--- title: "Post-it Notes 654: 3 × 3 in Pads, Sheets & Stickiness" canonical: "https://stationerytimes.com/guides/post-it-notes-654/" description: "Post-it Notes 654 explained: the 3 × 3 in (76 mm) Canary Yellow pad, 100 sheets, Original vs Super Sticky, other sizes, recycling and where 3M makes it." category: "Accessories" type: "Sticky notes" published: 2026-10-20 updated: 2026-10-20 author: "Ellis Penhale" publisher: "Stationery Times" sources: 10 products: - name: "Post-it Notes 654, 3 × 3 in, Canary Yellow (100 sheets per pad)" brand: "Post-it" brand_origin: "United States" made_in: "United States" material: "Paper (100% PEFC-certified, per 3M) with a repositionable adhesive strip" released: "1980-04-06" price_band: "$ (under $5 per item, typical US retail, October 2026)" manufacturer: "3M Company (Maplewood, Minnesota)" model: "654" mpn: "654-14+4YW (18-pad pack)" sku: "7010369467" gtin: "00051141915159" url: "https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v000315789/" --- # Post-it Notes 654: 3 × 3 in Pads, Sheets & Stickiness > Post-it Notes 654 is 3M's standard 3 × 3 in (76 × 76 mm) sticky note: a pad of 100 unruled Canary Yellow sheets held by a strip of repositionable adhesive along the top of each sheet's back. It's the classic Post-it size, sold singly or in packs of up to 24 pads, made in the USA, per 3M. - URL: https://stationerytimes.com/guides/post-it-notes-654/ - Category: Accessories - Author: Ellis Penhale - Published: 2026-10-20 - Updated: 2026-10-20 ![Post-it Notes 654 drawn to scale: a 76 × 76 mm (3 × 3 in) Canary Yellow pad with its top sheet curling, and one note peeled off with an adhesive band along its top edge](https://stationerytimes.com/images/raster/post-it-notes-654-16x9.png) *The 654 pad is 76 mm (3 in) square, with glue only along the top of each sheet (drawn at 1 mm = 2.4 px).* Original drawing (SVG): https://stationerytimes.com/images/post-it-notes-654-cover.svg. Drawings © 2026 Stationery Times, reusable with credit under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ## Product facts | Product | Brand | Brand origin | Made in | Material | Released | Price range (typical US retail, October 2026) | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Post-it Notes 654, 3 × 3 in, Canary Yellow (100 sheets per pad) | Post-it (by 3M Company (Maplewood, Minnesota)) | United States | United States | Paper (100% PEFC-certified, per 3M) with a repositionable adhesive strip | 1980-04-06 | $: under $5 per item | - Made in (Post-it Notes 654, 3 × 3 in, Canary Yellow (100 sheets per pad)): United States. 3M's US product pages for the 654-14+4YW Canary Yellow pack and the 654-12SSCY Super Sticky pack say "Made in the USA with globally sourced materials"; Staples also marks the 654-12YW pack "Made in America". Source: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v000315789/ ## Key takeaways - Each 654 pad is 3 × 3 in (76 × 76 mm) with 100 sheets; 3M sells it singly and in 12-, 18- and 24-pad packs. - Super Sticky pads in the same 3 × 3 in size carry 90 or 70 sheets, and 3M says they stick twice as well as the Originals. - The 653 is the small size at 1 3/8 × 1 7/8 in (34.9 × 47.6 mm); the 655 is 3 × 5 in. - Post-it Notes debuted in US stores on April 6, 1980, 3M says, after the 1978 "Boise Blitz" sampling test in Boise, Idaho. - 3M's US pages say the 654 is made in the USA with globally sourced materials, on 100% PEFC-certified paper. ## What is Post-it Notes 654? **It's 3M's standard square sticky note: a 3 × 3 in pad of 100 Canary Yellow sheets.** Each sheet has a band of repositionable adhesive along the top of its back, so it lifts off cleanly and sticks again. "654" is 3M's size code. Letters after it name the pack, so 654-12YW is 12 yellow pads and 654-14+4YW is 14 yellow pads plus 4 in bonus colors. ## Post-it Notes 654 specs | Spec | Value | |---|---| | Maker | 3M (Post-it brand) | | Size | 3 × 3 in (76 × 76 mm) | | Sheets per pad | 100 (Original); 90 or 70 (Super Sticky) | | Color | Canary Yellow (many other colors sold) | | Ruling | Unruled | | Adhesive | Repositionable strip on the back, top edge | | Packs | 1, 12, 18 or 24 pads | | Paper | 100% PEFC-certified; recyclable, per 3M | | Made in | USA, with globally sourced materials | | 3M ID / UPC (654-14+4YW, 18 pads) | 7010369467 / 00051141915159 | Everything in this table is from 3M's US product pages; Staples also lists the 12-pad 654-12YW. ![Post-it Notes sizes to scale: 653 at 34.9 × 47.6 mm, 654 at 76 × 76 mm with 100 sheets, 655 at 76 × 127 mm](https://stationerytimes.com/images/post-it-notes-654-sizes.svg) *The 654 sits between the small 653 and the 3 × 5 in 655. The lighter band marks the adhesive on the back.* ## Original or Super Sticky: which should you buy? **Buy the Original 654 for paper and desks, and Super Sticky for walls, monitors and anything vertical.** 3M says Super Sticky Notes have twice the sticking power of the original notes. The trade-off is sheet count. A Super Sticky 3 × 3 in pad has 90 or 70 sheets instead of 100, depending on the pack. ## What other Post-it sizes are there? **The main alternatives are the small 653 and the larger 3 × 5 in 655.** | Model | Size | Typical use | |---|---|---| | 653 | 1 3/8 × 1 7/8 in (34.9 × 47.6 mm) | Page markers, short reminders | | 654 | 3 × 3 in (76 × 76 mm) | To-dos, phone messages, planning walls | | 655 | 3 × 5 in (76 × 127 mm) | Lists, longer notes, index-card size | The 3 × 3 in square is the one most people mean by "a Post-it". For marking a place in a book without covering text, [Post-it Flags 680](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/post-it-flags-680/) are narrower and partly clear. ## Why are Post-it Notes yellow? **By chance: 3M's own history says the lab next door only had scrap yellow paper on hand.** The color stuck, and 3M now calls Canary Yellow "the color that started it all". Spencer Silver, a 3M scientist, made the weak, reusable adhesive in 1968. Art Fry had the idea in 1973, according to MNopedia, the Minnesota Historical Society's encyclopedia, to put it on bookmarks for his choir hymnal. 3M tested the product as Press 'n Peel in four cities, then ran the "Boise Blitz" sampling test in Boise, Idaho, in 1978. 3M says 90% of people who tried it said they'd buy it, and Post-it Notes debuted in US stores on April 6, 1980. ## Which pen works best on Post-it Notes? **A quick-drying felt-tip or ballpoint, because the paper is thin and the notes get handled straight away.** A [Sharpie Fine Point](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/sharpie-fine-point/) reads from across a room but may show through; a [Pilot G2](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/pilot-g2/) gel pen gives a finer line. We haven't yet tested smudging on 654 paper, so treat this as a starting point rather than a result. ## Are Post-it Notes recyclable? **Yes, according to 3M, which says all Post-it Notes are recyclable.** 3M lists the 654's paper as 100% PEFC-certified, meaning it comes from forests managed under that scheme. 3M's pages for the standard Canary Yellow pads don't claim any recycled content; Post-it sells a separate 100% Recycled Paper line, which appears in ASINsight's Amazon rankings. ## Where are Post-it Notes 654 made? **3M says the USA, "with globally sourced materials".** That line appears on its US pages for both the Original and the Super Sticky 654, and Staples marks the 12-pad 654-12YW "Made in America". Post-it is a brand of 3M, whose headquarters are in Maplewood, Minnesota. ## Is the 654 really the most popular Post-it? **It's the classic size, but Amazon's top-selling sticky notes right now are colorful Super Sticky multi-packs.** ASINsight's April 2026 rankings put a 24-pad Super Sticky pack in Supernova Neons first, with about 20,000 estimated monthly sales. Most of those packs are still 3 × 3 in 654-size pads, so the size is the constant. ## Frequently asked questions ### What size is a Post-it Note 654? It's 3 × 3 in, which 3M gives as 76 × 76 mm (7.6 cm). That's the classic square Post-it size. ### How many sheets are in a Post-it 654 pad? An Original 654 pad has 100 sheets. Super Sticky pads in the same size have 90 or 70 sheets, depending on the pack. ### What does 654 mean on Post-it Notes? It's 3M's code for the 3 × 3 in size. Letters after it name the pack and color, such as 654-12YW for 12 Canary Yellow pads. ### What is the difference between Post-it Notes and Post-it Super Sticky Notes? The adhesive. 3M says Super Sticky Notes have twice the sticking power of the original notes, for walls, monitors and other vertical surfaces. ### Are Post-it Notes recyclable? 3M says all Post-it Notes are recyclable and sourced from certified, responsibly managed forests; its 654 listings say 100% PEFC. ### Where are Post-it Notes made? 3M's US pages for the 654 say it's made in the USA with globally sourced materials. Post-it is a brand of 3M, based in Maplewood, Minnesota. ### Why are Post-it Notes yellow? By chance. 3M says the lab next door only had scrap yellow paper on hand, and Canary Yellow became the signature color. ### Who invented the Post-it Note? 3M scientist Spencer Silver made the low-tack adhesive in 1968, and colleague Art Fry had the idea of using it on paper bookmarks in 1973, per MNopedia. ## Sources - [3M US: Post-it Notes 654-14+4YW, 3 × 3 in, 18 pads, 100 sheets, Canary Yellow, 100% PEFC (made in the USA; 3M ID 7010369467)](https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v000315789/) - [3M US: Post-it Super Sticky Notes 654-12SSCY, 3 × 3 in, 90 sheets, 2x sticking power (made in the USA)](https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v101143074/) - [3M US: Post-it Notes 653-24VAD, 1 3/8 × 1 7/8 in (34.9 × 47.6 mm)](https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/?Ntt=post-it%20notes%20653) - [3M US: Post-it Notes 655, 3 × 5 in (76 × 127 mm)](https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/?Ntt=post-it%20notes%20655) - [Post-it: History Timeline (Boise Blitz; US debut April 6, 1980; scrap yellow paper)](https://www.post-it.com/3M/en_US/post-it/contact-us/about-us/) - [MNopedia: Post-it Notes (1968 adhesive, 1980 national launch, canary yellow scrap paper)](https://mnopedia.org/thing/post-it-notes) - [Lemelson-MIT: Art Fry & Spencer Silver](https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/art-fry-spencer-silver) - [Staples: Post-it Notes 3 × 3 in, Canary Collection, 100 sheets/pad (654)](https://www.staples.com/post-it-sticky-notes-3-x-3-canary-collection-100-sheets-pad-654/product_394221) - [Staples: Post-it Notes Canary Yellow 3 × 3, 12 pads (654-12YW)](https://www.staples.com/Post-it-Notes-Canary-Yellow-3-x-3-12-Pads-Pack-654-12YW/product_130005) - [ASINsight: Best-selling sticky notes on Amazon US (April 2026)](https://www.asinsight.com/report/US/sticky-note)