CatholicMom Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 (edited) Office supply lovers take note! Check out this video: http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/arc/ I have gone back and forth with deciding whether I wanted to plan my school year on the computer, print and bind my own customized planner, OR find some kind of notebook or planner to write all my plans in in pencil. Before I did anything too fancy (or costly) I decided to just snoop around Staples and see what I see for ready-to-go planners. And. I. Found. The customizable Arc notebook. :lol: I am actually impressed with how practical and helpful and easy it is to make your own customized notebook! The "binding" is little coin-like rings (which seem to hold the pages really well IMO) that you can add more pages onto... you can buy graph paper inserts to put in your notebook, you can put in lined paper, there are a bunch of options. AND I saw you can buy the Arc System Desktop Punch for only 40 bucks!! That's the cheapest binding system I've seen anyhoo... I might have to get one sometime, but didn't want to spend all the money in one day (it actually amounts to less if you spend it on 2 different days, you know! lol). SO I picked a notebook with a pretty cover, bought refill pages & bigger rings for the binding to accommodate more pages. I took my notebook apart, put more pages in it, changed the rings to bigger rings to accommodate the pages, and WA LA!! You can add pockets and all kinds of stuff. Yay! How fun! :lol: I am seriously happy though and thought I would share for those who like to do their planning on paper. I'm going to plan 1 day per page (front will be one day, back will be another). I will have 180 pages for 180 days of the school year. I will figure out some way to put in a one-page calendar to keep track of my school year. And I LOVE that if I want to make small or big changes to my planner (like remove a bunch of pages, or add pages, it's very easy to do so without making it look like a mess). AND it's not quite as bulky and is more notebook-y than a binder like I've used before. You can fold the front back like a notebook and have it lay flat so you only see the day you're on. Just thought I'd share! :001_smile: Edited July 11, 2012 by TaraJo29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatholicMom Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 *gasp* I just realized the very obvious concept I could PRINT out my planner pages if I want and then punch them to put in my Arc Notebook. Or I could print anything else and punch it and put in there! :w00t: The ultimate printer - planner combo! (I love my printer.) I bet doing this instead of going to Staples and having a planner bound every year would save money, plus you can do it right at home at your desk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@home Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Rejoicing with you :001_smile: I just purchased a similar system from Levenger during their summer sale. I love it. I customized my planning pages on the computer then printed and punched. I added our master calendar at the beginning and our attendance pages, which are required by our state. I also purchased some tab dividers and made copies of helpful notes and handouts so everything is organized in one place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 My husband bought me the Levenger version (Circa) years ago and I just never got into it. I may have to revisit it. Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiztrezzLyn Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I just discovered the Arc system myself last week. I knew about the Levenger one but it was a lot more expensive. I bought the punch and I gotta say its incredible to put together my own planner with anything I want in it. I actually took planners I already had (the ones from Rod and Staff) and had the binding cut off of them and punched those and stuck them in there. I write notes down on index cards and well, anything at all really, and punch those and stick them in there with the week I needed the reminder or note for. There's always something missing from planners I buy and when I make my own, I was unhappy with 3-ring punching them and the one time that I went and had something coil bound at Staples, I ended up being unhappy with it too and couldn't rearrange things. I'll not have to worry about any of that any more. Also, theres a lot of other uses as well. Kids notebooks for school work, journals, etc. They can be any size or shape and you can punch the pages and make notebooks and stuff. I'm a office supply nerd so, this is the stuff that makes me happy lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatholicMom Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 There's always something missing from planners I buy and when I make my own, I was unhappy with 3-ring punching them and the one time that I went and had something coil bound at Staples, I ended up being unhappy with it too and couldn't rearrange things. That was exactly my problem! I was all ready to print out a planner I had made on MS Word and have it bound at Staples but I just knew in 2 weeks I would think of something I forgot or something I'd like to revise and I'd be stuck with it, or have to do it all over again. I love how I can change this to meet my needs without ruining it. I saw these today and didn't even pause at them. I bought another planner there today but I really like this. I'm thinking one for receipts, bills, to do lists. I'm a sucker for this stuff! So the idea is I can buy their refills or get the punch and put my own stuff in?? Yep. And there are a bunch of options for refills. You don't even have to buy a ready-to-go notebook to begin with if you want to start from "scratch" (which would be easy). Just buy a cover, buy whichever "refill" pack you want, buy the binding rings. And you can use whichever combination of refill pages you want. I think one for bills would be great. I love their clear pages for business cards. That's a great idea. I told dh he should start one of those because he keeps a notebook for keeping track of bills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teeniebeenie6 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 (edited) I've owned Levengers system for years. I highly recommend the new style Levenger punch over Staples punch. Staples punch makes smaller punch holes/shapes then the Levenger punch. I own Levengers old style punch which also makes the smaller punch holes and I really wish I had held out for the new punch. The smaller punche holes/shapes makes the paper not move as smoothly. Levenger paper packs have the bigger punch on them and the paper moves so nicely. Levenger punch is more expensive but it is also much higher quality. It is super heavy duty, you could truly knock a robber out with it! I LOVE Staples leather notebooks and find they are very comparable to Levengers. Levenger is slightly higher quality but not by much. I find Staples notebooks have a raw edge at the top near the plastic whereas Levenger tucks their edges under, and I found I had to look them over to make sure the stitching was straight on the Staples notebooks. It makes no difference performance wise (I am just really nit-picky). I don't think I'll ever buy another foldover from Levenger (I got a bunch of discounted ones on ebay over the years). They are not worth their price. The Staples colors are fabulous. I like Levenger discs better though. They are a bit thinner and paper comes on and off them easier. Levenger also has wonderful metal discs. I like this system for something disposable such as a yearly planner but not for permanent things. I tried to journal with this system and found I damaged pages more often then in a bound journal. Better quality paper such as HP 32 Laser Printer paper works best. Also http://www.diyplanner.com has a bunch of free templates you can print out yourself for planner pages. Kinkos or an office store can cut the pages in half once you print them. I bought Staples yearly planner but am not very enthused by it. It is pretty drab and boring. Levengers looks a little nicer but it is much more expensive to buy until they discount it half way through the year (may be discounted now?). Edited July 12, 2012 by teeniebeenie6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostInThought Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 These are much sleeker than what I'm using, but I started doing this last year with an Organizher binder from Target. The only benefit to this is that I can use regular paper in it and a standard 3-hole punch turns my printouts into planner pages. I use a similar re-arrangeable soft binder from 5star for my kids' notebook pages throughout the year. Thanks for the tip on the DIY planning website! The only thing better than an amazing plan is an eye-catching amazing plan. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teeniebeenie6 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 So the Levenger punch works with Staples discs? Yep they are completely interchangeable. : ) The patent went out for the system (which was originally held my rollabind) and Staples got in on it. I'm so happy they did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatholicMom Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Yep they are completely interchangeable. : ) The patent went out for the system (which was originally held my rollabind) and Staples got in on it. I'm so happy they did! Good to know! I see this "portable desktop punch" for only $19. You think this is compatible with the Arc? I wonder why it's sooo cheap? (i.e. What's wrong with it? :tongue_smilie:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Yep they are completely interchangeable. : ) The patent went out for the system (which was originally held my rollabind) and Staples got in on it. I'm so happy they did! Thank you!!! I bought an Arc notebook & accessories last week and, while I love the idea of it, it's annoyingly difficult to turn the pages. Staples' plastic dividers, pockets, and covers are fine (the holes are bigger), but all the paper products have smaller holes and they "stick" if you turn more than 1 or 2 pages at a time. I'm going to return the Staples punch (which I haven't used yet), and order the Levenger one instead. I wonder if it's possible to re-punch the paper from Staples with the Levenger punch, without screwing it up. I like Staples' day planner and task lists, which are much (MUCH!) cheaper than Levenger's. Hmmm.... Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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