Levenger Circa Aluminum Vs Plastc

[WirsPlm]

I'm starting to use discbound systems and have liked Arc a lot so far, but hear that the Levenger Circa aluminum discs are easier to turn pages on than the plastic Staples discs, does anyone here have personal experience with this they can share?

[willard]

They're sexy but way overpriced. I hope this is not an oxymoron.

 

As you can see, both have demerits.

[macaddicted]

The RollaBind discs are less expensive by far, but not very sexy. They seem to work ok, but I use them mostly for storing long documents or printed files. I prefer the sparkly discs from Levenger for my day-to-day books. The problem with discs over 1" is the page creep that results from the stack of paper trying to work its way around the disc. Anything over an inch has to be turned in stages to go from the front to back. Depending on how well the pages were punched even books with 1" discs can be difficult to flip through quickly.

 

I have large discs from both companies and prefer the Levenger discs, and the metal discs for my 1 1/2" book. Generally the Levenger plastic discs are better than the RollaBind discs, My workday record book is bound with the 1" Twilight discs and doesn't get turned much. But they are very, very blingy (blingie? blinggy?). I should also mention that I prefer the Junior (half page, A5) sized books. Letter sized books over 3/4" start to become rather bulky. Try grabbing a third of a ream of paper (about 150 pages) to get an idea of how much paper you'd be carrying with 1" discs.

 

A couple more quick things. First I just ordered a Junior sized cover from Renaissance Leather which I absolutely love. Less elegant than the Levenger covers but ultimately much more practical. And great leather. Second, if you're really going to go for the Circa system GET A GOOD PUNCH. It makes all the difference. The price difference between the regular Circa punch and the leverage punch is $30 but a world of difference in the quality of the punched pages. Having well punched paper moving over the discs makes the whole experience so much better. Lastly, if you can wait, Levenger occasionally runs some really good sales on Circa related stuff, and less occasionally significant cash discounts on purchases over $100. If not the Circa Starter Kit isn't a bad buy. Oh, and check the Levenger store on eBay. If you don't mind blemished covers (which is inevitable) or someone elses initials stamped on the book then you can find some real good deals there too (to? two? tu?).

[wikeh2004]

The RollaBind discs are less expensive by far, but not very sexy. They seem to work ok, but I use them mostly for storing long documents or printed files. I prefer the sparkly discs from Levenger for my day-to-day books. The problem with discs over 1" is the page creep that results from the stack of paper trying to work its way around the disc. Anything over an inch has to be turned in stages to go from the front to back. Depending on how well the pages were punched even books with 1" discs can be difficult to flip through quickly.

 

I have large discs from both companies and prefer the Levenger discs, and the metal discs for my 1 1/2" book. Generally the Levenger plastic discs are better than the RollaBind discs, My workday record book is bound with the 1" Twilight discs and doesn't get turned much. But they are very, very blingy (blingie? blinggy?). I should also mention that I prefer the Junior (half page, A5) sized books. Letter sized books over 3/4" start to become rather bulky. Try grabbing a third of a ream of paper (about 150 pages) to get an idea of how much paper you'd be carrying with 1" discs.

 

A couple more quick things. First I just ordered a Junior sized cover from Renaissance Leather which I absolutely love. Less elegant than the Levenger covers but ultimately much more practical. And great leather. Second, if you're really going to go for the Circa system GET A GOOD PUNCH. It makes all the difference. The price difference between the regular Circa punch and the leverage punch is $30 but a world of difference in the quality of the punched pages. Having well punched paper moving over the discs makes the whole experience so much better. Lastly, if you can wait, Levenger occasionally runs some really good sales on Circa related stuff, and less occasionally significant cash discounts on purchases over $100. If not the Circa Starter Kit isn't a bad buy. Oh, and check the Levenger store on eBay. If you don't mind blemished covers (which is inevitable) or someone elses initials stamped on the book then you can find some real good deals there too (to? two? tu?).

 

My experience with Levenger and Rollabind discs is similar. It's not sexiness, the difference is quality control and functionality. The Levenger Circa discs were well finished and smooth turning out of the package. The Rollabind discs still had mold flashing on them and required some trimming with a sharp knife and smoothing with fine sandpaper before they would perform well. The Rollabind discs were much cheaper, but required work.

 

The current Levenger desk punch makes slightly larger "mushroom" cutouts than the Rollabind punch. They make the same size cutouts as the pre-punched Circa paper from Levenger. That little bit of extra clearance makes a big difference in how easy it is to turn the pages. Customers grumbled to Levenger about enlarging the punch to match their paper, and they did it a couple of years ago. I was able to get the punch on sale. Their eBay store has occasional sales and is worth checking.

 

I agree that 1" and larger discs require a bit more care in turning pages. I standardized on 3/4" discs because their compact size caused less interference with my hand when writing on the back side of the page. But, with the 1" discs, I think the Levenger punch size mushrooms would make turning easier.

 

Haven't tried Staples Arc stuff. No store here. :-(

[dgturner]

To reiterate some of what has been said above, the Arc discs are not quite as nice as the Circa discs. Now in regard to the question about aluminium versus plastic: my personal opinion is that the aliminium discs are better. Now whether they are worth it, I am not certain.

[WirsPlm]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I already have a Circa punch on the way (used but purchased new in 2012 so it should have the larger mushrooms) and and definitely keeping an eye on the Levenger outlet store on eBay (sounds like aluminum discs really do make a difference). I priced out Rollabind vs. Staples Arc, but they come to about the same and I have a Staples card so I'm not interested in Rollabind right now, maybe if I want to pick up some cheap used ones for storage.