We offer a wide variety of index tabs to organize the information in your binders. We can produce them in poly or paper. There are many details that go into the tabs that will work best for you.

How we refer to index tabs can be confusing. We use the quantity of full sets needed and then the tabs per set to calculate your price. For example, if you have 50 binders to fill and there are 8 sections per binder, we will refer to that as 50 sets of 8, 1/8th cut. We sometimes refer to a “bank” of tabs meaning the tabs you can view at one time. Using the above example, you may want them to be a larger 1/4th cut tab as opposed to a much smaller 1/8th cut tab. We would then say 50 sets of 8, 1/4th cut, 2 banks of 4. You would only be able to see tabs 1-4 at first glance until you flip tab 4 and see the second “bank” of 5-8. This is sometimes driven by the size of your tab titles, by how much material goes behind each tab or just by the look you prefer. The chart below shows the sizes of the most-commonly used tab cuts. We can go as small as a 1/25th cut (a-z usually) in one bank.

Paper Stock that is most-commonly used, would be white 90 lb. and 110 lb. weight. The 90 lb. weight is perfect for most applications. If you want a slightly more rigid paper, there is an upcharge for the 110 lb. paper. These paper stocks come in blue, yellow, buff, ivory and grey as well. If you would like to use something other than a white stock, we can go over that at the time of your quote.

Mylar is a coating that can be put on the tab itself and/or the binding edge. When applied to the tab itself, it keeps them from getting dirty, worn and can add pop. When a clear strip is applied to the binding edge it keeps the paper from ripping and pulling out of your binder. Mylar comes in clear and many other colors and adds very little to your pricing. It really lengthens the life of your tabs, and we highly recommend it.

Poly Stock is available in 16 or 23-gauge polyethylene and comes in a good variety of colors. This plastic material is designed to last for long periods of time and can be wiped clean. Mylar is not used on poly material.

Overall Size will be your sheet size and either a ¼” or ½” tab extension. A ½” extension is the most common. The ½” extension will allow you 2 lines of type for longer titles and your type would be horizontally and vertically centered. The standard sheet size is 11 x 8.5” but tabs can be done in other common sizes, legal and A4 included.

Tab Orientation tells us where you want your tabs to be. They can be across the top or bottom, or down the right side. The chart below shows the 6 options available. The vertical/horizontal side tabs are generally used in typical binder applications and are most common. The vertical/horizontal top tabs are shown not drilled as they are most commonly used as a file guide of sorts without the need for drilling.

Printing on your tabs is usually done in black ink on 1 or 2 sides. For poly tabs we normally print on 1 side so there is no bleed through from the back. If you want to use a colored ink to match your logo or if that’s your preference, then we can do that as well. When using paper tabs, you can usually obtain the color combination you want on the tabs by choosing a mylar color or colors. Tabs could be plain as well if you prefer to print them yourself or if you will use a label. You can also add body copy (printing on the sheet itself). A table of contents on the first tab or a logo on each tab are nice touches and can be done in black ink or any color of your choice.

Drilling the binding edge of your tabs is common practice. Tabs are normally drilled as a standard 3-hole drill at the left side, or a 2-hole drill at the top. We can drill them however you need for your binder. Tabs can also be undrilled if you are binding with spiral binding or just using your tabs as a file guide.

Collation of your tabs is a huge timesaver when putting your binders together. We can collate them into full sets (1 tab of each position) so you can simply insert the entire set all at once. This eliminates the need to have stacks of every tab in front of you, a much simpler process for you. We can, of course, leave them uncollated (separate stacks of each tab) if that’s what you prefer.