you chose the paper and you are not precious about it. How to make a junk journal covers it, including a fifteen-minute one-signature version.
Then 25 page ideas for what to put in it.