While multimedia notetaking and sketching continue to drive professional tablet sales, the ability to pull the best from both worlds—the immediate digitization of analog sketches created with physical media—still leaves a lot to be desired.

In the Spring of 2016, Moleskine released what we declared “The Best Analog/Digital Sketchbook of Them All” in the form of the Smart Writing Set; an analog notebook system that enables users to digitally archive, edit, and share real-time paper sketches without the pain point of taking a photo, scanning loose documents, and uploading files to the Cloud.

“We see demand for our paper-based collections grow in double digits year after year, showing the continued relevance of paper in the digital age”, declared Moleskine CEO Arrigo Berni. “On the other end, we are well aware of all the advantages of digital, for editing, curating and sharing. This is why we see analog and digital as a continuum.”

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But, it was an experience reserved only for iOS and Android users. As of today, through a collaboration with Microsoft, users can now pull live analog sketches into their Windows 10 environment directly from the analog Smart Writing Set.

While it was powerful for users to pull analog sketches onto their mobile devices, the ability to pull directly into a more robust operating system allows for designers and engineers (in particular) to send their sketches in real-time to their Surface device. Better yet, a “Collaborative Ideation” feature allows for up to six team members to collaborate in real-time a la Google Docs.

Of course, if you already have a Surface device, you can just write directly on the screen—but then again, if it’s this easy, why not just go back to paper again?

While Moleskine’s Notes app for Windows 10 is free, the Paper Tablet notebook and Pen+ will set you back $199—with Replacement Smart Planners costing a more economical $29.90 apiece. Find out more over at Moleskine.

Author

Simon is a Brooklyn-based industrial designer and Managing Editor of EVD Media. When he finds the time to design, his focus is on helping startups develop branding and design solutions to realize their product design vision. In addition to his work at Nike and various other clients, he is the main reason anything gets done at EvD Media. He once wrestled an Alaskan alligator buzzard to the ground with his bare hands… to rescue Josh.