Our customers are often bamboozled by the many different options available when it comes to choosing the right ring binder for the job, so here are a few tips and explanations which should help to start the ball rolling.
There are options to suit every budget, but first, you need to choose your material. In coming blogs we will be looking at PVC, polypropylene, Leather Look PU and Paper over Board.
We’ll concentrate on PVC today.
PVC RING BINDERS
PVC comes in many colours and textures.
Standard PVC comes in a wide range of stock colours, or you can just stick with good old white. For a slightly different look, contrasting colours of PVC on the inner and the outer is a good way to make your product stand out.
In addition to the standard finish, you can choose from a range of leather look finishes. If you want more of a luxury contemporary feel, you might consider expanded PVC which has a matt finish and comes in a limited range of colours. Debossing works really well on this material.
SIZE
Your binder can be any size you like, A5, A4, A3, portrait or landscape. You can choose a completely different size, but this is likely to incur quite expensive tooling costs which may not be cost effective for small runs.
The size of the ring mechanism is crucial. This determines the overall size of the ring binder. All of our standard binder sizes are designed to take standard paper size plus a 13mm tab. To determine the size of ring mechanism you need, you will need to know how many leaves of paper you will be placing in the binder and the weight of the paper. As a rough guide, 100 leaves of 100gsm paper take up 11mm. Ring mechanisms increase in 5mm increments from 15mm to 65mm and can have either 2 or 4 rings. There are also two sizes of Lever Arch ring mechanism available.
We can print directly onto the PVC, either digitally (good for small runs where there is a photographic image involved), silk screen (if you want 1-4 colours printed) or litho for long run photographic full colour images.
We can also foil block the PVC in gold/silver or other colours, or you can choose to have your logo debossed (imprinted) into the PVC.
For a more cost effective option, especially for short runs, we can encapsulate digital prints under clear PVC on the front back and spine of your binder. You can still choose any colour PVC for the basic binder, and this means you can print as many colours as you like at a very competitive price.
POCKETS
Every ring binder can be customised with clear PVC pockets.
You might want a clear PVC pocket on the front cover or spine to take an insert
You might want a clear PVC or matching PVC pocket on the inside front or back cover to take loose sheets – these can be horizontal, vertical or triangular
You might want a pocket to take a CD, USB stick or business card
Every binder we make is bespoke, so you can choose any combination of the above options.
Our ring binders are used for HR Manuals, Health & Safety Guides, Training Manuals, Conference packs, Information Packs, Staff Handbooks, Product brochures
We supply Law Firms, Schools, Health Authorities, Professional Bodies, Training Providers, Design Agencies, Marketing companies, Car Retailers, Yachts, Football Clubs
In the next blog, we’ll look at creating the perfect polyprop ring binder.