B5 Leather Journals

B5 Leather Journal Covers: the Composition-Book Size

B5 is the size most Americans already own without knowing its name — it is what a composition book is, near enough. It gives you a full working page without the desk-only commitment of A4. Every cover here is full-grain Crazy Horse leather, measures 7.5" × 10.6" (19.0 × 27 cm) closed, and holds the paper on elastic bands so the cover outlives the notebook. A dated weekly or monthly insert turns it into a B5 planner cover without anything about the leather changing.

What Size Is a B5 Notebook? Inches, Centimeters and Millimeters

B5 means two different things depending on which side of the world the notebook was printed on. Both are sold as B5:

• ISO B5 — 6.9" × 9.8", 17.6 × 25 cm, 176 × 250 mm. The European standard.
• JIS B5 — 7.2" × 10.1", 18.2 × 25.7 cm, 182 × 257 mm. The Japanese standard, 6 mm wider and 7 mm taller. This is the campus and university notebook size in Japan.
• Leuchtturm1917 Composition B5 — 7.0" × 10.0", 17.8 × 25.4 cm, 178 × 254 mm. Their own size, sitting between the two standards.
• The Asperaria B5 cover — 7.5" × 10.6", 19.0 × 27 cm, 190 × 270 mm, measured closed. That is the leather, not the page.

The cover is cut for ISO B5, so an ISO notebook sits with roughly 1 cm of leather on every side. A JIS B5 or a Composition B5 still goes on the elastics, but it lands closer to the cover edges.

Is B5 Bigger Than A5? Is B5 the Same as A4?

Bigger than A5, smaller than A4 — B5 is the step between them, which is the whole reason to choose it:

• A5 — 5.8" × 8.3" (14.8 × 21 cm). B5 gives roughly 40% more page. See A5 leather journals.
• Sketchbook — 6" × 9" (15.2 × 22.9 cm), between A5 and B5 and cut for sketchbooks. See Sketchbook size.
• B5 (ISO) — 6.9" × 9.8" (17.6 × 25 cm).
• A4 — 8.3" × 11.7" (21 × 29.7 cm). A4 is roughly 40% larger again, and matches printer paper exactly. See A4 leather journals.
• B6 — 4.9" × 6.9" (12.5 × 17.6 cm), the next B size down and a pocket format. See B6 leather journals.

No, B5 is not A4 and the two are not interchangeable: a sheet of printer paper will not fold into a B5 cover. If you need to carry printed documents, take A4.

Is B5 a Normal Notebook Size?

In the United States, yes — closer than any A size. A standard composition book is about 7.5" × 9.75" (19 × 24.8 cm), which is within a few millimeters of ISO B5 in width and a little shorter. In Japan B5 is the default school and university notebook. It is only in Europe that B5 counts as unusual, because A5 and A4 dominate there. So a B5 journal cover is, for most Americans, a composition-book cover under a name they have not met.

What Fits a B5 Notebook Cover

• Any ISO B5 notebook — 176 × 250 mm, the size this cover is cut for.
• Leuchtturm1917 Composition B5 — 178 × 254 mm.
• Kokuyo Campus B5, Stalogy 365Days B5, Apica CD-15 and other Japanese campus notebooks — JIS B5 or a few millimeters under it. They fit, sitting nearer the cover edges.
• Does not fit: most US composition books — about 190 × 248 mm, as wide as this cover. They go in our A4 cover with room around them.
• B5 sketchbooks and watercolor pads — anything up to roughly 185 × 260 mm will sit on the bands.

B5 as a Refillable Traveler’s Notebook

B5 is not the classic traveler’s notebook shape, but the mechanism is the same: elastic bands down the spine, two or three booklets at once, and a cover you keep for years. It gives you a traveler’s setup at working-document scale rather than pocket scale.

• Notebook refills — B5 paper in lined, plain, colored and 250 gsm watercolor.
• Journal inserts and organizers — zip pouches, card slots and folders on the same bands.
• Pen cases and pen holders — a holder rides on the cover, a case travels separately.
• Journal charms and bookmark clips for the closure and the page.

For the traditional tall, narrow traveler’s format, see Regular size instead.

B5 covers come in two shapes too: a bifold, closing edge to edge with nothing over the front, or a trifold, where a flap overlaps the front and carries the extra pockets. Compare them in bifold leather journals and trifold leather journals.

B5 in Six Leather Colors

Every B5 leather notebook cover is cut from the same full-grain Crazy Horse hide in six colors. Black Onyx, Chestnut brown, Forest Green, Bordeaux burgundy, Cognac and Caramel. The whole range sits on the leather journals hub, and any of them can be personalized with laser engraving, heat stamping or gold and silver foil.