OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: Choosing a Binding
March 04, 2016
The planning community is so amazing. It's fun and creative but OMG it can be sooooo overwhelming! There's so much to see and learn and obssess over ;) There are so many different types of planners and inserts and stickers. So I've got this great series for you coming over the next few weeks. It will help simplify everything and make choosing your first (or next) planner much easier.
Today, we are talking about the BINDING and weighing the pros and cons of some of the most common types, so let's go!! Stay tunes until the end because I have a video where I show you some examples and go into more details.
Classic Ring Bound Planners
Most ring bound planners have a 6 ring system but they also exist in 4 or 3 rings. If you choose 6 you'll have an easier time finding inserts, dividers and dashboards that are prepunched. However, you can always order them unpunched and add the correct amount of holes yourself.
Examples of ring bound planners:
Kikki K, Filofax, Gillio (pictured above), Carpe Diem (by Simple Stories), Colour Crush (by Webster's Pages), Louis Vuitton, Heidi Swapp's Memory Planner (4 rings)
PROS:
*You can easily move pages around
*You can change out inserts, dashboards and dividers to whatever you'd like
*You can easily remove and add pages
CONS:
*It can't fold back on itself
*The contents of your planner are limited by the diametre of the rings and ring bound planners tend to get full fast.
*The rings can get bent or damaged easily
*Some ring bound planner don't lay completely flat when open
*Difficult for Lefties to write on the right hand side pages
Coil Bound Planners
These are bound books, similar to a coil notebook, with planner pages inside. The coils range in size from very small to an inch or so in diametre. The quality also varies, there are cheap plastic or metal coils that catch on everything, right up to sturdy double coils that can stand the wear and tear you can put it through in the run of a day.
Examples of coil bound planners:
the Day Designer, Commit30 (pictured above), Inkwell Press and Erin Condrin Life Planners
PROS:
*It folds back on itself
*Small coils results in a slim planner
*It lays flat when open
CONS:
*Some coils can bend really easily
*You can't move pages around (easily anyway!)
*You can't add or remove pages easily. You can rip pages out, but you can't put them back in with out painstaking patience!
*Difficult for Lefties to write on the right hand side pages
Disk Bound Planners
Instead of rings or coils, these planners have a series of plastic or metal disks that hold the book together. This could be a 'best of both worlds' type of planner as it combines the benefits of both the coils and ring planners.
Examples of Disk bound planners:
The Happy Planner by MAMBI (pictured above) and The ARC system by Staples
PROS:
*It folds back on itself
*It lays flat when open
*You can easily move pages around
*Not only can you change out inserts, dashboards and dividers to whatever you'd like but you can change the cover too
*You can easily remove and add pages
CONS:
*Difficult for Lefties to write on the right hand side pages
*Disks can be bulky
*Some disks can be too lightweight and feel a bit cheap
Traveller's Notebook
This group includes the trademark Midori as well as traveller's notebooks (TN) and fauxdori's. They can be leather or fabric and even laminated paper. There is a system of elastics down the spine that are designed to hold up to 6 or so notebooks in the one cover.
Examples of Traveller's notebooks:
Midori, Chic Sparrow, Cakedori (pictured above), Confettidori, Pigdori
PROS:
*Perfect for Lefties, no big rings or coils to get in the way
*Sections are naturally divided up by each notebook
*You can have A5 sized pages without having a big bulky planner. A TN with A5 pages is only slightly bigger than a personal ring bound planner
CONS:
*You can't move pages around (easily anyway!)
*You can't add or remove pages easily. You can rip pages out, but it's hard to put them back!
This video goes over all the pros and cons of each type of planner and compares them for you:
If you liked this post you can check out last week's post: Newbie Planner Girls START HERE!!
And here are the other posts in this newbie planner series:
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: What inserts to choose
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: What SIZE to choose
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: 4 things to do Before you Buy All the Things!
OMG Where do I Start? Planner Series: How to Make Multiple Planners Work
And if you're new to the Planner World and would like a free (and pretty) Planner Newbie Cheat Sheet with some of the definitions of those terms and acronyms that seem so foreign to you, but everyone else seems to know what they mean, then just click here:
See you next week when we will tackle choosing the right planner size for you.