a properly sized binder?

September 3, 2005 4:53 PM

A three-ring binder for 8.5x11 paper that isn't unnecessarily wide?

I'd like to buy a few binders, but every one I look at (example) is too big. There's too much wasted space between the end of the paper and the end of the binder. In other words, the paper is 8.5" wide, the rings take up an inch, and the binder is 10-12 inches wide. I want one that's 9.5" wide. Is this impossible to find? Durability is important.

posted by Kwantsar to shopping (5 comments total)

You could always carefully cut off the excess and fix the edges with electrical tape...
posted by interrobang at 6:16 PM on September 3, 2005

To go with interrobang's suggestion, you could buy plastic covered binders and cut the edges with an exacto-knife. No electrical tape required.

Do the pages have to be removed or reordered often? If not, you could use three prong report covers, or expanding post binders, both of which have much narrower spines.
posted by Popular Ethics at 7:48 PM on September 3, 2005

No specific brand recommendations (I have the same complaint, but I've found ok binders in the past) but electrical tape, especially the cheap stuff, gets sticky and gunky and nasty after a while, especially if it gets a little warm.

I'd spend the extra money and get a roll of gaffer's tape (not affilitated with the site, just the first one that google pulled) instead. It's handy for a lot of other stuff, too. You can just tape all the edges instead of what you just cut if you want to make it look more uniform.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 8:06 PM on September 3, 2005

If you cut the binders to size, cut down the cardboard a bit more than the edges of the vinyl. You can then use a sealing machine (someone you know must have one, it doesn't need to vaccuum seal, just plain heat seal) to re-seal the binder and give it a perfect edge again.

It would be nicer than any kind of tape. :-)
posted by shepd at 3:18 AM on September 4, 2005

You might try Levenger's.
posted by mecran01 at 10:42 AM on September 4, 2005