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New Zealand Stationery Codes
Each letter and number has its own meaning, as set out
in NZS 8132:1984 – Specification for school stationery:
Specifies the basic requirements for stationery for use in primary and post-primary schools. Covers a comprehensive range of stationery which provides a selection considered to be sufficiently wide for all classroom purposes. The range of sizes and number of leaves was based upon the results of discussions held between the Department of Education and teachers` organizations.
Update, December 2019: There is now an undated warning on the standard's page. (Update, April 2021: The standard may have been withdrawn on the most recent publication date, 8 Sept 2014. It's a pity it doesn't make that clear. The withdrawal – and why – was not mentioned on the NZS news and updates page.)
Warning: This document has been withdrawn without replacement. You may wish to search for a more up to date equivalent.
There appears to be no "more up to date equivalent".
Each code has
three parts:
- First code: Style ("product group") – notebook, exercise book,
pad, etc.
- Second code: Lines ("inner format") – what sort of lines are
drawn on the pages.
- Third code: Size ("finished size") – how big the item is.
Sometimes these codes don't describe a stationery item perfectly and
variations of particular items are available. Some of these are listed
under Notes.
BTW, "stationary" means not moving; exercise books are "stationery".
Stationery is bought from a stationer.
When buying stationery at a start-of-year sale, be aware that more specialised items are unlikely to be part of the sale, and thus will not be reduced in price.
First Code: Style
The first number indicates what style the stationery is, such as a notebook,
exercise book, pad, etc.
- Soft cover exercise book
- Hard cover exercise book
- Soft cover notebook
- Hard cover notebook
- Soft cover index notebook
- Hard cover indexed notebook
- Lecture pad, left bound with cover(?), punched, (75 leaves?)
- Spiral bound
- Top opening pad, unpunched
- Top opening pad, unpunched, newsprint
- Top opening pad, unpunched, typing, (75 leaves?)
- Loose leaf binder
- Unused?
- Loose leaf refill, left bound with no front cover, punched
- Subject dividers, punched
- Journal covers
- Drawing block, punched
- Drawing wallet
- Drawing folio
- Unused?
- Loose leaf refill, reinforced punched
Second Code: Lines
The middle letter indicates what sort of lines the pages have – whether
the book or pad is ruled (lined), squared, blank, or a mixture of ruled
and blank, and what spacing the lines are.
- Blank
- Ruled 7 mm
- Blank, cartridge paper (110 gsm)
- Double ledger
- Quad 7 mm
- Ruled 12 mm
- Ruled 25 mm
- Quad 10 mm
- Ruled 9 mm
- Quad 5 mm
- Quad 2 mm + 10 mm
- Science – one page ruled 7 mm (ruled 9 mm versions exist), one page
blank
- Music staves
- Natural manila (eg, drawing wallets)
- Unused
- Accounting – ledger, ruled 7 mm
- Accounting – journal, 2 column analysis, ruled 7 mm
- Accounting – treble cash, 3 column analysis, ruled 7 mm
- Accounting – 8 column analysis, ruled 7 mm
- Accounting – 14 column analysis, ruled 7 mm
- Top 1/3 blank, bottom 2/3 ruled 12 mm
- Unruled bank paper (light weight)
- Unruled bond paper (80 gsm)
- Trunkboard
- Coverboard
- Coloured manila (eg, subject dividers)
Third Code: Size
The last number indicates the size of the item.
- Notebook bound at left
90 mm x 155 mm (soft cover)
100 mm x 165 mm (soft cover indexed)
105 mm x 170 mm (indexed – soft cover or
hard cover)
- 125 mm x 202 mm
- Notebook bound at top, 100 mm x 165-170 mm
- Small exercise book, 180 mm x 230 mm
- Standard exercise book, 205 mm x 255 mm
- F4, 210 mm x 330 mm (approximately foolscap folio size)
- A5, 148.5 mm x 210 mm
- A4, 210 mm x 297 mm
- A3, 420 mm x 297 mm
- A2, 594 mm x 420 mm
Notes
- The only difference I've found between 7B8 and 14B8 appears to be
the cover and the number of leaves.
- A version of 1E5 (quad 7 mm exercise book) is available with pale pink
margins at the left and middle of each page.
- With paper weights, the abbreviation "gsm" is normally used for "grams
per square metre" instead of the more technically correct g/m2 (or even g·m-2).
- More information is available in the Wikipedia article New
Zealand standard for school stationery.
Where to Buy
You probably won't be able to find all the above items even if you wanted to buy them, but for general stationery needs I recommend Stationery Online – www.stationeryonline.co.nz. The company owner gives the best service I've ever seen (especially if the courier stuffs up). In particular, I recommend the Reflex 100% recycled copy paper.
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