Small things makes big difference. You hardly notice a pen in your hand. a Notebook. A Binder. The small is changing our lives and we do not even notice. What would I use 50 years ago? 100? Quite often we do not see the small things busy with ongoing life.
and Here it is…
Ringless Binder is one of this things. More legend than real product, since many users dissatisfied with Sticking out rings and discs looked for alternative. The obvious one was a “Ring-less Binder” And after 180 years of Ring binder dominance here it is. The small , tiny, slim and unobtrusive RING-LESS.
Among many Ring Binder alternatives, there is one you probably do not know about: Ringless Binder. Searching for the beast, you are going to encounter a bunch of pretenders in a few shapes, like, for example, boxes posing as binders, clamps in every style and shape, trying your patience and fingers. So-called Data Binders, consisting of covers embellished with metal rails and armed with steel wires to clamp and keep. And a few others. Some, like, for example, strip binders, reside only in the EU. Some are in Japan and elsewhere.
The Ringless binder was born in Chicago, like the known to adepts, Chicago Screws, and is vying for our attention. It is a mind-boggling contraption consisting of simply a sheet of material with some cuts in both covers, forming two sets of flexible ties. No sign of metal clamps, prongs, or rings. You use it, you bind the sheet of paper, and then you forget about its existence. It is unobtrusive, thin like a piece of tear-resistant paper, and flexible. And it works, keeping in its basic version up to 350 pages, or 800 in its spineless version. No pretenses, just work.
Is it popular among its peers? As a newcomer sporting a thin, muscular silhouette, he is not welcomed among the heavyweights, fatso’s dominating the market. After investing 133 years of his life, The 3 Ring Binder certainly is not happy.
Ringless Binder openRingless Binder in Spineless Version 0-800 pages
Ringless Binder is looking for work. It may be a perfect match for you.
This is not the end of the story, The family is growing. Let me introduce two new members of the family.
Below new Spineless binder. This time adds more possibilities, two ways to bind your pages. Is more capable and earth friendly comparing with data binders sporting steel cables, nylon posts and metal rails to keep the same amount of pages.
A ring binder has no place among notebooks. My notebook is quite unusual.
It is not a notebook per se.
It is a binder, but without the rings.
The designer replaced rings with ties.
In addition, since the ties are flat and really unobtrusive, he managed to add a second set of ties to the front page. With this unique arrangement, I can divide the paperwork into sections.
Ring-less Multi-binder with two sets of paperwork inside
Since there are no rings, the designer calls it a “Ringless Binder.”
One of the ringless binder fans. Mrs. Page likes it so much that she dedicated a song. She doesn’t care about Tablets, since, as she says:
No Tablet shall last as long as Papyrus or Leonardo’s drawing done on paper.
Paper shall outlast anything. No fumbling with switches, no battery or software problems.
No energy expended.
No difficulties with eyesight after prolonged use.
Why we bother with Binders? Regardless of the digitizing effort, we see around, paper documents are irreplaceable. No iPad will last for decades. We went already through the CD-era, and most of the discs you still store are inaccessible. Same with hard drives. People recognize the drawbacks of new technologies.
Let’s compare: Ring Binder. Heap of vinyl combined with a complicated metal mechanism vs. Ringless Binder, a sheet of paper with a simple arrangement of flexible ties.
In the below illustration, the Ring Binder is empty but still takes more space than full ringless binders using adjustable ties instead of rings. Who needs the Rings?
Ring binder vs. Spineless Bind Books
Ring Binder
Ringless Binder
Misaligned Rings
Ties replace rings
Rings are always in the way of the hand trying to reach the opposite page,
Hard to notice Ties. Ties are flexible and low profile.
No way to flip through the pages quickly,
A breeze to Flip through the pages
Hard to store. Empty or full, Big Spine takes the same space.
Never exceeds the thickness of the bonded documents more than the thickness of the paper it is made from.
Brick-like handling comfort
Flexible
Hard inflexible covers
Cut from a sheet of paper.
You must specify the thickness and choose one from several sizes.
A basic Bind-book takes up to 350 pages, or you use a Spineless bind book to bind any amount of pages from 0 to 800.
In the Bindbook, You may divide your paperwork into separate sections.
Replacing the vinyl cover with a craft paper finish doesn’t make the product eco-friendly.
Eco-friendly. Requires only 20% of the weight of material needed to produce a comparable ring binder.
Please notice sets of ties by the left edges of the respective covers. You may divide the papers.
Can you imagine a simpler binder? A plain sheet of paper with few invisible cuts. Cut imaginatively. No rings. No complicated metal mechanism, and it binds hole-punched documents anyway. Of course, we do not show detail in this illustration for obvious reasons.
You may think I am talking about a ghost since no product is available to fit this description. But you may be wrong.
There is one using ties instead of rings.
Recently I read an article hailing the advantages of 2 rings binders over three rings binders. According to the author, with two rings is easier to flip through the pages. The author also extensively discusses the benefits of the ” light-touch lever-arch mechanism with an easy-grip rubber handle.” There is also “A unique ball-and-socket ring closure” and “locking bar mechanism” The description is long and complicated enough to fall asleep before you finish the sentence.
You may skip all this boredom and go straight to the no doubt more sexy “NO RING BINDER.“
It is SIMPLE. Cover with a couple of ties cut into it.
IT IS EASY TO FLIP THROUGH THE PAGES like a notebook since it has no sticking-out rings.
As an additional benefit, I should mention that the basic version of the NO RING or RINGLESS Binder comes with two sets of ties, each assigned to the left edge of the respective cover. It is possible because the FLAT ties don’t stick out of the cover plane, even one millimeter/fraction of an inch. So, You may divide your paperwork. For example, Your calendar/organizer on the left and your notes on the right.
Ringless binder used in a folio cover to provide flat binding solution for a notebook
It is a unique solution, Notebook, and Binder in ONE.
If you are in doubt, check the video below.
The Binder shown in this video is a “Single Spine” (single set of ties) capable of handling up to 150 pages.
Two spines (two sets of ties) Binder’s main purpose is to handle up to 350 pages of your paperwork. And then there is the Spineless version, capable of handling from 1-800 pages. One sizes takes all without the ring binder headache forcing you to choose one of the several sizes (1/2″,1″,1.5″, etc.)
O, I almost forget to mention two more versions coming out:
1) Ringless Binder with two additional ties to allow binding of two holes punched paper
2) Spineless Binder attempting to do the same adding two hole top punched pages to the three.
The two holes top punched pages are Eco friendly alternative to known Data Binders sporting nylon post, steel cables and metal rails. Spineless Binder can do the same at much lower cost due to its simpler Eco friendly setup.
Have you ever received a dirty look from a fellow you just handed a collection of papers kept together with staples?
The wire not flattened enough by the stapler hurts. Bloody fingers do not add to the positive impression of your offer. It seems stingy. Didn’t it? But being serious, how many of us were forced to use ring binders as early as in school and hate the brick-like contraptions? The rings are always in the way of your hand reaching the opposite page and the spine. The spine sticks out like a mountain, blocking the view and taking up your storage space even if it’s half empty.
You may collect the full display of negative emotions toward Ring Binders here and there when searching the internet and blogs dealing with organizers. Teachers and students share their solutions to avoid and replace the infamousRing-binder. They discuss: the disc-bound notebooks, Chicago screws, metal prongs, and a variety of other solutions designed with one goal in mind: to make it FLAT.
The rest of the adult population seems to have given up their hopes, seeing no solutions.
But there is a Ring-less binder developed in Chicago. It contains no metal parts of any sort visible among competing solutions. Cut from a flat sheet of reinforced paper. No sticking out pieces, rings, or prongs. Nothing can hurt your fingers, and it binds any number of leaflets effortlessly. One universal size replaces the usual selection of ring binders designed for a specific number of sheets.
Ringless Binder with two spines and 350 leaflets capacity
When I asked the designer why he spent his time designing solutions for the office supply industry when every CEO is eyeing electronic files and computers as replacements for paper documents, he said:
Spineless Binder for two or three hole punched leaflets.
A piece of paper can last for hundreds of years without a power source. Can you find a similar hard drive? You print your family pictures to preserve them on paper. How many have you lost when kept in memory of your electronic devices? Of course, electronics have their role, but they are not solutions for everything.
We all use tons of paper. We need a hard copy here and there. Where would I keep my records when all my hard drives for the last ten years are gone? I do not have to worry about compatibility or power supply with paper. Plus the cost. It is just a fraction of a penny per page.
There is a future for paper, but not everybody see it. Certainly, it is time to offer something better than the museum quality 133year-old contraption (ring binder) created at the time the first steam engines entered the world. For those paying attention, it is clear that the public is searching for a replacement.
The big behemoths of industry in the US have no interest in upending their already existing sales and offer a simpler, less expensive, and very competitive to their offer product. As you probably know, competition in the US died under several decisions of the Supreme Courtpromoting the interest of Big tech. Infringers who have no interest in promoting competition to their well-established offerings. That is why many new products already available elsewhere will never have any chance of showing up in the US. As an inventor, I have bigger hopes in the EU since there is no anti-patent Big Tech lobby and no PTABinvalidating84% of all nationally issued patents. In the US, small companiesare quickly extinguished by big tech moneyed competition and domestic or Chinese infringers. At a certain point, when you see all roadblocks in the US, you start to think: What we inventors do here is out of desperation, not hope, knowing full well that we should look to have a startup and hope to survive elsewhere outside the US.
I know well the plight of independent inventors in the US.
The Supreme Court has made several inventions: “Patent ineligible” in direct defiance of Congress-made statutes and the U.S. Constitution’s Article I, Section 8, Clause 8. Plus, there is PTAB. Established by the 2011 Leahy Smith American invention Act, patent review board is known as the “Patents Killer squad.” PTAB is invalidating 84% of issued USPTO patents at the request of the competition. For people looking for more info, you should start searching for information about “Efficient Infringement,” describing how big US and Chinese corporations kill competitive startups in the US.
Suppose you wonder why you can have patents for certain types of technology abroad when, in the US, it is forbidden. I think the answer is clear. Big Tech doesn’t want competition.
We wish the designers good luck finding their future – butAbroad?
Do we wonder why 50% of foreign fillers in the German Patent office are from the US? With the EU unitary patent court and a pan-European patenton the horizon, the outflow from the US may only increase.
It would help if you considered it your patriotic duty to support HR 5874, Senator Massie’s RALIA bill, by tossing away all the misgivings of the Supreme Court into the US patent law and creating conditions to restore US competitiveness.
Sorry, I should write about the Fellow with a bleeding finger handling my paperwork, but… More blood comes from other directions.
The idea of a Ringless binder is an expression of desire by people craving a binder without the pain of the rings. The actual product, PER SE, did not exist for the last 173 years since the Rings were invented. The expression is mainly used by young people still hoping to find an alternative to a ring binder, and is sometimes used by marketers who are aware of that.
And there are attempts to right the wrong in the ring binder:
This did not escape the attention of designers at the five-star ACCO Brands, creating Flex Binder. “It acts like a notebook and binder. The plastic cover folds back over the rings to lie flat like a notebook. Substitute designers used ties made from steel wire covered with plastic as rings. 1 1/2” rings hold up to 300 sheets.” Yes, you may call it Ring-less, but the metal wire seems like an overkill, not fulfilling the promise of a flat binder. By addressing the fixed dimension problem of a ring binder, the product is sought after among students in the US.
From our point of view, being assembled with steel wire and other heavy components, it is overkill to use pounds of steel to bind ounces of paper. It’s still quite cumbersome to handle, almost like it’s an older brother ring binder.
The second iteration of the Ring-less Binder is available in the EU. Not universally known among users and is sold under different names:
I think the lack of one easily recognizable name leads to struggle in the market. Four major companies in the EU produce it. It can bind up to 30-50 pages max, and it is flat and quite handy, but the plastic prongs tend to bend uncontrollably when used extensively, rendering the whole thing useless. From our experience point of view, this is quite a handy gadget, but as users report, it doesn’t last very long.
Here is a short 1-minute video showing our experience with the “Strip Binder”
Most puzzling is the fact that four major EU office supply companies keep offering their clients clearly outdated technology, shunning new developments.
Spring binder for secure storage and reorganization of documents
Spring clip mechanism: insert and remove papers quickly anywhere
The compressor bar keeps records neat
Easy access to files for quick reorganization
It fits A4 and foolscap documents
Capacity: 35 mm. (1.37”)
With a maximum capacity of about 240 pages, it serves the user better than the “Loop file.”
Then there are the springs and the metal mechanism that make it flat impossible.
ACCO Presstex Hanging Data Binder, 12″ x 8.5″, 6″ thick
At 6″ (15.5 cm) (to carry 11 pounds (ca. 5 kg ) / 5 k of paper is impressive but complicated. Online reviews indicate that not every user can follow assembly directions.
Then we have the mavericks.
Fastykula
“FASTYKULA “The impossible-to-pronounce name describes the binder used in archives in Poland.
It binds several pages perfectly flat thanks to an uncomplicated combination of covers and ribbons. We like its lack of pretense—a simple and effective solution.
Made from a tear-resistant, flexible sheet of paper, it no doubt fits the ringless description, delivering the same utility as a ring binder with ties instead of rings. The big spine covering the rings is gone, and the empty or full binder is always flat without the added pleasure of dealing with the spine present in ring binders.
There is one more big difference between RinglessBinder and the rest,
Ringless binders may have more than one spine. Keeps up to 350 pages on two spines and most likely is most capable binder on this page. It’s Spineless version handles up to 1000 pages.
Thanks to the flat, unobtrusive profile of the binding ties, it increases the number of bound documents and allows multiple spines to divide papers into separate sections. It’s a remarkable phenomenon in the office world. It comes in various versions.
1) Binder-Single set of ties. No longer offered.
2) Multi-binder – Two Spines 350 pages
3) Universal Binder, Two Spines, 350 pages. It has additional ties, allowing it to be used to bind two and three hole punched paper. (The same two-hole arrangement is used in a prong binder with a capacity limited to 50 leaflets)
Ringless binder is sized to fit refillable Folio Covers. This makes it a handy replacement for available inserts sporting sets of rings.
4) Spineless Binder, 800 pages plus
Mutli-binder Filled with documents.
We think this unknown “Ringless Binder,” “bind book,” “multi-binder,” or whatever name its designer applies, is the easiest to use of all the listed above.
*It delivers the Binder – notebook combination most users are searching for. (No sticking out rings)
* Delivers the additional new benefit of a second spine, allowing the user to divide the paperwork.
* Its one-size Spineless Version replaces the whole gamut of different thicknesses of ring binders. Being able to bind any number of pages from 1-800 (No need to estimate what thickness of ring binder I should use)
* Since it eliminates all metal parts and 80% of the weight of materials used for comparable ring binders is ECO-Friendly.
How do you find it? You may Google Ringless Binder. Among the results, you will find some links.
Most manufacturers dress ring binders in Kraft paper finish and claim it is ECO-Friendly. Eliminating the poisonous vinyl, Polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) from covers is a step in the right direction, but what about the metal parts? Here we have a product delivering full functionality using only 20% of the materials used by competing solutions and eliminating steel/metal parts with a high carbon footprint.
Their brick-like quality, rings terrorizing fingers, and sticking out like a mountain spine don’t make it a favorable item on our shelf, especially when they are half empty. Every time you buy one, you have to choose from one of the available sizes, and of course, if you end up using them, they are always too big or too small, and in the end, the rings misalign.
2 Spine Binder – notebook in one
But there is hope on the horizon. The 133-year-old reign of the Ring binder may end. Do you see the picture here? The yellow page with a couple of round cutouts? Itis a binder made from a piece of paper using flexible ties instead of rings. It stays flat regardless of the amount of paper you put in. Furthermore, it can bind just a few 120-150 pages, but his cousin’s 2-spine ringless Binder can gobble up to 350 pages. All of it without the unique Spine dominating the Ring-binder. And there is one more member of the same (Insane) family: “Spine-Less Binder.” This fellow has an appetite. It can devour up to 800 pages and has one more quality. Singlehandedly replaces all sizes of ring binders. No more headaches about which one we should choose.
Spineless binder with a tag
If you’d like to see more info about our binders’ family, leave your e-mail address in our “subscribe” box. Do not miss the Birthdays and gatherings.
Stack of Ringless, Spineless Binders with visible yellow tags marking the location of certain documents.
Have you noticed? The number of people looking for a “ringless binder.”
Try searching: I hate ring binders. There are quite a few results. The answers are: “Binders For Non-Binder People,” Ring Binder vs. Bound Book, etc.
Users are dissatisfied with the Ring-binder. As the answer to the prayers, you may see a “Grip binder,” a look-a-like binder in the form of a box. Clipboards with Covers, zippers, etc. I dare to say the number of answers indicates the simple truth: There is no viable replacement for the Ring binder’s effectiveness.
The binder is able to bind up to 350 pages. Using flexible ties instead of rings or prongs.
Ring binders with the spine sticking up and metal rings always in the way of hands trying to reach a page are uncomfortable to use. Plus, their brick-like form is quite painful to carry around, and it has a profound effect on the users https://smartpapercuts.com/shop/
That’s why they search in vain.
But there is One.
Binder and Notebook in one.
Multi-binder. It binds up to 350 pages with two sets of ties. It can be used as a two-subject notebook.
No longer does anyone have to choose. It is made from a sheet of reinforced paper and is strong. Instead of rings, a flexible tie is used. It always stays flat regardless of the number of pages it binds. It comes in versions. One looks like a notebook, but without a spine.
It binds from one to 350 pages.
Another “Spineless” singlehandedly replaces all sizes of commonly available ring binders with different thicknesses and accommodates from 1 to 800 pages in one simple design.
Over a year ago (2019) Prompted by my family’s desire to see the newest indie-independent art we went to Chicago’s “Printed Matter Book Fair”. After finding parking on Wabash Ave short stroll brought us to the Michigan location of this glorious event. Old buildings on Michigan Ave destinations by themselves showing to the visitor quite an interesting 19-century approach to architectural design. There is a certain charm preserved in the old interior decoration. A crowd of mostly young people filled the stairs and walkways on 3floors of the building.
Crowded Floors filled with exhibitors and viewers with little space in between on the first sight offered plenty of interesting things to see. But after a while searching for the new, beautiful, and unexpected there was a sort of disappointment. Clearly, we expected more. The first thing which struck my practical mind was a discovery that no independent bookseller present on these 3 floors was offering something I would purchase, read and cherish for at least for a while.
Books exist not only in their physical form but at least to me as the frame for an interesting message. The message was the ingredients missing. The main message emerging from seeing the fair was a message of the author’s loss and confusion. Focusing on form, printed pages without a clear intellectual path produced nothing memorable. Even a few pop-ups I saw, did not bring to me this kind of satisfaction or curiosity to prompt me to purchase one since they are bound to sit on the shelves forgotten because of the sin of not carrying a message.
Message It is the ingredient missing from contemporary US American art. That’s why Manga Books and similar foreign inventions dominate the U.S. market. They bring the message – excitement.
In a culture focused on the financial aspect, simple seeds of imagination and creativity have no chance to flourish. The young generation of makers is trying but since there were born and raised in this environment there are trying, but falling short.
Coming back to my family we came to the conclusion that our time could be better spent.
Unfortunately.
But I think we should keep watching. true art comes unexpectedly and in small portions.
This February 2021 Printed Matter will launch its first Virtual Art Book Fair (PMVABF)
https://pmvabf.org/
When I first saw “Up with Paper” greeting cards I was impressed with their small square cards. Their traditional book format was something new in the right size, and they were a success story with virtually no competition. Graphic3D existed much longer but was and still is invisible, focusing on a steady business market. Far away from the hustle and bustle of retail. I think “Up with Paper” initial success was not justified for a period of time because their made in China cards did not stand out exactly with their quality. Their rough-cut pieces glued together did not make an impression when inspected close up. It changed, and now you can enjoy well made and designed cards with nice simple artwork. I do not see any new concepts, but as with every established business, they focus on their proved holdings. A nice choice for occasional mailings to your friends and family. They also try their hands on a small collection of pop-up books. I am less impressed with it, but they addressed it to kids, and apparently, some kids enjoy their work.
I love pop-up cards. My long-time love of paper started in grammar school, where in a school competition I won first prize for a paper steam engine. I loved my creation so much that I refused to let it out of my hands to submit it to a between-schools competition.
December is the time we can see collections of flat Christmas Cards posted all over the offices.
I never asked what is happening to this display after Christmastime is over. Mostly, this is a missed opportunity to keep your name up in the front of your client’s eyes.
Nobody keeps them, and there is no reason to do that.
The usual Flat generic cards with simple messages and very simple designs are not exactly eye and heart catchers.
Stand-alone kind of Pop-up cards tends to stay displayed as a handy decoration or remainder
Smart Marketers know well that 3-dimensional mail has an unusually high up to 25 to 50% response rate, and that’s why smart companies like graphics3inc are selling pop-ups almost exclusively to business customers.
Every few years they refresh their existing contraptions with new graphics and with a limited number of designs they serve their customers for more than 20 years. You can grab some of their designs right away from their website.
Their designs are powered up with rubber bands. We decided not to use rubber bands.
If you like something original, there is our option. Contact us with your requirements, and we will provide an original design with original art and higher impact than any generics, Our unique pop-up cards designs pops-up under gravitation force. The weight of paper they are assembled from.
Pop-up cards
1. Grabs authentic attention.
2. Create an instant positive impact.
3. Have very high response rates.
4. They leave a lasting impression.
For generic 3D cards, the response rate can vary from 2-4% or higher for retention campaigns. I have heard about higher rates, but of course it depends on the quality of your mailing lists, industry, and your offer. Successful flat mail have 0.5%-2% response rate.
In our personal experience, flat cards are easily lost in a stack of paper and after the initial encounter the recipient no longer pays attention to them.
3 D pop-up cards get more attention, but it depends on design quality and size. The big sized are disposed of quickly since, due to their space requirement, they are viewed as a problem.
Smaller pop-up greeting cards have better luck, unless they are required to be held open in the recipient’s hands or the design is of poor quality. That’s why Graphics3D rubber band open cards and SmartPaperCuts.com gravitational force cards are my favorite.
Friedrich Soennecken inventor of the Ring Binder should certainly wake up from his well-deserved final rest knowing that finally there is something/ somebody good enough to challenge his invention “Ring-binder” 133 years long reign in every office on the earth.
To my surprise, the new solution comes not in form of a complicated mechanism but as a single, flexible sheet of material cut a certain way. All rings and metal parts are eliminated. And it works.
There is no sticking-out spine always taking the same space on the shelf even if empty. The New Ring-Less Binder is flexible and quite pleasant to handle, the same as the rest of this new family serving the same binding functions.
The Challenger says he has ambitions to improve range of products currently on the market. Eliminating the Rings, Spines, prongs etc. His solution simply is simpler. It means less expensive. It means Not welcomed by competition.
This is not the first time the Reign of the Ringis challenged. There are numerous challenges to its rule sponsored by many companies. None of them were successful, lingering on the fringe of the Office market mostly due to the fact that they introduce their own sets of problems.
In the U.S. there is an additional problem with the office market dominated by very few big players. Players with immense financial resources not taking any risks when it comes to the introduction of a product competing with their well-established offerings.
To make things more palatable for inventors the 2011 Leahy–Smith America Invents Act effectively makes U.S. patents worthless and unenforceable by a small player not having financial resources to finance legal challenges.
Leahy-Smith’s act (2011 America Invention act) sponsored by Big Tech effectively enables “Efficient Infringement”practiced by already established companies barring entry to the market for eventual startups/competition. Introduced by this legislation PTAB (Patent Trial and Appeal Board ) enjoys well-deserved fame as a ” Patent killing squad” invalidating by own admission 84% of all challenged patents. The effect: Invention exodus to more promising lands already caught politicians’ attention in Congress.
So far, there is no real action to fix things except proposed bills released with misleading titles and preambles and opposite in effect, the rest of the text. Under “Save The Inventor”false flag trying to cement the current situation, benefiting no one except the BIG TECH.
Empty Ring binders. Please notice the space needed to store even the empty one.
If we add the long string of anti-patent rulings by the US Supreme Court, there is no wonder why the US public do not see the latest fruits of technological development we can easily spot in other countries. To learn more about the plight of US inventors please check https://innovationgadfly.com/ & https://usinventor.org/
5 Ring-Less binders by Alfac.uscompare Ring-Less with empty Ring binder
But there is a Ring-less binder developed in Chicago. It contains no metal parts of any sort visible among competing solutions. Cut from a flat sheet of reinforced paper. No sticking out pieces, rings, or prongs. Nothing can hurt your fingers, and it binds any number of leaflets effortlessly. One universal size replaces the usual selection of ring binders designed for a specific number of sheets.
I know well the plight of independent inventors in the US. 
under different names:
anywhere
ACCO Presstex Hanging Data Binder, 12″ x 8.5″, 6″ thick
When I first saw 
