Still Binding; This Time With Bind -It-All!

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We have a special guest Reporter in the house! Please join me in welcoming Debbie Olsen to Craft Critique! Debbie has a blog we all love called Thinking Inking. She is a superb artist and a wonderful writer. I was so grateful when she offered to review this product for us. Thanks so much Debbie, I hope you'll report for us again soon!

Bind-it-All by Zutter
Reported by Debbie Olsen

I guess you could call me a Bind-a-holic. I love books, and I love to make my own mini books, replete with ribbons and photographs. My latest binder toy is the Zutter Bind-It-All. Why did I need the Bind-It-All when I already have both a Carl Comb Binder and a Rubicoil?


First, I like the Bind-It All’s portability factor; a binder that weighs less than 5 lbs. is easier to bring along than one that weighs 16 lbs. The Bind-It All has a smaller footprint as well, approximately 4” x 7”, without the stabilizing bar extended.

I love that the Bind-It-All can cut right through chipboard. My Rubicoil is wonderful for paper, but it’s definitely chipboard-challenged. Even when I use very thin chipboard in my Rubi, I don’t have room to cover it with designer paper before punching. The Bind-It-All, on the other hand, cuts even thick, covered chipboard and CD’s! Did you make any of the coaster boxes? Remember punching all of those holes? The Bind-It-All makes short work of the holes—six holes with every press of the handle. To be fair, the Rubicoil’s handle is a bit smoother and easier to press down than the Bind-It-All’s is, but it’s not that difficult—just not quite a smooth as the Rubicoil’s action. (click on photo to enlarge)

I also like that the pages of a book bound with the Bind-It-All open evenly. Because of the slant of the spirals on a coil-bound book, just by nature of the coil, when you open the book, one side will be higher than the other. But when I open a Bind-It-All-bound book, both sides stay even. Picky? Perhaps. But most of us stampers are detail-oriented.

The Bind-It-All’s wires are more expensive to purchase than the Rubicoil’s plastic coils, but you may use fewer of them as well. For instance, if you were binding a journal that was 10” high, you might opt to put binding wires on both ends and leave the center unbound. So you could use 6” of wire versus 10” of plastic coil. (The plastic is still less expensive, but I do like the option of being able to configure my holes differently rather than having to have the entire spine bound.) Speaking of wire cost, there is a debate over whether you should use only wires that Zutter makes for the Bind-It-All, or whether you can go with the more cost-effective bulk-purchased generic wires that also fit it. The Zutter wires are a slightly heavier weight, and presumably more stable and less likely to be crushed, than the generic bulk ones. Also, the Zutter website points out that their wires come in 12” lengths, and the generic ones come in 11” lengths. If you are binding a smaller notebook and punch only twice, you would need two 3” lengths of wire. That means that from a Zutter wire, you can get four 3” lengths, whereas from an 11” generic bulk wire, you would get only three 3” lengths, and have a 2” waste piece. The generic wires are still less expensive, even if you throw away 2” of each wire. It’s really a matter of personal preference; if you want heavier weight wires and don’t foresee needing a bulk supply, get the Zutter wires. If you are making memory books for your first grader’s class, you might prefer the bulk wires.

There are some projects for which still prefer my Rubicoil. When it comes to binding a large stamp catalog, I find it easier to punch once for each six to ten pages rather than punching multiple times. That’s not to say that you can’t bind a large catalog with the Bind-It-All; the Bind-It-All’s hole guide enables you to line up holes for continuous punching fairly easily. It would just take longer since the Bind-It-All punches about 3” of holes at a time, and the Rubicoil punches 11” of holes at a time. Also, it is fairly simple to remove a spiral coil, add pages, then twist it right back in place. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to open Bind-It-All wires, add pages, and re-close the wires without damaging them and leaving them oddly shaped. How often do you take a notebook apart to add pages, though?


Whether you choose a Bind-It-All or a coil binder is really a matter of personal need and preference. Do you need chipboard-punching capabilities? Which look do you prefer—wires or a plastic coil? Do you prefer round holes (Rubicoil), or rectangular ones (BIA)? What is your budget--$60 for a Bind-It-All, or about $150 for a Rubicoil?


Readers: Tell us about your binding machine! What do you use? Do you like it? Any regrets? Where are the best deals? We want to know! We have plans to reward thse of you who contribute helpful comments! (hint!)