About Post-it
Post-it Notes began with a failed adhesive. In 1968, 3M scientist Spencer Silver developed a reusable, low-tack adhesive made of tiny acrylic microspheres, strong enough to hold paper but weak enough to peel away without tearing or residue. Nobody at 3M could find a use for it until 1974, when fellow researcher Art Fry, frustrated that his hymnal bookmarks kept falling out during choir practice, realized Silver's adhesive would hold a bookmark in place and release cleanly. 3M test-marketed the idea as Press 'n Peel in four cities in 1977, then relaunched it nationally as Post-it Notes on April 6, 1980. The original canary-yellow design is now part of the Museum of Modern Art's permanent design collection.
In our own testing, Post-it's Super Sticky line, introduced with a 2X-strength adhesive formulated for vertical and hard-to-stick surfaces, drew the deepest review base of any product in our sticky notes roundup. The brand's 100% recycled paper line carries Forest Stewardship Council certification for paper sourced from responsibly managed forests, with no change to the Super Sticky adhesive performance. Post-it remains part of 3M, the Minnesota-based manufacturer whose adhesive research produced the original microsphere technology.
Brand website: post-it.com
What Post-it makes
Post-it's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Super Sticky Notes
2X-strength adhesive formulated for vertical and hard-to-stick surfaces, sold in standard 3x3 and larger lined formats — featured on DeskRated
Original Notes
the canary-yellow, standard-adhesive pad introduced nationally in 1980, held in MoMA's permanent design collection — featured on DeskRated
100% Recycled Super Sticky Notes
full Super Sticky adhesive on paper sourced from FSC-certified, responsibly managed forests — featured on DeskRated
Pop-up Notes & Dispensers
accordion-folded refills for one-handed, no-pad dispensing — featured on DeskRated
Transparent Notes
see-through film notes for annotating printed pages without covering the text — featured on DeskRated
Tabs & Flags
durable, writable indexing tabs for books, binders, and planners — featured on DeskRated
Why we recognized Post-it
The DeskRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. Post-it earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, used at a real desk, and judged on merit.
Post-it products we rated highly
Post-it Super Sticky Notes, 24 Pads, 3x3 in., Supernova Neons
In our testing, this carried the deepest review base of any product in the sticky notes roundup, with 2X sticking power that kept notes attached to monitors, walls, and glass where standard adhesive notes curl and fall. The 24-pad bulk pack delivers 1,680 total sheets in a vivid neon assortment suited to color-coded task systems.
Read the 10 Best Sticky Notes of 2026 guide →
Post-it Super Sticky Lined Notes, 4x6 in., 5 Pads
The lined 4x6 format gives four times the writing area of a standard 3x3 note, and the Super Sticky adhesive held firmly on whiteboards, monitor bezels, and cubicle walls in our testing. We found it suited to meeting action items and multi-step instructions that need more room than a quick scrawl.
Read the 10 Best Sticky Notes of 2026 guide →
Post-it Notes, 12 Pads, 3x3 in., Canary Yellow
The original Post-it design, introduced nationally in 1980 and now part of the Museum of Modern Art's permanent design collection, backed in our roundup by a review base past thirteen thousand. Clean removal without surface damage held up across painted walls, laminate, and glass in our testing.
Read the 10 Best Sticky Notes of 2026 guide →
Post-it 100% Recycled Paper Super Sticky Notes, 3x3 in., 5 Pads
Made with 100% recycled paper sourced from FSC-certified, responsibly managed forests, with the same Super Sticky 2X adhesive performance as the conventional line. In our testing, the Wanderlust Pastels palette offered a modern, less visually intense alternative to the neon packs with no adhesive compromise.
Read the 10 Best Sticky Notes of 2026 guide →
Post-it Cat Pop-up Note Dispenser
A weighted, one-handed pop-up dispenser that in our testing let users pull a note without putting down a phone or pen, refillable with any standard 3x3 Post-it Pop-up Notes. It carried the deepest review base of any dispenser-format product we evaluated in this category.
Read the 10 Best Sticky Notes of 2026 guide →
Post-it Transparent Sticky Notes, 2.8x2.8 in., 2 Pads
A see-through film note that in our testing was the only format able to annotate printed pages, textbooks, and documents without covering the text underneath, useful for borrowed or rented books where writing directly on the page is not an option.
Read the 10 Best Sticky Notes of 2026 guide →
Post-it Tabs, 1 in. Solid, 6 Colors, 36 Tabs per Dispenser
Durable, writable film tabs that in our testing survived repeated page-flipping without tearing, giving a six-color indexing system for books, binders, and planners straight out of the dispenser.
Read the 10 Best Sticky Notes of 2026 guide →What earned Post-it the recognition
- Post-it's Super Sticky line drew the deepest review base of any product in our sticky notes roundup, built on a 2X adhesive formula engineered for vertical surfaces like monitors, walls, and glass.
- The original canary-yellow Post-it Note, launched nationally on April 6, 1980, is held in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent design collection.
- Post-it's 100% recycled paper line carries Forest Stewardship Council certification for paper sourced from responsibly managed forests, with no change to Super Sticky adhesive performance.
- The brand's range in our testing spans six distinct formats, from classic pads and Super Sticky to transparent notes and writable indexing tabs, each suited to a different posting surface or annotation need.
- Backed by 3M, whose research produced the original reusable microsphere adhesive in 1968 that Post-it Notes still use today.