Binders - Tips for Choosing the Right 3-Ring Binder for Your Organization
Three ring binders provide an effective and simple solution for organizing your documents. They are the perfect choice for housing your training materials, product specifications, and bulky reports. This is why many organizations choose clear view binders. Also known as a clear overlay binder, they include clear pockets on the front and back covers, as well as the spine. This allows you to create custom covers and spines quickly and easily. This article outlines a few things to keep in mind when shopping for three-ring-binders for your documents.
While clear overlay ring-binders are most often found in white, you can also purchase them in black. Sometimes you can find navy, but any other color would need to be special ordered and manufactured especially for you. This could be costly, so if color choice is important, you can either print colorful covers and spines to insert into black or white binders, or you can think about using a different binding method with a larger selection of available colors (such as color coil binding).
Three-ring binders come in three varieties: round-ring, D-ring, and ez-load D-ring. Round ring binders tend to have the rings joined to the spine. D-ring and ez load D-ring options are constructed with the rings affixed to the back cover. They work well for more sizeable documents, while round ring options are better suited to smaller ones.
Most binder rings are manufactured in half inch increments. The smallest ring diameter available is ½", and the largest is 4". Binders with diameters over 3" come only with D-rings. Please remember that ring diameter does not indicate the width of the binder on your shelf. You will need to measure the actual spine of to know how much space you will need.
Most clear view binders hold standard 8.5" x 11" sheets. That doesn't mean that is the only size available. You can find options for legal sized documents or 11" x 17" publications if you persevere. You may have to special order them, but they are available if you plan ahead.
Clear overlay binders can vary in quality due to differences in components, such as the grade of vinyl used for the spine and covers. A common problem that users experience is the transference of toner from cover and spine inserts onto the inside of the vinyl pocket. If you buy a higher quality product, you will not see this toner transfer problem on the covers and spines. Thus, buying a higher quality product can often save you money since you will be able to reuse it for multiple documents or reports. If you are looking for a high quality binder you should also look for heavier chipboard and deeper interior pockets. You might also look for products that include sheet lifters. Higher quality ring-binders stand up to being used over and over, so be sure to look for these features.
The information included in this article should serve as a great basis for helping you find the best clear overlay or clear-view-binder for yourself or for your school or business. Lower-quality choices are okay for single-time use, but for a product that will stand up to reuse without transferring toner onto the vinyl overlay, look for quality instead of bargain basement pricing.
Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com.He has written over 500 articles on binding machines,binding covers,binders,laminators,binding supplies,laminating supplies,paper handling equipments,index tabs, and shredders.
