Does Kinko's usually do a good job cutting off the binding of books?

[EKS]

Do they ever...er...miss? Or not do it straight? Or cut off too much?

 

I am a very compulsive person and not having it fairly perfect would drive me crazy.

[Anne in Hawaii]

Office Max did a terrible job, though.

[mommylaw]

I would assume that this is the kind of thing in which the outcome is very specific to the person doing the cutting.

 

That being said, my local Kinko's did an awesome job all four times I've had bindings removed.

[OnTheBrink]

They've always done a good job for me.

[HootyTooty]

Every time I have brought a book to Kinko's they have done a great job.

[Beth in Central TX]

Same here. I take all of my cutting and binding jobs to our local Kinko's for the past 5 years. No problems so far, and I've had good customer service too.

[pixelroper]

I'm jumping in here to ask--

 

I'm wondering what are the main reasons are to do this (I can only think of copying for multiple dc??). I would love to hear where else you have found this useful.

 

I am going to miss the unbound SotW AB and am considering having this done for next year's AB. What does this cost??

 

Thanks for letting me interrupt. Sorry.

[HootyTooty]

In my case, I would but the edges off then either spiral bind or slip the pages into slip covers. It made the pages more easier to work with.

 

One example I could think of is Building Thinking Skills, there was a part you have to put blocks on shapes. The the book was bound it was very hard to place the shapes without things slipping off. When I spiral bound the book it was esy for my son to do the activities.

 

Well that was my reason, I'm sure someone will come by with a snazzier reason.

[girligirlmom]

I went to Staples once to have them spiral bound one book and copy another workbook, and then spiral bound both the original and the copy of the workbook. The copy was one of those homeschool workbooks that are allowed to be copied within a family.

 

The first book was bound but Staples used a weird spiral that was too tight and didn't allow for easy use. Then the second book was missing many pages and most of the double sided pages were single sided but not all. They only single copied part of it and bound it with the wrong size spiral also and lost some of the original pages. I had to debate with them but I convinced them to pay me so I could replace the book plus shipping.

 

I took that replacement to Kinko's and they did it right the first time. I was sorry I had gone to Staples when I should have just gone to Kinko's.

 

I have since gone to Kinkos only and never had a problem. I feel that Kinko's specializes and gets it right, but Staples does this as just a part of their business and did not do it well at all.

[tuckabella]

I have since gone to Kinkos only and never had a problem. I feel that Kinko's specializes and gets it right, but Staples does this as just a part of their business and did not do it well at all.

 

Thanks for sharing this lesson. I would have gone to Staples first, out of habit, when Kinko's is literally 25 steps away from Staples.

[Kay in Cal]

I get the binding cut off my SOTW student pages, have the teacher's pages separately comb bound, and then put the student pages in the appropriate place with my SOTW workbook pages... at least I did last year, and I will this year if I get the SOTW II pages finished. You can check out my workbook pages here:

 

http://www.lulu.com/content/796912

[mcconnellboys]

Well, all my local office supply places have messed me up slightly at one time or another. Yeah, it does bother me a little, but I've always managed to get over it in the end.....Sorry....

[mommylaw]

I take the binding off all books that are frequently used and spiral bound them.

 

For example, the American Heritage Girls' Handbook is used every meeting from 1st through 12th grade. It's much easier to keep the page open that we are working on and it keeps the books neater when spiral bound.

HTH

[JudoMom]

I take the binding off all books that are frequently used and spiral bound them.

 

For example, the American Heritage Girls' Handbook is used every meeting from 1st through 12th grade. It's much easier to keep the page open that we are working on and it keeps the books neater when spiral bound.

HTH

 

Have you ever used Copy It? They're prices tend to be cheaper than Kinko's, and they've always done a great job for me. They also have a homeschooler's discount (I know the owner's wife used to homeschool--I've been out of touch with them for a long time so I don't know if they still do), but it might just be on copies now.

 

Anyway-I thought I'd recommend them in case you haven't used them.

[battlemaiden]

was with the lamination on one project. They cut the laminate on the front and back cover too close and it separated quickly. The cutting and spiral bind was otherwise very well done.

 

Jo

[Claire]

Be sure to ask for someone experienced, and tell them exactly what you want. I sometimes have piano music bindings cut off and bound, but once it must have been someone new because they cut off too much.

[EarleneW]

Kinkos has always done a great job for me. In fact, I have some stuff I need to drop off to have done. Thanks for reminding me!

[Ellie]

They've always done a good job with cutting off the spine. It's the drilling holes that they have messed up before (I usually have the books drilled for three holes so I can keep them in 3-ring notebooks). Now I take the ntoebook with me as a model.

[ThelmaLou]

I've had great success with Kinko's. I cut multiple bindings each year and have them spiral bound. Sometimes there's not much of a margin in the books being cut (R&S workbook/test pages and Horizons math pages), so a letter or two from the directions sometimes goes missing. But it's never been a problem for my kiddos. I also have them add a clear plastic overlay to both the front and back of my spiral bound books. It protects the cover and gives the book added stability.

[Tap]

The made mistakes twice. Once they mispunched holes. I wanted the book cut off the binding and then 3 hole punched. The person before me had requested 2 hole punch drilled instead of the typical 3 hole punch. The Office Max worker didn't think to check the settings and they 2 hole punched my book. To remedy the situation they ran fresh copies of the entire book on premium paper, 3 hole punched it, gave it to me for free....and since there was a generous margin they spiral bound the original and gave it back to me also. It was a $50 book so I was happy to have them find a way to make it right.

 

 

I have also had them not cut enough of the binding off which left glue strips on the edges. I returned and the cut if off again for me. Refunding my money for the lost time/gas.

 

A few things to discus with them before you have them cut:

 

-Will they replace the book if they mess it up?

-Ask them to double check the settings of the drill (they drill large stacks of paper instead of 3 hole punching it) before they drill it.

-Ask them how much margin you will have left. Some books have a large enough margin to cut it off the binding and still have room for a 3 hole punch/spiral binding and some don't. You can end up with the holes cutting through words.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Kinkos did my SOTW AG. The cut was slightly angled, like it hadn't been clamped tightly enough. But, the holes were straight, so it lays correctly in my 3-ring binder. It bothered me at first, but it doesn't any more. I hadn't thought of it at all until now (thank you very much! :))

[mommylaw]

Thanks, next time I'll give them a try. I'd prefer to give my business to a smaller company versus a national chain.