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Dreading university or school? Or trying to motivate yourself to go back to work after summer vacations? The right stationery can help.
People around the world have found ways to improve their productivity with ingenious updates to standard stationery items. For instance, why use a regular pen, when you can use a smart one that sends your notes right to your laptop? And if you’d like to make your notes more relevant, you could use a sticker printer that instantly prints out diagrams and images from text books that can help aid you in comprehension and memorisation.
TikTok and other social platforms are full of useful stationery discoveries. We scoured social media trends and Amazon’s user reviews to pick the best ingenious stationery that can motivate you to work harder and smarter than ever before.
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1. Best Smart Pen: Moleskine Pen+ Ellipse
Pros
- Works seamlessly with app
- Comfortable to use over time
- Digital transfer is easy and efficient
Cons
- Can only be used with Ncode notebooks
- Pen shape can feel awkward initially
In a digital era where we’ve become so disconnected from the tactile serenity of ink and paper, Italian company Moleskine is trying to bring back this age-old connection. The Pen+ Ellipse feels like a premium product, with a metal body; on one end is a micro-USB charging port, power button and LED power indicator. On the other is not just a nib but also a small camera that tracks the paper. Although its rectangular body shape does take some getting used to, reviewers say it’s comfortable to hold for prolonged periods. Do note that the Pen+ Ellipse only works with Moleskine’s specialised ‘paper tablet’ notebooks, which feature Ncode smart paper – so you’ll need to buy it separately. Once connected to the M+ Notes smart app, all your scribblings are quickly synced in real time, and it’s even possible to edit notes and add audio. You can also email your notes to other people with the click of a button. It’s a great device to bridge the digital and paper world, and especially useful for people in creative fields.
Bonus: Buy with 0% installments and pay Dh138.67 for 12 months with select banks.
2. Best Highlighter: ScanMarker Air Digital Highlighter Pen
Pros
- Portable design
- Translates text to over 50 languages
- Audio playback in real time
- Fast, accurate scanning
Cons
- Not as quick as reading
- Better suited to right-handed people
Forget multi-coloured highlighters. The ScanMarker Air can scan specific sentences for you and instantly make it appear on your screen, at 3,000 characters per minute. It can even translate the text to over 50 languages, thanks to its accurate and fast multilingual optical character recognition software. If you’re looking to memorise certain paragraphs from your textbook, the ScanMarker app will read the text back to you in real time, as you scan. Reviewers with dyslexia find this feature to be especially useful. The digital highlighter’s ultra-portable design makes it easy to take along with you to classes – you can scan wirelessly on the go, and transfer content to a PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet. Some reviewers do note that it’s not quicker than the average reading speed, and may be cumbersome for left-handed people.
Bonus: Buy with 0% installments and pay Dh55.75 for 12 months with select banks.
Warranty: The manufacturer provides one-year warranty. Amazon offers one-year extended warranty by Salama Care for Dh40, and two-year extended warranty for Dh66.
3. Best Sticker Printer: Memoking Sticker Printer
Pros
- Compact device
- No ink required
- Easy-to-use smartphone app
- Customisable stickers
Cons
- Only prints in black and white
A pocket printer that’s ideal for students of anatomy, geography, mathematics, chemistry or architecture, Memoking’s sticker printer lets you print diagrams or images that you can stick right beside your notes. It uses advanced thermal technology to do so, so you don’t need to bother with ink or toners. Just connect the printer to your Phomemo smartphone app via Bluetooth and work with hundreds of free templates and graphics – you can even combine text, pictures and tables. Mums in the reviews say they use it to create labels ahead of the school year, and also to print stickers when they’re organising storage boxes at home. Others say the app is easy to use and the printer is fast and pocket-sized for convenience. Do note, however, that it only prints in black and white.
Warranty: Amazon offers one-year extended warranty by Salama Care for Dh12, and two-year extended warranty for Dh19.
4. Best Smart Notebook: Rocketbook Fusion
Pros
- Seven different templates
- Easy to wipe clean and reuse
- Sends notes to cloud storage
Cons
- Must wait for page to completely dry before using it again
Laptops are great for taking notes in class, but if you need to sketch quick diagrams, annotate your notes, add ideas in margins, make flow charts, or highlight important test dates, get a smart notebook. Rocketbook Fusion allows you to fill its 42 pages with notes and then transport them into cloud storage, like Google Drive, Dropbox and iCloud. The environmentally friendly notebook has seven different page templates for planning, listing, sketching, note-taking and more. Just allow 15 seconds for ink to dry from any Pilot Frixion pen, marker or highlighter, so that it bonds to the pages. Then wipe it clean with a damp cloth, and voila! The page is as good as new. Thousands of reviewers use the Rocketbook Fusion for their daily notes, and say they can’t do without it.
5. Best Stapler: Plus Japan Staple-Free Stapler
Are you forever running out of staples? Opt for this Tik-Tok trending stapler that fastens up to 10 papers without the use of any staples. Reviewers say it doesn’t require as much force as a regular stapler, and it also makes shredding documents easy, since you don’t have to spend time removing staples. Since there’s a gauge included to punch your documents when needed, it’s both a stapler and punch machine in one convenient gadget. Moreover, you don’t have to worry about young children injuring themselves with metallic staple pins when you leave this stapler out on your desk.
6. Best Sticky Notes: Innox Electrostatic Sticky Notes
If you’re frustrated with important notes falling off because they’re not as ‘sticky’ as you’d like, consider Innox’s innovative sticky notes. Thanks to electrostatic charging, they hold tight to any surface without the use of adhesives. They’re incredibly versatile; you can stick them onto walls, windows, metal, textiles, cork boards, bricks, leather, wood, plastic, stone and lots more surfaces. Removing them is easy as well, and they don’t damage the surface. Choose from a variety of colours and organise all your thoughts with ease, thanks to Innox!
7. Best Planner: Yuc Magnetic Dry Erase Weekly Calendar
If your children’s extracurriculars and play dates are leaving your head spinning, stay organised with a magnetic weekly planner. Yuc’s planner uses strong magnets to attach to steel surfaces – perfect for the refrigerator – and its rounded corners are useful when you’d like to remove the planner. The dry erase board comes with four markers and a magnetic eraser. Keep everything in one place, and use frequently! Reviewers say the board is made with quality materials; many home cooks use it for meal planning as well.
Our recommendations are independently chosen by Gulf News editors. If you decide to shop through links on our website, we may earn an affiliate commission, as we are part of Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.
