DIY Planner - 5 1/2 X 8 /12 Paper - Comments

Dear JOnas, Thanks so much

shirl smith — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:46:14 -0400

Dear JOnas, Thanks so much for the info....Shirl

You can check with your

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:46:38 -0400

You can check with your local print shop to see if they will hole punch the paper for you. We have one in our area that will make and print all the types of paper you listed, for a reasonable price. The price/quantity comparison is much better than buying from your local office supply store but you may have to be willing to buy more than you need as some print shops have a minimum piece of paper requirement.

I tried this...

Anonymous — Sat, 8 Sep 2007 22:12:52 -0400

It was an intriguing diy idea and I wanted to try. But it didn't work for me. Fortunately I tried it on an old binder I'd been given and didn't care about, so it wasn't a big loss. But I suggest that if you care about the binder, you not do the twisting bit--if you can get a bolt cutter or something similar and just cut off the rings, it would probably be fine, but twisting and trying to break off the rings might not work so well.

5.5"x8.5" Paper & 7 Hole punching

HKCinema — Sat, 8 Sep 2007 20:36:08 -0400

I recommend, like some others, to take as many reams of paper (8.5"x11") as you need over to a local copy shop for cutting down to the 5.5"x8.5" size. Kinko's in my area charges $1.50 per cut; they can cut a huge stack of paper with one cut, so when I took in one ream of paper, it cost me just one cut - $1.50. Cheap!

As for the hole punching, I recommend the Swingline #74011 adjustable 7 hole punch. This is the one I purchased based on recommendations from members of this Website, and I could not be more pleased. The Swingline #74011 is heavy duty and smooth, and it's easy on my hands. Since it's adjustable, I can use it for just about any other job, though I have used it, thus far, solely for my Daytimer planner punching needs. Also, while I have read on this site that the Swingline #74011 cannot punch the 6 hole configuration, I believe it could be easily modified by drilling a couple of holes to allow for the correct spacing for 6 hole planners. Great product!

by program

Gill Smoke — Thu, 7 Jun 2007 07:39:18 -0400

In the office suite page size is a part of the print proprities. In acrobat, you tell it to scale it to the whole page and tell your printer it has classic sized pages.

See my post above for punch suggestions...

wikeh2004 — Thu, 7 Jun 2007 06:06:02 -0400

You can get a metal Classic desktop punch from Franklin Covey for less than $20 plus shipping, or check out Fisher Hawaii for a metal Swingline 7 hole punch model 74011. Oddly enough, I found that the Swingline couldn't be adjusted to punch the 6 hole Compact size (6.75" x 4.25") to fit another binder I had. Strange, but true.

Walter

-----------------------
Remember, no matter where you go, there you are.
B. Banzai

Get the authentic Franklin Covey punch for less!

wikeh2004 — Thu, 7 Jun 2007 05:57:10 -0400

If you go to the franklincovey.com website, you can get the 7 hole Classic punch for less than the Swingline.

Item # 22997
List Price: $22.95
Price: $18.36

I have one of these at my office and it works well, although I've since switched to a Circa system and the Circa punch costs a heck of a lot more!

I actually picked up the Swingline adjustable 7 hole punch for only $10 at a local office supply store on special, though like my FC punch at the office, have not been using it much.

I found that Hammermill 24 lb multipurpose paper works very well for printing Classic size DIYplanner templates and then cutting and punching. It takes fountain pen ink very well. The slight extra thickness, compared to "normal" 20 lb paper works better for Circa discs, and the quality is better than the lined paper sold by most of the stores.

Good luck,
Walter

-----------------------
Remember, no matter where you go, there you are.
B. Banzai

reclaim what you can?

jonglass — Thu, 7 Jun 2007 01:51:06 -0400

Most binders are held in with rivets. I use a Dremmel tool to grind the rivets out, but you could try a file, and depending on where the rivets are pressed, maybe a screwdriver, and light taps with a hammer to push the rivets through.

Once that's done, you should be able to find a 3 ring binder that's bound to the back, cut off the front, and (I hope this $130 binder has a back slide-in pocket) slide that into the leather binder.

Since it's already "ruined", you can hardly make it worse. And you might make it better. :-) Also, if you like Circa, you could slide that in instead. Can you post pics of the inside of your planner?

-Jon

Don't try to remove FC rings with pliers

Anonymous — Wed, 6 Jun 2007 21:26:28 -0400

I removed four of the Franklin Covey rings with pliers and now my beautiful planner - formerly worth $150 - is ruined. The whole ring binder is bent and the three rings don't close together properly. When I try to flip pages (the whole point behind putting together this DIY planner), the paper comes off the rings. I'm so mad I could spit. I certainly wish I'd been smarter and NEVER tried this! Now I have to buy a whole new ring binder. Might as well have just paid the extra for Franklin Covey blank pages.

I made 5.5" x 8.5" paper

rynprov — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 13:17:00 -0400

I made 5.5" x 8.5" paper from the ordinary white letter-sized paper. How can I set up the margins to print on 5.5" x 8.5" paper in Adobe Reader, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel? (I'm using Windows XP)

I go to Office Depot...

hawaiianbrat96 — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 10:59:30 -0400

As we don't have a freestanding Staples here... I will have to look into Staples when we move to Phoenix AZ in a couple of years, that sounds like a bargain!

Anyways, because I have a teacher's discount, I get 15% off of printing needs - which includes cutting, binding, and anything else out of that little area.

I just print on 8.5x11 paper. I don't cut my planner pages because I like being able to do four weeks together and just fold them over. It keeps them together, and I don't have to flip through all the pages for one month. Call me weird, that is just how I work.

I use a puncher from Franklin Covey, but am looking into something with more power. This one is plastic, and I know there has to be ones out there that punch like regular punchers! Any suggestions?

I just went to my local copy

Wild Lotus — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 14:14:43 -0400

I just went to my local copy shop first because I prefer to patronize local small businesses. They wanted to charge me $31 per ream of paper to cut and hole punch. And I wanted a ream of white, a ream of blue (I use blue pages for ideas), and a ream of graph paper. So that would have been a lot of money.

Then I went to Staples and they said they'd cut it for me for free but they couldn't do the hole punching. So I bought all of the paper I wanted from them and spent about $25 for 3 reams of paper. They cut it in half. And now I have to order a hole puncher but it's still cheaper than having the printer do it. Plus I'm sure I'll be making other customized things, pockets, etc. for my planner so I'll need the hole punch anyway.

cool links

Suzi — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 10:21:57 -0400

Thanks for the link! I'm going to order something from Linton Labels, just because I love their quirky sense of humour :)

7-hole punch

Carl — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 16:28:56 -0400

If you use a 7-ring binder, as do I, you know refills (when you can find them) are very expensive--even for just drilled lined pads! I invested in a 7-hole punch and design all my own forms to print 2 abreast on normal 8.5x11 paper. I print a master, take it to the quick printer and have him run a ream or more on my paper on both sides. I cut the paper in half and punch it while watching CNN or C-Span or some other channel that just requires my listening, not viewing. In no time I have the job done at barely the cost of one set of refills.

HERE'S THE BEST PART: You can get a 7-hole (acutally 2-7 holes adjustable) Swingline punch for only $20.35 (it cost me with tax and s/h only $28.80) from http://www.discountofficesupplies.com The item number is ACC74011. It's a heavy-gaged quality hole punch worth every penny and it has save me a lot of money not having to buy expensive pads and forms. The added advantage that I customize my forms precisely the way I want them!

Hope this helps, as it took me weeks before I located an online store that sold and INEXPENSIVE hole punch. Forget Staples, they wanted something like $70 for a non-adustable 7-hole punch 1/10th the quality of the Swingline that I purchased. It was my first buying experience from Discount Office Supplies and it could not have been better. Delivered in a timely fashion, the item was exactly as described and the price was reasonable. What more could one ask?

P.S. You can also phone your order at: 1-800-734-6020. Yes, it's true: toll-free and a live person on the other end!

pre-drilled paper for 5.5x8.5

susancragin — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 10:51:19 -0500

Try these people for blank & lined paper
http://www.lintonlabels.com/fillers/littlebinderfiller.html
looks pretty cheap to me.
Want fancy paper?
http://www.lastingimpressions.com/shop/home.php?cat=253

5 1/2 X 8 /12 Paper

S STOVALL — Sat, 3 Sep 2005 17:37:08 -0400

Just found your site. Outstanding! Any suggestions as to where I can purchase:
Prepunched 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 paper (Lined and Blank)
Pads of 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 (Lined and BlanK)
Tabs/Dividers

Any suggestions as to suppliers or retailers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

D*I*Y Planner - 5 1/2 X 8 /12 Paper - Comments