Van der Spek Senior Sizes

A question that frequently comes up on the Facebook groups and in comments on previous blog posts is the differences in sizes of the Senior size in the Van der Spek range.

There are effectively four possible combinations of size for the Senior size when ordered in a custom organiser:

1. Un-widened with 20mm rings
2. Un-widended with 25mm rings
3. Widened with 20 mm rings
4. Widened with 25 mm rings

I have examples of 1 and 4 from the above list which we will show in a moment. Options 2 and 3 are actually quite close in overall size but differ in the spine thickness because of the different ring size. All four size options are the same height.

Light brown 'Widened' 25mm above Black 'Un-widened' 20mm below

Light brown 'Widened' 25mm above Black 'Un-widened' 20mm below

So why un-widened and widened, let us get that out of the way first.... 

Originally the Senior size was made to take inserts that are 95mm by 152mm in size. I'm not sure which company was the first to produce inserts in this size, but there are a few companies that use this size and make organisers or inserts for it. 

Van der Spek can supply inserts in this size, therefore they wished to retain the option of organisers in the 95x152mm page size. 

However,  this size isn't A6 size, A6 is 105mm by 148mm in size, so this is where the 'Widened' size comes from, it is effectively an increase of 10mm in width to accommodate the true width of A6 size inserts. 

A6 inserts in the 'Widened' Senior with 25mm rings. No issues with tabs near the pen

'Un-widened' can be made to work with A6 inserts if you either use top tabs, or keep the tab width down in size, but is it very close to the edge of the width of the organiser. 

A6 inserts and dividers in the 'Unwidened' Senior with 20mm rings

A6 inserts and dividers in the 'Unwidened' Senior with 20mm rings, notice how close the tabs are to the pen and the edge

Some people prefer the slightly smaller size of the 'Un-widened' organisers as they are closer to the width of personal size but shorter. 

Black Senior ('Un-widened') and Crimson Malden Personal size

In the Touch Me range the Senior started off as option 1 (Un-widened with 20mm rings) With the introduction of the purple and light brown in 2015 these were made in the size of option 4 (widened with 25mm rings). 

All of the current Touch Me range Seniors are now option 4 in size (Widened with 25mm rings) they are available in 5 colours all with two pen loops and 25mm Krause rings. 

In the Custom organiser range you do have the option of any one of the four size combinations listed above.

Finally for comparison purposes the Gillio A6 Compagna is a few mm narrower than the Van der Spek Senior  when made in Widened with 25mm rings format. This is because the Gillio only has 23 mm rings compared to the Van der Spek 25mm Krause rings. 

If you have any additional questions please post them in the comments below.

Further Information.

Web Site: http://www.vdsshop.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/VDSleathergoods
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vanderspekorganiserfans/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vdsshop/