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Office Depot and binding


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Ok, so I went in to Office Depot to see how much it would cost to get the spine cut off my HOD LHTH guide book and get it spiral bound. The nice lady behind the counter told me they couldn't do it anymore and directed me to a table that was set up for do it yourself book butchering.

Apparently, someone complained b/c a copyrighted book got butchered in one of the stores and now they won't touch copyright books at all after replacing the disgruntled customers book. I am not sure if this is everywhere or not, but thought I would throw it out there.

Their page cutter thing though wouldn't fit LHTH under it on the do it yourself table and the nice lady cut the spine for me. All I had to purchase was the spiral bound plastic thing for $2 and some change. I was expecting to pay quite a bit more. However I got it all done for $2 after worrying that I was about to butcher my book and totally have to buy a new one.

So now I don't know whether to be upset with the disgruntled customer who complained or happy b/c I got off cheap and was able to do it myself and if it got butchered it was totally my own fault. Either way I got it done for only $2!

I thought I would post this though to anyone else who may be thinking of using Office Depot for the same purpose to call ahead to see if you need to be prepared for the butcher your own book table. ;)

LHTH.jpg

My first butcher your own book!

 

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Edited by OpenMinded
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I go to Kinko's for all my de-spining. They have never said anything about copyrights. I'm not sure how de-spining affects a copyright, except that it makes it easier to copy? (I don't know from experience, just figuring if it's despined you can sit it on the copier and walk away?)

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Did you have the option of doing a continual spiral binding? Like this... http://www.amazon.com/White-Plastic-Spiral-Binding-Capacity/dp/B003OD8IYK

 

No, the plastic combed binding was all that was offered. They had the binding punch machine that would pull the binds apart and you put the book in the binding and then the machine closed the bind. It only did little rectangle punches.

They had guillotine paper cutter out there too but they would only cut maybe 10 pages max.

The manager told me that it was corporate wide so it is now policy.

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I go to Kinko's for all my de-spining. They have never said anything about copyrights. I'm not sure how de-spining affects a copyright, except that it makes it easier to copy? (I don't know from experience, just figuring if it's despined you can sit it on the copier and walk away?)

 

I looked at the front of the book I wanted to de-spine today (LLATL) and the copyright said it could not be reproduced in anyway. I can't imagine how butchering your own book violates a copyright. I understand not copying copyright materials, but cutting the spine or binding for ease of use?:confused:

I told the manager it would hurt business b/c the Office Max directly across the street would do it still. Then I went across the street to have LLATL de-spined. I didn't need it comb-bound. I was de-spining the student pages to file in my crate system.:tongue_smilie:

I was not happy with Office Max though b/c it was a manual cutter and the lady misaligned it and chopped off through my 3 hole punch on the end! At least she didn't charge me for that one. She managed to do the Purple one right. Office Depot was an electric cutter and it was accurate.

I think I am going to pen a letter to Office Depot and list my complaint. I honestly shopped there more, but if I can't get my needs met then I am not going to go to 2 stores in one day. I will choose to buy from Office Max.

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I go to Kinko's for all my de-spining. They have never said anything about copyrights. I'm not sure how de-spining affects a copyright, except that it makes it easier to copy? (I don't know from experience, just figuring if it's despined you can sit it on the copier and walk away?)

 

I have used Kinko's to cut bindings off books and to cut other paper (my wedding programs for one). I've always found it really easy and cheap, $1. They're price to bind is kinda' expensive though. The spiral binding costs $5 on top of the cost of the cut. I like the Office Depot price but was hoping for the nicer spiral.

 

Thanks for all the info! :D

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I went to Staples, Office Max and Office Depot. They all do it for around $2.00 and a little extra if you wanted a clear plastic cover and a black thicker cover for the back. I think I paid around $3.00. It only took them about 10 minutes to do it. It is so worth it!

 

Oh, it is the spiral kind...price is not for debinding. Just for them binding your loose leaf book or pages. I had them do my kids planner pages. They like it in the spiral books.

 

HTH

Nicole

Edited by Nicoleab2
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I looked at the front of the book I wanted to de-spine today (LLATL) and the copyright said it could not be reproduced in anyway. I can't imagine how butchering your own book violates a copyright. I understand not copying copyright materials, but cutting the spine or binding for ease of use?:confused:.

 

Because if they mess up, they can't photocopy it to re-try. They would have to replace the book for the customer. That would be my guess.

 

I always go to FedEx Kinko's for spiral binding. They are a tad more expensive, but they are SOOO much more professional and courteous, and they have more options available. I just had three student planners made, and I am so happy with the job they did.

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Now I have heard 2 stories from them. One that it was a disgruntled customer and the other is that it was a disgruntled publisher.

Hoping it isn't the latter as I can still get my bindings cut off at Office Max and then use Office Depot's self service table for free to bind the books.

 

I heard a third story. The woman (girl, actually) told me that they don't cut the binding off books because the glue messes up the blade. Therefore, to preserve the blade, they no longer use it. I love the logic.

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Because if they mess up, they can't photocopy it to re-try. They would have to replace the book for the customer. That would be my guess.

 

I always go to FedEx Kinko's for spiral binding. They are a tad more expensive, but they are SOOO much more professional and courteous, and they have more options available. I just had three student planners made, and I am so happy with the job they did.

 

I would think that going in and saying take a huge knife to my book that you would expect it to be a gamble. I would consider a policy of your book, your risk in writing to be more of a solution.

I tried going to FedEx Kinko's. You have to leave everything. It can be days...The guy was actually very off putting like he hoped I wouldn't leave anything. That was the only time I went in the store and it didn't leave me with the desire to rush back any time soon.

I did check on the cost of a paper cutter that would remove binding of up to 350 pages. $350!!! :001_huh: I will just risk operator error.

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I would think that going in and saying take a huge knife to my book that you would expect it to be a gamble. I would consider a policy of your book, your risk in writing to be more of a solution.

I tried going to FedEx Kinko's. You have to leave everything. It can be days...The guy was actually very off putting like he hoped I wouldn't leave anything. That was the only time I went in the store and it didn't leave me with the desire to rush back any time soon.

I did check on the cost of a paper cutter that would remove binding of up to 350 pages. $350!!! :001_huh: I will just risk operator error.

 

You're nicer than most, I suspect. Most people would probably freak out if they messed up their book.

 

I have never had to leave anything at Kinko's. That would stink! I go when they aren't busy and just stand there and wait for the guy to do it. Or we walk down to DQ in the same plaza. :001_smile:

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I go to Kinko's for all my de-spining. They have never said anything about copyrights. I'm not sure how de-spining affects a copyright, except that it makes it easier to copy? (I don't know from experience, just figuring if it's despined you can sit it on the copier and walk away?)

 

It REALLY is not that easy. I copy Operation Manuals for work that come with a spine on them. Even after cutting the spine off, it requires a LOT of babysitting to get a good scan/copy of them.

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I have used Kinko's to cut bindings off books and to cut other paper (my wedding programs for one). I've always found it really easy and cheap, $1. They're price to bind is kinda' expensive though. The spiral binding costs $5 on top of the cost of the cut. I like the Office Depot price but was hoping for the nicer spiral.

 

Thanks for all the info! :D

 

I just had three books done at Kinko's last weekend and they charged me $4.99/book to cut the binding off, spiral bind it (with continuous spiral, not that plastic comb stuff), and put a cover over it (clear plastic over the front, black plastic over the back). They didn't charge me any extra for the cut--the cost was all inclusive. I was really happy with the results and will be taking a few more books in. I did have to leave them because they were short handed, but it was on a weekend, so it didn't bug me. In any case, they finished earlier than scheduled and called me to let me know.

Edited by LemonPie
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I always go to FedEx Kinko's for spiral binding. They are a tad more expensive, but they are SOOO much more professional and courteous, and they have more options available. I just had three student planners made, and I am so happy with the job they did.

 

This has been my experience too. Sometimes they do it while I wait, sometimes they say it will be ready the next day. Either way, they actually seem to want my business, unlike Office Depot.

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Our Kinko's manager told me they are not supposed to do it anymore, unless the customer approves a point of cutting that is well away from the glue. She said the glue was messing up the blades on their machines and they have to stay away from the glue part.

 

She told me when book has a wide left margin it is not a problem, but when a book has text going too close to the binding, they cannot do it without getting into the edge of the text area, and can't take responsibility for destroying the book if the customer is unhappy with the very edge of the text being cut off.

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No, the plastic combed binding was all that was offered. They had the binding punch machine that would pull the binds apart and you put the book in the binding and then the machine closed the bind. It only did little rectangle punches.

They had guillotine paper cutter out there too but they would only cut maybe 10 pages max.

The manager told me that it was corporate wide so it is now policy.

 

I went to Office Depot last week (Wed.) to have a binding cut off. The guy did it for me and offered to spiral bind it when I asked him to 3-hole punch it. He seemed pretty confused at my requests, so maybe he wasn't aware of the corporate policy. ;)

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