Tyra Smith, Cloud 9, Tips & Techniques

Bind-It-All
(manufactuer: Zutter Innovative Products http://binditall.com/ )

Jane ahausfrau02@yahoo.com
If you were looking for a tidy, well made, easy to store and more affordable binding system, I think this may be an answer for you.

I had wondered about continual hole-punching as the machine isn't that wide. Not to worry--they made a really nice stop guide (for covers AND inner pages) that takes all the guess work out of that issue.

It is very easy to use and has a nice feel to it. There is a stabilizing bar that you pull out when you use it so you have better leverage (the machine is so small, without that bar, you'd be wobbling the machine all over the place). Very smart that it retracts.

The Rubicoil still punches much easier than this machine, but for the price, I think the Bind-It-All is an excellent value. If you wanted a nice personal machine that feels substantial and is easy to use and uses supplies that are fairly readily available (not like Rollabind--which is cute, but if they ever go out of business, folks are stuck without those little buttons), this would be my choice.

The wire coils are interesting. My big gripe is that they can tangle up and can be a major PIA to get untangled. They are 2:1 pitch o-ring wires (in case you want to buy through another source) or get a size/color that Zutter does not carry.

Okay...played just an eensy bit today seeing what I could punch with my new toy. Got any of those old 5.25" diskettes? You can take out the center data disk and get rid of the metal slider--then punch holes on the opposite side. The data disks can be decorated and the actual 5.25 diskettes make nice, thick chunky pages. You'll also notice two square holes a little higher on each end of your punched holes; you can cover them up or use them to hang embellishments from.

Here's a hint learned the hard way: make sure you get out the tiny spring that lets that metal slider pop back and forth. I made the mistake of not taking it out of the second diskette I punched and it somewhat jammed the machine (did not do any damage, but frustrating) when it fell to the bottom of the diskette and got in the way of the punching blades. The diskettes are at the limit for punching thickness.

Another hint: When doing continuous punching, try to have about 4 to 8 pieces of cardstock in the machine at a time and hold down the edge that is farthest away from the punch guide stop to make sure all the paper is even. I didn't do this, thinking that gravity would take care of it--if you don't pay close attention, you *can* punch crooked, which will ruin your binding job.

Did some more testing today. You can use:
-Matboard
-Chipboard up to 30 ply thick (this is like book board)
-CDs
-3.5" diskettes
-5.25" diskettes
-plastic sheeting

Matboard is a wonderful alternative to chipboard in that you can get some gorgeous colors and textures. Some framing stores will sell/give away off cuts.