{"id":41959,"date":"2014-11-21T21:53:19","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T16:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=41959"},"modified":"2026-10-15T14:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T08:42:16","slug":"moleskine-smart-notebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/11\/moleskine-smart-notebook\/","title":{"rendered":"Moleskine Smart Notebook: The Adobe Sketchbook and Smart Options Today"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <strong>Moleskine Smart Notebook<\/strong> was a paper sketchbook made with Adobe in 2014 that let you photograph your drawings and turn them into editable vector files in Adobe Creative Cloud. This article explains how it worked, what replaced it, and the best ways to digitise handwritten notes and sketches today.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-67239\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/moleskine-smart-notebook-2026-1024x538.webp\" alt=\"Moleskine Smart Notebook then and now\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/moleskine-smart-notebook-2026-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/moleskine-smart-notebook-2026-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/moleskine-smart-notebook-2026-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/moleskine-smart-notebook-2026-768x403.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/moleskine-smart-notebook-2026.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> The 2014 Moleskine Smart Notebook used special page marks so a phone app could photograph a sketch and convert it into a vector file for Photoshop or Illustrator. Today Moleskine&#8217;s smart products use the Pen+ Ellipse smart pen, special notebooks and the Moleskine Notes app instead. For turning sketches into vectors, Adobe Capture now does the job with any paper.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad97cc38c692\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad97cc38c692\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/11\/moleskine-smart-notebook\/#How_the_Moleskine_Smart_Notebook_worked\" >How the Moleskine Smart Notebook worked<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/11\/moleskine-smart-notebook\/#Moleskine_Smart_Notebook_options_today\" >Moleskine Smart Notebook options today<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/11\/moleskine-smart-notebook\/#How_to_turn_paper_sketches_into_vectors_today\" >How to turn paper sketches into vectors today<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/11\/moleskine-smart-notebook\/#Other_ways_to_digitise_handwritten_notes\" >Other ways to digitise handwritten notes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/11\/moleskine-smart-notebook\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/11\/moleskine-smart-notebook\/#Is_the_Moleskine_Smart_Notebook_still_sold\" >Is the Moleskine Smart Notebook still sold?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/11\/moleskine-smart-notebook\/#Do_I_need_a_special_notebook_for_the_Pen_Ellipse\" >Do I need a special notebook for the Pen+ Ellipse?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/11\/moleskine-smart-notebook\/#Can_I_convert_a_sketch_to_a_vector_without_a_smart_notebook\" >Can I convert a sketch to a vector without a smart notebook?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/11\/moleskine-smart-notebook\/#Did_the_2014_Smart_Notebook_need_a_Creative_Cloud_membership\" >Did the 2014 Smart Notebook need a Creative Cloud membership?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_the_Moleskine_Smart_Notebook_worked\"><\/span>How the Moleskine Smart Notebook worked<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-41961\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/moleskine-smart-notebook.png\" alt=\"Moleskine Smart Notebook Creative Cloud connected sketchbook\" width=\"498\" height=\"170\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/moleskine-smart-notebook.png 498w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/moleskine-smart-notebook-150x51.png 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/moleskine-smart-notebook-300x102.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Moleskine is famous for its classic notebooks, and in November 2014 it announced a &#8220;Creative Cloud connected&#8221; Smart Notebook made with Adobe. You could not simply photograph any page with any app: the notebook&#8217;s pages had special marks at the corners. These marks helped the companion iPhone app find the page, straighten the photo and process it correctly.<\/p>\n<p>The app then turned your drawing into a vector (SVG) file and synced it to your Adobe Creative Cloud account, which required a membership. From there you could open and edit the sketch in Adobe Photoshop CC or Adobe Illustrator CC. The notebook itself was a hardcover with a custom Adobe design and a red ribbon bookmark.<\/p>\n<p>For designers who sketch on paper first, it promised a much faster route from a rough drawing to a digital file.<\/p>\n<p>Moleskine&#8217;s own video showed it in action:<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"entry-content-asset videofit\"><iframe title=\"The Moleskine Smart Notebook, Creative Cloud connected.\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KYdu_mrVjEM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Moleskine_Smart_Notebook_options_today\"><\/span>Moleskine Smart Notebook options today<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Creative Cloud notebook was a product of its time. Moleskine&#8217;s current smart range is built around the <strong>Smart Writing Set<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pen+ Ellipse:<\/strong> a Bluetooth smart pen with a tiny camera that reads a dot pattern printed on the page, so it records your strokes as you write.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Paper Tablet notebooks and smart planners:<\/strong> the special paper the pen needs. Ordinary Moleskine notebooks don&#8217;t work with it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Moleskine Notes app:<\/strong> shows your pages on your phone, can convert handwriting into typed text and can export pages, for example as PDF.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can find the set on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.moleskine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Moleskine<\/a> website or browse the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/go\/moleskine-smart-writing-set\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"sponsored nofollow noopener\">Moleskine Smart Writing Set on Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_turn_paper_sketches_into_vectors_today\"><\/span>How to turn paper sketches into vectors today<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You no longer need special paper to vectorise a drawing. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/products\/capture.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Adobe Capture<\/a> is a mobile app that turns a photo of an image into a clean, scalable vector and saves it to your Creative Cloud Libraries, ready for Illustrator, Photoshop and other Adobe apps.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Draw on plain white paper with a dark pen or marker for good contrast.<\/li>\n<li>Photograph the page in even light, without shadows.<\/li>\n<li>Open Adobe Capture and choose the vector (shapes) option.<\/li>\n<li>Adjust the detail and clean up stray marks.<\/li>\n<li>Save it to a library and open it in Illustrator to edit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_ways_to_digitise_handwritten_notes\"><\/span>Other ways to digitise handwritten notes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Scan with your phone:<\/strong> scanning apps can straighten a page and create a PDF, and many can recognise text. See our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/01\/document-imaging-software\/\">document imaging software<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use a paper tablet:<\/strong> e-ink devices such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2024\/01\/remarkable-2-paper-tablet\/\">reMarkable 2 paper tablet<\/a> feel like paper but save everything digitally.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Write on a tablet:<\/strong> an iPad or Android tablet with a stylus lets you sketch directly in apps like Illustrator or Procreate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_the_Moleskine_Smart_Notebook_still_sold\"><\/span>Is the Moleskine Smart Notebook still sold?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The 2014 Creative Cloud connected edition was a launch product of its time. Moleskine&#8217;s current smart products are the Smart Writing Set and its compatible Paper Tablets and planners.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_I_need_a_special_notebook_for_the_Pen_Ellipse\"><\/span>Do I need a special notebook for the Pen+ Ellipse?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. The pen reads a dot pattern printed on Moleskine&#8217;s smart paper, so regular notebooks won&#8217;t work.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_I_convert_a_sketch_to_a_vector_without_a_smart_notebook\"><\/span>Can I convert a sketch to a vector without a smart notebook?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Adobe Capture can turn a photo of any drawing into a vector for use in Creative Cloud apps.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Did_the_2014_Smart_Notebook_need_a_Creative_Cloud_membership\"><\/span>Did the 2014 Smart Notebook need a Creative Cloud membership?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. The vector files synced to Adobe Creative Cloud, so you needed a membership to edit them in Photoshop or Illustrator.<\/p>\n<p>Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, QuickOnlineTips earns from qualifying purchases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Moleskine Smart Notebook was a paper sketchbook made with Adobe in 2014 that let you photograph your drawings and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":67239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gadgets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41959"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67241,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41959\/revisions\/67241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}