I'd like to ask readers about inserts. Which ones from the glory days do you miss, if any? And what inserts would you like to see, that aren't currently available? I ask because I've just ordered a beast of a printer (hp office jet 8600 pro plus) which can take A5 and personal. The ability to easily print a lot of work related material which I need with me for client meetings is enough to persuade me to seriously try my A5 again. I don't print personal inserts, it's too much of an overhead in cutting and punching. Printing direct onto personal, though, is something I've never been able to do, and I'm looking forward to saving myself time on cutting personal sheets. Hence the question, as the new printer brings a whole new field of opportunities.
I design and print the majority of my own inserts straight onto the personal plain paper. I base a lot of the original inserts but I prefer doing them myself cus I don’t have to wait to get anything and I can change them to suit my needs :)
I do a lot of my own inserts, too. I can't find what I want so I make it myself. I have a method for printing that saves time. I print one page, draw the cutting lines, scan it and then print a bunch with the cutting lines already on them. But it does take more time than slapping in some pre-made pages. I keep pre-made pages on hand for when I don't have time to make my own or just don't want to.
I really like the discontinued Expenses sheets for personal size (vertical view). I use them for tracking credit card charges and listing prices. I'll make copies of the remaining five and just cut and hole punch them so that I can have more. I also like the new personal Wo2P insert on white paper with the cotton cream layout that the UK Filofax website includes in some of the new models. I would want the US version but I don't think that the US website will include or sell it.
I will be traveling to Stamford,Connecticut in July and wondering if anyone can recommend a spot to check out, well, Filofaxes?!? I live in Hawaii and although it's paradise here, we lack in the stationery department. The Papyrus that sold filofax products, no longer stocks them. BOOO! Normally, when i am in CT i take the train to the city where i can stock up at Muji and all those other great places. Unfortunately, this trip...i don't think i'll have the time. Big. Fat. Bummer. I know there is a Staples there, so any other suggestions would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!
I believe there is a Barnes & Noble at the Stamford Town Centre (?) and I'll bet some of the "mom and pop" stationery stores there might also have Filofaxes and etc. as do many in Manhattan (other than stores like Sam Flax). Good luck!
I've seen that a lot of Philofaxy readers find great things at Barnes & Noble but I have not had any luck there. I was just there on Sunday and they didn't have anything interesting in the stationary department. I was really bummed. I haven't had success at Staples either. But that's in the Missouri/Kansas area.
just in case you didn't read my reply - I decided to keep my Finsbury. I'll just give it a good daily workout and it already is a lot better to handle! I won't regret keeping him...
How long does it take your Filofaxes to get to you, generally, for those in the UK? I ordered a Finsbury last week and the Filofax site hasn't despatched it yet. Normally I wouldn't worry, but it needs to reach its intended recipients before June otherwise they'll be off on a trip and I'll be Faxless (they're bringing it to me, since international shipping is nuts.) At what point should I worry/get in touch with FF? TIA!
If that's any help, I have just ordered a Pocket Apex in Green, on filofax.co.uk, paid on April 26th, and it only arrived in the east of France on May 13th... after I sent a inquiry via email to Filofax regarding the shipping date : apparently, it was dispatched on April 30th.
Advice please. Could you recommend paper that I can print a5 inserts on. I am looking for quite thin paper as I want to fit a lot in my binder and as I only use a ballpoint I am not too concerned with bleed through.
Same as me. I've previously used 80gsm standard printer / copier paper and it's been fine. Cheap as chips and does the job. In uk I bought it From Partners, it was the cheapest i found.
I also use 60gsm Boise X-9 to print for my slimlines.
However, in my A5, I fiddled with the Print-to-file settings to create Letter Half Sheet (8.5x5.5" - 216x140mm) which fits nicely, only 6mm longer and 9mm narrower. However, the advantage to me being in North America is that I can use standard letter paper and print 2 per page, without any waste.
Did anyone ever order from the Filofax site of another country? I purchased a Filofax from the Italian site and they say it will be delivered in max. 10-12 days, but it's the 11th (work)day and it still isn't here. I'm kind of nervous because of that.
Yes, I just ordered an A5 Apex (only £20 and it's fabtastic) from the UK site (I live in UK) and it took at least a week before they posted the item ... then it arrived overnight ... In contrast the service from Germany was so good it felt like I almost got the item before I ordered it!
I'm from Germany. I ordered from Denmark once (delivery in less than a week), paid by PayPal. That sure speeds things up. Filofax Germany was even faster that way, of course. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, Aryatjuh!
Given always found Filofax UK to be great in terms of sending items out, very prompt and usually next business day.
Well I am patiently waiting for my wine A5 Holborn that I bought off EBay to arrive. It's replacing my aqua Chameleon as it is very disappointingly developing horrible white patches and I'm going to send it back to Filoifax to see what they think as I personally don't like that happening but is it a common problem with those binders? I've had it less than a year and have treated it well!
On a lighter note heading to London soon for a work event and planning to start making my own dividers/inserts for the Holborn and my new pocket Amazona when it arrives so any recommendations for must-visit stationers would be appreciated.
I am very disappointed today as the personal Original I ordered in gorgeous patent fuchsia arrived With a small, but noticeable dent in the patent finish and I had to return it for a replacement. In order to get it quicker I thought I'd reorder and then cancel the replacement (on the advice of FF themselves) - and they are out of stock! I don't know what to do now, wait until the aqua Malden comes out? Or wait until they get new stock of the Original in fuchsia? Or - has anyone seen the Original in yellow? Is it mustardy or sunshiny/egg yolky yellow? Would be nice for summer ...
I would think so, they have even put a video of the aqua Malden out on their official website as one of their 2013 collection. I used to think that I wanted one but now I'm not sure ... my ochre one works brilliantly for me with its scratches and dings, and I am thinking I would like something more colourful like the Original in fuchsia or yellow.
Does anyone have a good solution for preventing pages at the back of your Filofax from getting wedged (and badly bent) between the rings and the cover? I have an A5 Domino, and the inserts in the back wind up getting warped. Is a page lifter what I'm looking for? Does Filofax make page lifters, or do I have to get creative with some sturdy material and make my own?
I had the same problem. Placed a Filofax fly leaf in plastic at front and back and it solved it.....until the poor quality plastic cracked and broke after a couple of weeks. I then took an A5 notebook I had from paper chase, cut the much thicker, translucent cover off it, and cut it to size. One year on, no problems.
I use business card holders behind everything on the rings and they work like page lifters to keep the paper from getting crunched when I close the binder.
I have the clear plastic sheet at the front and business card holder at the back. My Franklin Covey had page lifters at the front and back that worked perfect.
I took the cardboard that came with some inserts (and already had holes) and put that in the back. One of these days, I plan to glue something on it to pretty it up.
I cut my own flyleaves using a stock of old heavy plastic dividers that were in a manual I received at a seminar years ago. It will be a long time before I run out of that stuff.
WOOHOO! I won the ebay auction for a cheap pleather FC binder (only $2.99 + $3.99 shipping) to do my wallpaper cover experiment on. I brought this up on the Facebook philofaxy group over the weekend. I'm thinking of making a fun binder (in the manner of the Traceyley) by covering with some sort of stylish bit of wallpaper. Will report back with results!
I do this too... It works but true page lifters are a better solution. If you could find some from a DayTimer binder they should fit a personal filofax fine. I am not sure if FC ones will fit.
Interestingly, some binders seem to be more trouble in this regard than others. My Winchester seems to not suck pages into the rings very much. My Domino and Cavendish binders were very bad about pages getting jammed between the rings and the covers. I don't recall this being such an issue with my Kendal.
Thanks for all of your suggestions! I think I'm going to try to make my own page lifters out of some heavier plastic, like Paul did. I've also pre-ordered a patent purple A5 Original, and maybe it will be better-behaved in this regard than the A5 Domino (I suspect that the large rings + deeply-curved spine of the Domino make it particularly prone to page-smooshing).
Question for those of you who do work and personal planning in separate systems (or two filofax, etc.):
Do you copy work appointments/scheduling into your personal and/or vice versa? I am working out the details of running a bifurcated planning process (FC 2PPD Compact for work, FF 2PPW for personal) and struggling with this question.
The only appointments I copy from one to the other are if I will need to be at work at a time that I would normally not be there, or if I have a personal appointment during work hours. Otherwise info is all separate.
I have 2 systems. My work diary/tasks/notes are kept on a software app on my work computer. I really don't need access to this info when I am not at work. If something does come up (as the result of a phone call/email) I make a note in my personal planner, either on a post-it or on the back pad, and transfer it to my computer app when I get to work. I do carry my personal FF everywhere with me, so if a personal thing comes up at work (much more likely than work coming up during personal time), I have my FF there. I also color code at home and work, so I have colored pens in both places.
PLEASE SOMEONE HELP! I just can't seem to print pages right on my HP photo smart 6520. The dates are always screwed up and on the wrong page or they print upside down on the other side of the page. Is there a step by step? I'm only printing on US letter paper. Does that make a difference? I unfortunately do not have word for Mac yet, So when i download the pages they open In text/edit and the layouts are all over the place! I'm so lost. I'm trying to print the day on two pages.
Hi! I'm completely new to the whole filofax thing, I've just ordered a personal size from ebay and I'm waiting for it to come in the mail! I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me if Avery "for smaller binders" (14825) refills will fit? I just bought some at Target and would love to go ahead and start decorating, but I don't want to open them in case I have to take them back. Also I'm assuming the Martha Stewart line from Staples will fit, as I think I've seen some videos with her products in filofaxes. Is this right? Thanks for all your help!
Hello! No they will not fit. The Avery small binder inserts are a little bigger than the a5 inserts actually. People usually just cut and punch the Martha Stewart inserts to work in their filo. Hope I helped you!
Going back to the very first question - I have a fold out insert of the globe on one side and standard world time zones on the back. Dated 1992 so some borders and countries have changed but I can not bear to throw it out! I did use this quite a bit when I first had got it.
I had a filofax in the 1980's, only a cheap plastic style one as I was at college. I have bought two new ones recently. An A5 for work and I am making my own inserts using excel, autoCad and Publisher. I also got tempted with a personal for keeping track of projects and blog planning. Incidently no global insert, so I have added my 1992 insert instead.
I'd like to ask readers about inserts. Which ones from the glory days do you miss, if any? And what inserts would you like to see, that aren't currently available? I ask because I've just ordered a beast of a printer (hp office jet 8600 pro plus) which can take A5 and personal. The ability to easily print a lot of work related material which I need with me for client meetings is enough to persuade me to seriously try my A5 again. I don't print personal inserts, it's too much of an overhead in cutting and punching. Printing direct onto personal, though, is something I've never been able to do, and I'm looking forward to saving myself time on cutting personal sheets. Hence the question, as the new printer brings a whole new field of opportunities.
ReplyDeleteI design and print the majority of my own inserts straight onto the personal plain paper. I base a lot of the original inserts but I prefer doing them myself cus I don’t have to wait to get anything and I can change them to suit my needs :)
DeleteI do a lot of my own inserts, too. I can't find what I want so I make it myself. I have a method for printing that saves time. I print one page, draw the cutting lines, scan it and then print a bunch with the cutting lines already on them. But it does take more time than slapping in some pre-made pages. I keep pre-made pages on hand for when I don't have time to make my own or just don't want to.
DeleteI really like the discontinued Expenses sheets for personal size (vertical view). I use them for tracking credit card charges and listing prices. I'll make copies of the remaining five and just cut and hole punch them so that I can have more. I also like the new personal Wo2P insert on white paper with the cotton cream layout that the UK Filofax website includes in some of the new models. I would want the US version but I don't think that the US website will include or sell it.
DeleteHello Filofaxers...
ReplyDeleteI will be traveling to Stamford,Connecticut in July and wondering if anyone can recommend a spot to check out, well, Filofaxes?!? I live in Hawaii and although it's paradise here, we lack in the stationery department. The Papyrus that sold filofax products, no longer stocks them. BOOO! Normally, when i am in CT i take the train to the city where i can stock up at Muji and all those other great places. Unfortunately, this trip...i don't think i'll have the time. Big. Fat. Bummer. I know there is a Staples there, so any other suggestions would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!
BIG MAHALOS...
Jes
I believe there is a Barnes & Noble at the Stamford Town Centre (?) and I'll bet some of the "mom and pop" stationery stores there might also have Filofaxes and etc. as do many in Manhattan (other than stores like Sam Flax). Good luck!
DeleteI've seen that a lot of Philofaxy readers find great things at Barnes & Noble but I have not had any luck there. I was just there on Sunday and they didn't have anything interesting in the stationary department. I was really bummed. I haven't had success at Staples either. But that's in the Missouri/Kansas area.
DeleteFilofax USA is In Connecticut! There's probably not much to see there though - A warehouse and offices, I suspect.
DeleteDear Abby and everyone else,
ReplyDeletejust in case you didn't read my reply - I decided to keep my Finsbury. I'll just give it a good daily workout and it already is a lot better to handle! I won't regret keeping him...
Hello everyone!
ReplyDeleteHow long does it take your Filofaxes to get to you, generally, for those in the UK? I ordered a Finsbury last week and the Filofax site hasn't despatched it yet. Normally I wouldn't worry, but it needs to reach its intended recipients before June otherwise they'll be off on a trip and I'll be Faxless (they're bringing it to me, since international shipping is nuts.) At what point should I worry/get in touch with FF? TIA!
i ordered keyrings last wednesday and they turned up saturday. I havent waited longer than a week and a half from filofax directly...
DeleteThey dont tell you its despatched, at least in my experience, and I usually get mine in 2 weeks max
DeleteI'm not in the UK but I've gotten mine very fast in the US.
DeleteIf that's any help, I have just ordered a Pocket Apex in Green, on filofax.co.uk, paid on April 26th, and it only arrived in the east of France on May 13th... after I sent a inquiry via email to Filofax regarding the shipping date : apparently, it was dispatched on April 30th.
DeleteAdvice please. Could you recommend paper that I can print a5 inserts on. I am looking for quite thin paper as I want to fit a lot in my binder and as I only use a ballpoint I am not too concerned with bleed through.
ReplyDeleteSame as me. I've previously used 80gsm standard printer / copier paper and it's been fine. Cheap as chips and does the job. In uk I bought it From Partners, it was the cheapest i found.
DeleteSame here. 20 pound cheap copy paper. Works just fine.
DeleteFor thin pages, I use white 16 lb (60 gsm) paper. I order from OfficeMax (in US) online -- not available in stores. Brand is Boise X-9.
DeleteI also use 60gsm Boise X-9 to print for my slimlines.
DeleteHowever, in my A5, I fiddled with the Print-to-file settings to create Letter Half Sheet (8.5x5.5" - 216x140mm) which fits nicely, only 6mm longer and 9mm narrower. However, the advantage to me being in North America is that I can use standard letter paper and print 2 per page, without any waste.
Did anyone ever order from the Filofax site of another country? I purchased a Filofax from the Italian site and they say it will be delivered in max. 10-12 days, but it's the 11th (work)day and it still isn't here. I'm kind of nervous because of that.
ReplyDeleteFilofax Germany provide a great service,with tracking and reasonable postage in my experience. I've found them quicker to Ireland than the U.K. site.
DeleteYes, I just ordered an A5 Apex (only £20 and it's fabtastic) from the UK site (I live in UK) and it took at least a week before they posted the item ... then it arrived overnight ... In contrast the service from Germany was so good it felt like I almost got the item before I ordered it!
DeleteI'm from Germany. I ordered from Denmark once (delivery in less than a week), paid by PayPal. That sure speeds things up. Filofax Germany was even faster that way, of course. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, Aryatjuh!
DeleteThank you for your comments :) You give me a little hope again.
DeleteGiven always found Filofax UK to be great in terms of sending items out, very prompt and usually next business day.
ReplyDeleteWell I am patiently waiting for my wine A5 Holborn that I bought off EBay to arrive. It's replacing my aqua Chameleon as it is very disappointingly developing horrible white patches and I'm going to send it back to Filoifax to see what they think as I personally don't like that happening but is it a common problem with those binders? I've had it less than a year and have treated it well!
On a lighter note heading to London soon for a work event and planning to start making my own dividers/inserts for the Holborn and my new pocket Amazona when it arrives so any recommendations for must-visit stationers would be appreciated.
I am very disappointed today as the personal Original I ordered in gorgeous patent fuchsia arrived With a small, but noticeable dent in the patent finish and I had to return it for a replacement. In order to get it quicker I thought I'd reorder and then cancel the replacement (on the advice of FF themselves) - and they are out of stock! I don't know what to do now, wait until the aqua Malden comes out? Or wait until they get new stock of the Original in fuchsia? Or - has anyone seen the Original in yellow? Is it mustardy or sunshiny/egg yolky yellow? Would be nice for summer ...
ReplyDeleteIs the aqua malden a sure thing? I've heard rumors but nothing official.
DeleteI would think so, they have even put a video of the aqua Malden out on their official website as one of their 2013 collection. I used to think that I wanted one but now I'm not sure ... my ochre one works brilliantly for me with its scratches and dings, and I am thinking I would like something more colourful like the Original in fuchsia or yellow.
DeleteGreetings, Philofaxy folks--
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have a good solution for preventing pages at the back of your Filofax from getting wedged (and badly bent) between the rings and the cover? I have an A5 Domino, and the inserts in the back wind up getting warped. Is a page lifter what I'm looking for? Does Filofax make page lifters, or do I have to get creative with some sturdy material and make my own?
Thanks,
--Alix
I had the same problem. Placed a Filofax fly leaf in plastic at front and back and it solved it.....until the poor quality plastic cracked and broke after a couple of weeks. I then took an A5 notebook I had from paper chase, cut the much thicker, translucent cover off it, and cut it to size. One year on, no problems.
DeleteI use business card holders behind everything on the rings and they work like page lifters to keep the paper from getting crunched when I close the binder.
DeleteLike Laurie, I also use a business card holder or a top opening envelope at the back which works great.
DeleteI have the clear plastic sheet at the front and business card holder at the back. My Franklin Covey had page lifters at the front and back that worked perfect.
DeleteI took the cardboard that came with some inserts (and already had holes) and put that in the back. One of these days, I plan to glue something on it to pretty it up.
DeleteI cut my own flyleaves using a stock of old heavy plastic dividers that were in a manual I received at a seminar years ago. It will be a long time before I run out of that stuff.
DeleteWOOHOO! I won the ebay auction for a cheap pleather FC binder (only $2.99 + $3.99 shipping) to do my wallpaper cover experiment on. I brought this up on the Facebook philofaxy group over the weekend. I'm thinking of making a fun binder (in the manner of the Traceyley) by covering with some sort of stylish bit of wallpaper. Will report back with results!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing the results of your experiment.
DeleteI do the same as Laurie and highly recommend this solution.
ReplyDeleteI do this too... It works but true page lifters are a better solution. If you could find some from a DayTimer binder they should fit a personal filofax fine. I am not sure if FC ones will fit.
DeleteInterestingly, some binders seem to be more trouble in this regard than others. My Winchester seems to not suck pages into the rings very much. My Domino and Cavendish binders were very bad about pages getting jammed between the rings and the covers. I don't recall this being such an issue with my Kendal.
Thanks for all of your suggestions! I think I'm going to try to make my own page lifters out of some heavier plastic, like Paul did. I've also pre-ordered a patent purple A5 Original, and maybe it will be better-behaved in this regard than the A5 Domino (I suspect that the large rings + deeply-curved spine of the Domino make it particularly prone to page-smooshing).
ReplyDeleteQuestion for those of you who do work and personal planning in separate systems (or two filofax, etc.):
ReplyDeleteDo you copy work appointments/scheduling into your personal and/or vice versa? I am working out the details of running a bifurcated planning process (FC 2PPD Compact for work, FF 2PPW for personal) and struggling with this question.
Josh I don't have a suggestion for you but I just wanted to say well done using "bifurcated" in a sentence about planners!!
DeleteThanks, Laurie! We have such a broad, developed English vocabulary, might as well use it!
DeleteThe only appointments I copy from one to the other are if I will need to be at work at a time that I would normally not be there, or if I have a personal appointment during work hours. Otherwise info is all separate.
DeleteI have 2 systems. My work diary/tasks/notes are kept on a software app on my work computer. I really don't need access to this info when I am not at work. If something does come up (as the result of a phone call/email) I make a note in my personal planner, either on a post-it or on the back pad, and transfer it to my computer app when I get to work. I do carry my personal FF everywhere with me, so if a personal thing comes up at work (much more likely than work coming up during personal time), I have my FF there. I also color code at home and work, so I have colored pens in both places.
ReplyDeletePLEASE SOMEONE HELP! I just can't seem to print pages right on my HP photo smart 6520. The dates are always screwed up and on the wrong page or they print upside down on the other side of the page. Is there a step by step? I'm only printing on US letter paper. Does that make a difference? I unfortunately do not have word for Mac yet, So when i download the pages they open In text/edit and the layouts are all over the place! I'm so lost. I'm trying to print the day on two pages.
ReplyDeleteClaire
DeleteYou need to download the PDF versions, these will open in Preview on your Mac and you can print them from there.
But you need to print them on A5 paper or A4 paper in Booklet print mode. The files are not set up for US letter paper.
When you put in A4 or A5 paper, you need to make sure that the Mac knows it is printing on which ever size paper and not on US letter size.
This post will help you I think
http://philofaxy.blogspot.com/2013/01/guest-post-getting-ready-to-spruce-up.html
Steve
Thanks Steve. I'm ordering some a4 sheets right now!
DeleteHi! I'm completely new to the whole filofax thing, I've just ordered a personal size from ebay and I'm waiting for it to come in the mail! I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me if Avery "for smaller binders" (14825) refills will fit? I just bought some at Target and would love to go ahead and start decorating, but I don't want to open them in case I have to take them back. Also I'm assuming the Martha Stewart line from Staples will fit, as I think I've seen some videos with her products in filofaxes. Is this right? Thanks for all your help!
ReplyDeleteHello! No they will not fit. The Avery small binder inserts are a little bigger than the a5 inserts actually. People usually just cut and punch the Martha Stewart inserts to work in their filo. Hope I helped you!
DeleteThanks Claire for the response! Not the answer I wanted to hear, but good information to have:) Thank you:)
DeleteGoing back to the very first question - I have a fold out insert of the globe on one side and standard world time zones on the back. Dated 1992 so some borders and countries have changed but I can not bear to throw it out! I did use this quite a bit when I first had got it.
ReplyDeleteI had a filofax in the 1980's, only a cheap plastic style one as I was at college. I have bought two new ones recently. An A5 for work and I am making my own inserts using excel, autoCad and Publisher. I also got tempted with a personal for keeping track of projects and blog planning. Incidently no global insert, so I have added my 1992 insert instead.