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                MyBinding Blog > Bookbinding

                Getting Started Scrapbooking

                December 31, 2010 by Jeff McRitchie Leave a Comment

                Scrapbooking is a great way to preserve treasured memories.  But getting started can beCreatopia-sm1-ma a daunting task.  There’s all the pictures, not to mention any mementos you may be saving.  And isn’t it expensive?  Here is a guide that will get you on your way to creating a beautiful scrapbook to cherish for years to come.

                First, gather all your materials.  We’re not talking about cutesy stickers and colorful pages.  Before you can decorate, you need to see what you have.  Get together any memorabilia you may want to include.  This can mean pictures, playbills, recital programs, newspaper articles, magazine cut outs, cards, or anything else you may want to save.

                The next step is to organize.  This is where many people get overwhelmed and give up.  But by breaking this process down into baby steps and doing it in short bursts of time, you can get it done.

                • First, organize by year.  Put everything from 2009 in one pile, 2008 in one pile, etc, until this is completed.  Some years it may make more sense to organize by school year.  And you may have enough pictures from a single event, like a cruise or big family vacation, to warrant a separate book.  The main point here is to do a rough division of larger chunks of time.  Put each division into a folder or box.
                • Next, take one grouping of items and further divide it into months.  If you don’t have a ton of stuff, you could also group them into three month chunks.  Do this until everything is in smaller groups within the larger category.
                • Finally, within each smaller stack, arrange in order of occurrence.  This will help you see how your book will flow and give you small pieces to work with.

                Now that everything is organized, you can start your book.  Scrapbooks are available at craft stores but these can be expensive.  A cost-effective way to make a custom scrapbook is to purchase a three ring binder and page protectors.  Binders come in a wide variety of sizes and colors.  Clear View binders allow you to insert any picture or collage you want onto the cover for your own unique look.

                Page protectors can do double duty in a scrapbook.  After making your pages, simply slide them in to keep them from getting torn or spilled on.  However, they make great pockets for organizing your items before you start.  After the final division of pictures, you should be left with small stacks of pictures for each day or event.  You can slide these into your page protector and store them with the rest of your scrapbook while you work on the beginning.

                To make your first pages, you’ll need supplies.  Be sure to get items that are photo safe and acid free; this will keep your pictures from yellowing with age.  A great scrapbooking tool is a sticker maker laminator.  These turn any photo or paper memory into a sticker that you can adhere to your page.  The larger ones can also laminate precious items to preserve them.  If using page protectors and a three ring binder, you’ll also want to invest in paper inserts.  Heavier weights are generally better but you’ll want something lighter than cardstock to use for your backing.

                Finally, embellishments.  These can be stickers, letters, colorful pages, etc.  Before you start seeing dollar signs, keep reading.  A sticker maker allows you to turn any picture into a sticker.  This can save you money by not buying premade stickers.  Find a picture online to print out and add to your page.  Scrapbook accessories can be expensive but they go on sale often.  Many craft stores have weekly adds with coupons and also take competitors coupons.  Be patient and get these things either with a coupon or on sale.  You’ll save a lot of money by doing it this way.  You can also find scrapbooking supplies online for less than retail cost.

                This is just a quick overview to get you started.  Once you dive into the world of scrapbooking, you’ll find hundreds of ideas and decorating techniques.  But for now, get those pictures divided so you can get started!  Good luck and happy scrapping!

                Filed Under: Laminating Tagged With: Binder, Binding Supplies, Bookbinding, laminating machine, laminator, scrapbooking

                Taking a Look at Environmentally Friendly Binding Supplies

                October 2, 2010 by Jeff McRitchie Leave a Comment

                With so many environmental problems affecting our planet today, there’s never been a better time to start using environmentally friendly binding supplies. These supplies are just as good – if not better – than your typical products so you can count on them to make your documents look great while also reducing your carbon footprint. Let’s take a look at some of the products available including Eco-Coil and PaperLock Eco-Comb binding elements, two products that make it easy to bind your documents. Here we go….

                1)      Eco-Coil Spiral Binding Coils. Color color binding remains one of the most popular bookbinding methods around and now thanks to these products, it’s environmentally friendly as well. These coils are completely made from post-consumer waste and they can be recycled when you’re done using them. Eco-Coil spines are just as durable and high-quality as other color coils so you’ll be able to create documents that are securely bound. These spines are available in a variety of thicknesses and the 2-inch ones being able to bind a document containing as many as 440 pages. A number of pitches are available including 3:1, 4:1, and 5:1 so there are bound to be coils that are right for your particular machine.

                2)      PaperLock Eco-Comb Binding Strips. A lot of people love the look and flexibility of plastic binding combs. In fact, plastic combs are without a doubt some of the best document finishing supplies available. However, plastic combs really aren’t very eco-friendly, which is why PaperLock Eco-Comb strips were developed. These are paper strips are similar to plastic combs except they’re 100% recyclable and can give your document the look of a perfect-bound book. Eco-Comb supplies can bind books that have as many as 200 pages and they’re available in four different colors: blue, black, red, and white. They’re a terrific alternative to plastic combs and you will feel good using them.

                3)      Regency Leatherette Covers. Every bound document needs a cover, so why not choose one that’s good for the environment? Regency leatherette covers feel like leather, but they’re actually made out of 100% recycled and post-consumer material. These covers are heavy and can be customized in a number of ways including foil-stamping, offset printing, and so on. They’re available in a number of different colors including black, white, maroon, blue, and more. Best of all, Regency leatherette covers can be purchased for a number of different binding methods including plastic comb, VeloBind, Unibind, etc. These are definitely some of the most versatile covers around.

                As you can see, there are a number of great supplies available that are environmentally friendly. Saving the planet is more than important than ever before and with these products, you’ll be doing your part while still creating professional-looking documents. Each one of these products is high-quality, durable, and will help give your documents the polished look they deserve. Be sure to stock up on these supplies today so you can do your company’s image – and the earth – a world of good.

                Filed Under: Binding Tagged With: Binding Supplies, Bookbinding, color coil, Eco-Coil, plastic combs

                How to Give a Great Report in School

                June 26, 2010 by Jeff McRitchie Leave a Comment

                landscapewhitelinenunibindGiving a great report takes a little bit of time and effort. Here are 6 quick tips to get you started.

                1. Make it something you are interested in. If possible, you should make sure that you only do reports on something that you yourself find interesting. Sometimes, of course, you don’t have a choice on what to do your report on, but hopefully you can find points of interest even in the boring things. For instance, if you have to do a report on the economy of Australia, and you are interested in surfing, try and explore the effects of surfing on the economy of Australia. If your teacher gives you a choice of a few different topics, choose the one that interests you the most.
                2. Make it entertaining. Not just for them, but for you too. Try and get creative by perhaps making up a skit or a play, coming to class as a certain character, or making some food at home and bringing it in. This will not only make things more interesting for your audience, you will have a lot more fun while you are putting your report together.
                3. Do it Now. As soon as you get the assignment, start brainstorming ideas off the top of your head. You may not revisit them until a week or a few days before the report, but you’ll be glad you have these ideas written down when crunch time is approaching. We’d love to tell you not to procrastinate at all, and that would be greatly preferable, but the reality is that most people will, at least a little bit. Get in the habit of brainstorming early, then you’ll at least have some notes to come back to and work off of when you are feeling the pressure.
                4. Make It A Team Effort. First of all, have a talk with your teacher (a great partner for the initial brainstorming session), and ask him or her if they have any ideas or good places to start. Another good idea might be to partner up with someone, either for the whole project, or for certain parts, such as a skit, if you are going that way. You and a friend can help each other with your reports and that way you’ll have much more fun, as well as being able to bounce ideas off someone.
                5. Make it Attractive. There are lots of different ways you can make your written material stand out. Go to a copy shop or look around online for different ways to put your pages together. If the report is longer and more serious, you can make a little booklet to hand out with your scripts, graphics, and statistics in it. Make it something that your audience will want to hold on to for a long time.
                6. Use Many Sources. Don’t just Google something, or go to the Wikipedia page, and halfheartedly scribble something down. Go talk to the school librarian, conduct some interviews (maybe even on video), or bring something tangible in. It is not that much more effort, and you’ll find that it’s even fun. It is these small touches that will make your report shine.

                Filed Under: Binding Tagged With: Binders, binding equipment, Binding Machine, Binding Supplies, Bookbinding

                How to Make Your Own Poetry Book

                June 26, 2010 by Jeff McRitchie 1 Comment

                landscapewhitelinenunibindPutting together a book of your poems, whether for self-publishing or sending to a publisher, can take a lot of time and effort – and it should. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are creating your own poetry book.

                1.Since you will naturally want to keep your book to one poem per page (except, of course for longer works), it should be relatively easy to estimate the number of pages your finished book will be. Those that are around 30 or fewer pages are what is known as chapbooks, while fifty pages or more would constitute a full-length book. It all depends, of course, upon how much work you have that you consider ready for the world, and on how you want to present it. While full-length books should be perfect-bound in soft or hard covers, chapbooks can generally have a more casual feel to them. Take a look online or at your local print shop to see what different binding styles are out there and which one is right for the book you want to create.

                2.Depending on the type of book you are putting together, you may want to arrange your poems in different ways. If you have a lot of works about a certain place or person, or have some poems that are written in a unique voice, perhaps put them together in a section of your book. Breaking up your poetry book into sections like this gives your reader something to connect with and hold onto and helps to establish themes throughout your work. One suggestion for when you are in this stage of the process is to print your pages up rather than trying to do all this arranging via a computer screen. This simply makes changes easier, and gives you a better visual idea of how your poems will appear on the page.

                3.When you are deciding what to include and not to include, you may want to enlist the help of a trusted friend or writing group. In the absence of that – or even if you do have those types of resources – you will want to evaluate your own material as objectively as possible. One way to do that with poems you’ve already gone over a thousand times is to read them aloud. Doing this will help stop you from skipping ahead as you read your own overly familiar poems, and will give you a whole new perspective on your work.

                4.Once you have decided which poems are going into your book, set them (and the whole project) aside for a day or two. Do anything BUT work on your book. Go for walks, visit friends, take a short vacation, whatever it takes to get you away from the project for a bit. When you get back, do more sifting, editing, and arranging.

                5.When the size and order of your book are starting to gel, start trying out titles. There’s no set-in- stone method for doing this, of course, but you are stuck for ideas, you can start to get the wheels turning by choosing a favorite line, alluding to one of your themes, or even stealing a title from one of your poems. This is something that you will want to enlist some help on as well, so gather some trusted sources and run a few titles past them.

                Filed Under: Binding Tagged With: binding, Bookbinding, poetry book

                How to Produce and Distribute an Office Policy Manual

                June 26, 2010 by Jeff McRitchie Leave a Comment

                Every business should have a readily available set of rules and regulations regarding company policy. To help with yours, we created this list of seven important things to keep in mind when you are creating a policy manual for your small or large business.

                1.Find An Existing Manual. And revise it so suit your needs. It would help to find a manual from a business that offers the same kinds of services that you do, but this is not absolutely necessary. Simply find a manual that you think you will be able to work with and start from there. There may be manuals available for purchase online that contain some basics that you can work from. Take a look around.

                2.Include Unwritten Policies. Depending on how long you have been in business, you may already have standards in place that are not written down or codified yet. You can’t go into the future imagining that these rules will stay in place, so here is your opportunity to get them down in written form.

                3.Get Legal Advice. It is absolutely essential that you have an attorney that specializes in workplace law take a look at your policy book. There are many reasons for this of course. You will want to make sure that your policies are legal, and that your bases are covered. You also want to make sure that everything that is required by law to be in your manual is there, and that you have a clearly stated policy regarding such events aw terminations and non-adherence.

                4.Organize it Well. Give your policy book a structure that everyone can understand with well-defined chapters, sections and headers. Make it easy for you employees to find that it is that they are looking for by including an index. If you have staff that travels a lot, it is a great idea to have a copy of the manual online where they can refer to is whenever they may need to.

                5.Hire a Writer or Editor.And make sure that you instruct him or her to keep the book upbeat and readable as much as possible throughout. These are people that are paid to make things clear and concise. If your company is a large one, there is the chance that many people in many different departments have contributed to the policy manual, and a good writer or editor can take all these different styles and make them flow seamlessly into a coherent whole. There are a lot of different resources for finding writers on the web. One great place to start is cragslist.org. There are also sites such a e-lance where writers and editors will bid for your particular job. There is a fee to post for some certain kinds of jobs, but it isn’t much.

                6.Choose The Right Binding Style. You will want to make sure that you can keep your manual up to date, and make amendments and other changes as necessary. Three ring binding is a natural choice for this, but is not the most durable of methods. Take a look around online or visit your local print shop and have a chat about what style will best suit your needs.

                7.Update Annually. Or whenever there is a major change to company policy. Make sure everyone’s manual, as well as the online version, reflect the changes.

                Filed Under: Binding Tagged With: binding, Bookbinding, document binding

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