At this time last year, there were a series of posts on ComposeCreate.com about products to purchase as you are “Preparing for Fall.” I’m a huge gadget and office supply fan, so I’d like to continue this series and tell you about some of the products I’ll be using this coming year.
If you’ve ever wanted a reliable system for binding assignment journals, camp materials, handouts, etc., then I’m happy to report that I’ve found the perfect resource! It is called the GBC ProClick P50 Desktop Binding Machine. I used this binding for my Music Menagerie Camp materials (we had over 60 pages) and I loved it. Here’s why:
- You can zip and unzip the spine quickly and easily. It’s so easy that the kids can do it and love doing it!
- The binding doesn’t come “undone” like comb binding.
- It looks very professional.
The only downside is that you can only punch holes in 6 sheets at a time, but it really doesn’t take long for me to punch hundreds of pages if you are watching television or listening to music at the same time. Here is a link to the binding that you will need:
25 count binding spines (85 sheet capacity)
25 count binding spines (45 sheet capacity)
I highly recommend this resource for packaging important materials for your students! It’s a great investment as I’m sure you’ll use it again and again!
Be sure to let me know what products are a “must-have” for your studio this year. You might also be interested in reading this blog post about these products from last year.
Thanks for the suggestion on the binding machine. As a piano teacher, I hole punch all of my student’s assignment sheets and organize them into a 3-ring binder. This sounds like a great tool to increase efficiency and organization in the piano studio. Thanks!
Hi Wendy,
Just a couple of questions. How far do the binding spines go? Does one spine do each book? I looked at the link you included of the binding spines but couldn’t tell from the picture.
And how would you say the cost of bound assignment books compared to assignment binders compare?
Hi Sylvia,
The binding is the length of an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper, so it covers the whole spine. Yes, 1 spine does each book. I bought spines that can hold 80 pieces of paper. Hmmm…I’m not sure about your other question. I’m actually not even using these for assignment books this year…I still use the 3 ring binder with my new assignment sheets. I like the 3 ring binder because it has pockets. I use this binding machine for my special projects like piano camp, state assessment worksheets, etc. You could certainly use it for your assignment books. It might seem a little pricey at first, but once you buy the machine, the binders are pretty cheap and you’ll use it over and over again.
Sally and i used these binder makers for our summer camp. She purchased one last summer for our composer camp, and thought it was pretty expensive, she says it has paid for itself handsomely. She made both the teachers’ lesson plans as well as the student workbooks and they looked VERY professional. Thnik I’ll be getting one too…….