Binders.org: Questions 21-26

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21. How decorative should the cover design be?

Your binder is your silent salesperson. It should give its users a favorable impression of the company it represents. The covering material should be colorful and attractively grained. The printing, stamping, embossing, or silk-screening should be contrasting and clear. The binder should be smartly dressed just as you would expect a salesperson to be. Do not choose a material that will become wrinkled and shabby and baggy at the hinges after a short while.

22. How have your competitors handled their presentation?

One of the first planning considerations should be an examination of how your competitors handled their binder or binder presentation. All competitive literature and binders should be carefully reviewed and the better elements kept in mind for possible incorporation in your binder. You should strive to excel the competitor's treatment, not by producing a better carbon copy or by lavish expenditures, but by producing a binder that is easier to handle, easier to refer to, easier to present, and more outstanding. Make your binder an optimum producer by keeping its use, function, and appearance a primary concern during the planning stages. Specialty Loose Leaf is proud to boast about one of the best design teams in the country that can help you to create that better binder.

23. What kind and how many indexes will be required?

Proper indexing is a vital part of loose-leaf planning and should not be left as an afterthought. Choose an index of suitable strength and durability for the use the binder will receive. A binder designed for customer presentation may be leafed through in sequence and not require a great amount of indexing. Management reports, policy manuals, and educational manuals may require a smaller index breakdown than parts and price catalogs which may be used for random item reference.

There are several basic index types: a die-cut tab, a celluloid fused tab, a celluloid insert tab, a linen tab, a leather or imitation leather tab, a self-attaching celluloid insert tab, and a self-attaching metal frame insert tab. These tabs can be attached to a variety of papers, bristol stocks, linen stocks, and covering materials. Popularly a strong ledger stock is used. For extension type index tabs, the cover must be large enough to extend beyond the tabs.

A fast reference binder should be amply indexed according to an adequate classification breakdown. The use of colored tabs, different type faces, sizes, and positions, numbers, letters, and clear titles will help visualization and make the indexing more efficient. Often the index sheet is used for additional copy or illustrations. If sheets will be added regularly, new indexes should be supplied as needed. A binder provided for general reference is only half a product until proper indexing is inserted, making it a quick reference book. There should be sufficient indexing to permit location of the required data in three to five seconds.

24. Is it intended that the binder outlast the contents?

If the contents are to be replaced periodically using the same binder, a sturdy covering material and mechanism should be selected at the beginning, preferably a cover of heavy-weight imitation leather, buckram, or genuine leather. Metal hinging and reinforcing at all critical points should be considered. If possible, do not print a date on your binder.

25. Will the contents be protected by acetate envelopes or sheets?

Acetate envelopes can be a very functional addition to your binder or presentation. They can serve to protect pages referred to most often, to mount photographs, swatches, testimonial letters, and other data that will strengthen your message. However, the capacity build-up should be considered, for example: ten acetate envelopes, .005 gauge, take up one-half inch of binder capacity. If fabrics or bulky materials are placed on the mounting sheet the capacity build-up will be increased.

26. Will the presentation include actual product displays?

For manufacturers and distributors of products that lie flat, such as fabrics, rugs, greeting cards, tile, social stationary, wallpaper, veneers, decals, emblems, buttons, maps, sandpaper, paints, artwork, etc., the product itself can often be displayed in a binder for a sales presentation. The most effective sales presentations are those that include the actual products themselves.

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