Free design proof on every custom order: no templates, no stock SKUs
Custom notepads pair a stack of printed sheets with a stiff cardboard backing, glued along the top edge so each page tears away cleanly without leaving a ragged edge behind. Choose your sheet size, page count and ruling (lined, blank or a light grid), and we'll print your logo and contact details on every sheet or just the backer. A practical everyday item for a desk, a reception counter, or a branded giveaway that actually gets used.
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A notepad is a simple piece of construction (a stack of sheets glued along one edge to a stiffer backing board) but that simplicity is exactly why it works so well as a branded item. Unlike a flyer or a card that gets glanced at once, a notepad sits on a desk and gets used repeatedly: for phone messages, meeting notes, to-do lists, quick sketches. Every time a sheet gets torn off and used, whatever's printed on it (a logo, a tagline, a phone number) gets another look, which is part of why notepads remain a common giveaway at trade shows, client meetings and office supply orders.
Construction starts with the backing. A stiff chipboard or heavyweight cardboard base keeps the pad rigid enough to write on without a hard surface underneath, which matters if it's meant to be used standing up, in a meeting, or away from a desk. The sheets themselves are typically a lighter text-weight paper, commonly in the 20 lb to 24 lb range. Light enough to keep the pad from getting bulky at 25, 50 or 100 sheets, but substantial enough that ink or pencil doesn't bleed through to the sheet underneath. Padding glue along the top or side edge holds the stack together while still allowing individual sheets to tear away cleanly, without the ragged, torn-corner look of a spiral or stapled pad.
Layout options are worth deciding before ordering. A lined or grid pattern is common for anything meant to replace a standard legal pad, while a blank sheet suits sketching, diagrams or a more open note-taking format. Branding usually appears as a printed header (logo and contact details at the top of every page) or, for a lighter touch, printed only on the chipboard backer so the writing sheets stay completely blank. Some orders include a light background graphic on every sheet, which keeps the brand visible even after most of the pad has been used and torn away.
Sizing depends mostly on intended use: a small 4 x 6 pad fits a coat pocket or reception desk for quick messages, while a full letter-size 8.5 x 11 pad functions as a legal-pad replacement for meetings and daily planning. Order quantity is worth thinking through in terms of sheet count per pad as well as number of pads. A 50-sheet pad handed out as a giveaway lasts longer in front of a client than a thin 25-sheet version, and a heavier sheet count on the backing board keeps a well-used pad from curling or splitting at the spine before it's finished.
Notepad sheets have one requirement above all: they have to take a pen without the ink bleeding through to the sheet below. That means uncoated, and it means enough substance to stop show-through. Bond weights around 80 to 100gsm are the working range. Light enough that a pad holds a useful number of sheets, heavy enough that a ballpoint does not print onto page two.
Why does ink show through my notepad? Stock too light, or coated. Uncoated at 90gsm and above stops most bleed-through from an ordinary ballpoint.
Most notepads print in one or two colors, because the sheet is a background for handwriting rather than a piece of display print. A header carrying a logo and contact details is the usual arrangement, sometimes with a faint ruled grid or lines. Heavy ink coverage is counterproductive here. It makes the sheet harder to write on and read back.
Should the whole sheet be printed? No. The sheet is for writing on. Keep printing to a header and any ruling, and leave the working area clear.
The stiff board glued behind the last sheet is what makes a pad usable away from a desk. It gives a writing surface, stops the pad curling and holds the block square as sheets are torn away. Chipboard is standard; a printed backing board is available and is one of the few places on a notepad where extra branding is actually seen.
Do I need a backing board? If the pad is used anywhere but a desk, yes. It is the writing surface. Without one the pad flops and curls.
Sheets are glued along one edge with a flexible padding compound that holds the block together but releases one sheet cleanly at a time. Getting that balance right is the whole craft of a notepad: too much and sheets tear raggedly or lift in pairs, too little and the pad sheds. The glued edge also decides orientation. Top-glued for most uses, side-glued where the pad is used like a book.
Why do two sheets come off at once? Over-glued padding. It is a tuned specification. Tell us if a previous supplier got it wrong and we will adjust.
Printed sheets padded onto a stiff backing board and glued along one edge so each page tears away cleanly. Everything is specified against how the pad is used: the trim size, the number of sheets per pad, whether it is ruled or plain, where the glued edge sits, and what the header carries. A desk pad, a counter pad and a pocket pad are the same product built to three different specifications.
How many sheets per pad? Depends how it is used. A counter pad wants to last; a giveaway pad wants to be cheap enough to hand out. Both are the same product.
Ask for samples and write on them with the pens you actually use. Show-through is the only thing that matters here and it cannot be judged on screen.
Sheets glued along one edge with a flexible compound that releases one sheet at a time. The balance is tuned. Too much glue and sheets lift in pairs, too little and the pad sheds. It is the one thing a notepad has to get right.
Stiff chipboard glued behind the block, giving a writing surface and holding the pad square. A printed backing board is one of the few places on a notepad where additional branding is genuinely seen.
Lines, grids or dot grids printed faintly enough not to compete with handwriting. Faint is the operative word. Ruling printed too strongly makes notes harder to read back than no ruling at all.
A perforated tear line for a cleaner edge than glue alone gives, or a printed cover flap that folds over the block to protect it in a bag.
It depends entirely on how it is used. A counter pad that has to last months wants a high sheet count; a giveaway pad wants to be cheap enough to hand out freely. Tell us the use and we will suggest a count rather than defaulting to one.
The stock is too light, or it is coated. Uncoated bond at 90gsm and above stops most bleed-through from an ordinary ballpoint. If your team uses fineliners or gel pens, mention it. Those need more stock.
Over-glued padding. It is a tuned specification rather than a fixed one, and a previous supplier getting it wrong is a common reason people change printer. Tell us and we will adjust the compound.
Top for most uses. Notes, messages, order pads. Side-glued works where the pad is used like a book and pages are turned rather than torn, which suits log books and record pads.
Pricing for custom notepads starts at $190 and moves with quantity, size, material and finish rather than sitting on a fixed list. Setup is shared across the run, so the per-unit price drops steeply as the quantity rises: the gap between a few hundred and a few thousand is usually the significant one. Send the size, quantity and what it has to do and you get a firm figure back, not a range.
There is a practical minimum rather than a hard one. Every run carries artwork checks, a proof and a press setup, so a very small quantity of custom notepads prices poorly per unit even though we will still make it. If you are ordering a small batch, ask for pricing at two or three quantities at once: the curve usually shows that a modest increase costs very little more in total.
The clock starts when you approve the proof, not when the order is placed, which is the part most people are surprised by. You get a proof first: a digital proof of the sheet with the header, any ruling and the glued edge marked, so you can see how much clear writing area actually remains once the printing is in place. Turnaround after approval depends on the finish: anything laminated, foiled or die-cut adds a stage that cannot be compressed without causing problems later. Tell us the date you actually need them and we will work backwards from it rather than quoting a generic lead time.
Print-ready artwork with bleed and a safe margin, supplied as a PDF, AI or EPS. Photographic elements should be supplied at the resolution the finished size needs, not the resolution that looks sharp on screen. If your file is not print-ready, say so when you order. We would rather fix it before the proof than after the run.
Yes. Your size, sheet count and header is the standard build, and the dimensions around it are yours to set. A size that sits efficiently on the press sheet often costs no more than a standard one, while an awkward proportion that wastes half the sheet does. Ask before you commit and we will tell you whether a small change to the dimensions saves a disproportionate amount.
In most cases they are the same product under a different name: the trade uses several terms for it depending on the region and the supplier. What actually defines this one is the build: your size, sheets and header. Order it when a desk, counter or giveaway pad. If you have seen it called custom notepads printing elsewhere, describe what it has to do rather than which name you found, and we will match the specification.
Yes. We provide free samples, and on custom notepads it is worth asking for one, because the difference between bond and bond is obvious in the hand and invisible on a screen. Most orders run on bond, but ask for whichever you are weighing up. You also get a free design proof before anything goes to press, so nothing is printed that you have not seen.
The usual choices are padding, backing board, ruling and grids. Finish is not decoration on this product so much as a decision about how long it survives and how it reads in the hand, so it is worth choosing against the job rather than the budget. Tell us where the finished piece ends up and we will say which finish is doing real work and which is only adding cost.
Yes, and that is what almost every order here is. Nothing in this catalogue is a stock item: custom notepads are manufactured to the specification you give us, with your artwork on them. Send your logo as vector artwork where you have it, since that scales to any size without softening. If all you have is a low-resolution file, tell us and we will say what it needs before it reaches the press.
Yes, and a repeat run is simpler than the first one. We keep your approved specification on file, so a reorder skips the setup decisions and goes straight to production. If nothing about the artwork or the specification has changed, there is nothing to re-approve. Tell us the previous order and we will match it rather than starting the specification again.
Yes. Regalo Print has been producing custom commercial print for businesses across the USA and Canada since 2008, and every order ships tracked. The tracking number reaches you the day the job leaves, not the day it arrives. If you are working to a fixed date, say so when you order so the production schedule is built around the delivery date rather than the other way round.
