So the end of the first week of 2012, I hope you have recovered from the holidays and festivities.. Taking down the decorations and the tree tonight this being '12th night' So that is Christmas done for another year..... But it's the start of another exciting Philofaxy year.
Have you made any changes to your Filofax set up this year? Tell us about it or volunteer to write a guest post for us....
But as this is Friday please feel free to discuss anything Filofax related.
06 January 2012
05 January 2012
A5 Flex Diary > A5 Filofax
Could a Flex A5 Diary be adapted to fit an A5 Filofax?
I have seen this idea mentioned a couple of times in the comments on previous diary posts. So I thought I would give it a try.
I have a Flex A5 July 2011-July 2012 diary from when I did the review earlier this year. The nice thing about the Flex diaries is that they use cotton cream paper, which of course isn't available in Filofax A5 size.
A Flex of course is a bound book so getting this in to a Filofax was I going to be brutal/destructive with no way back....if you are in any way squeamish you had better look away now....
So first of all I had to take the Flex Diary taken apart.
First of all I removed the cover, by using a craft knife at the join between the cover and the contents.
As you can see the book nature of the Flex is retained even though the cover has partially been removed.
It then splits down in to five 'booklets' which are stitched, but the threads are easy to pull out and then the pages are then in loose leaf form.
Measuring the pages they are exactly A5 size (210 x 148 mm) so there's not additional margin in the middle. I then used my trimmer to cut the A4 pages in to two to form the A5 pages.
Punching the pages with an A5 punch you can see in the above scan that the punched holes do go through some of the content on some of the pages such as this year planner. Although this isn't too bad I suppose.
On diary pages the punched holes don't cause any problems, so if you only wanted the diary pages from the Flex in the A5 Filofax then this would work fine.
If you are going to carry out similar surgery on a Flex diary can I please ask that you do it carefully, sharp craft knives are dangerous things in in-experienced hands, and don't leave them around where children can get to them.
I have seen this idea mentioned a couple of times in the comments on previous diary posts. So I thought I would give it a try.
I have a Flex A5 July 2011-July 2012 diary from when I did the review earlier this year. The nice thing about the Flex diaries is that they use cotton cream paper, which of course isn't available in Filofax A5 size.
A Flex of course is a bound book so getting this in to a Filofax was I going to be brutal/destructive with no way back....if you are in any way squeamish you had better look away now....
So first of all I had to take the Flex Diary taken apart.
First of all I removed the cover, by using a craft knife at the join between the cover and the contents.
As you can see the book nature of the Flex is retained even though the cover has partially been removed.
It then splits down in to five 'booklets' which are stitched, but the threads are easy to pull out and then the pages are then in loose leaf form.
Measuring the pages they are exactly A5 size (210 x 148 mm) so there's not additional margin in the middle. I then used my trimmer to cut the A4 pages in to two to form the A5 pages.
Punching the pages with an A5 punch you can see in the above scan that the punched holes do go through some of the content on some of the pages such as this year planner. Although this isn't too bad I suppose.
On diary pages the punched holes don't cause any problems, so if you only wanted the diary pages from the Flex in the A5 Filofax then this would work fine.
If you are going to carry out similar surgery on a Flex diary can I please ask that you do it carefully, sharp craft knives are dangerous things in in-experienced hands, and don't leave them around where children can get to them.
04 January 2012
Cuban Zip Review
The zipped range of organisers from Filofax are not high in numbers. In a recent post I asked for peoples thoughts on zip or clasp closures. As you will see from the comments some people like the extra security that a zip organiser gives them whilst others prefer the 'speed' of being able to open and access their information.
The point of this review is to look at the Cuban Zip in detail and pick out the differences and the features contained in this particular model/design.
The Cuban Zip is of all leather construction, although the many pockets are lined with a textile material. The leather is smooth Italian leather and the one in the pictures is the saddle brown model with cream stitching. It is also available in chilli red.
The personal size Cuban Zip is slightly bigger in overall size compared to say a Malden Personal. It's also thicker, but it does have 30mm (internal diameter) rings rather than the 23mm rings in the Malden.
On the outside front there is a vertical pocket, this has a small flush magnetic closure on it. This pocket would be useful for tickets and papers you need speedy access to whilst travelling. It would save you those vital seconds to unzip the organiser. I'm surprised other organisers don't have this feature.
Opening the organiser after unzipping it on all three sides. My first thoughts where how small the pages looked inside the organiser! A combination of the slightly larger size and of course the large rings I suppose.
One of the first things you will want to know is 'Does it lay flat?' No not out of the box is doesn't. But I know with time and a little 'training' and some leather treatment it will improve, although I might need to borrow some dumb bells if I am going to follow Terri's example!
The inside left hand cover has seven credit card slots, although using the very top slot is a little fiddly next to the zip... not that I have that many anyway. There is also a business card slot at the bottom of the inside front. There are two individual lined vertical slot pockets and also a deep vertical zipped pocket.
On the inside right hand cover there is another vertical pocket, this will hold a personal size notepad if you require it.
There are two pen loops, one each side on the inside of the zip, so you shouldn't lose your pens. Both pen loops are leather with a short elasticated section included in them. These hold most pens I've tried nice and snugly.
The larger size rings certainly gives you more capacity. As a comparison I removed the standard page fill supplied with the Cuban and then replaced it with the pages I currently have in my Malden. The Malden I would say is about at capacity in terms of being comfortable to be able to turn the pages and to be able to close it easily. Although I have seen pictures of people with a lot more pages than I have in similar personal size Maldens!! But the Cuban just swallowed the contents of my Malden as if it was just a snack and it laughed back at me 'So where is the rest then? Plenty of room in here!'
I have tried my two diary insert set up in the Cuban and it fits easily. In the Malden this same set up is a bit of a squeeze and I have to be selective as to what pages I include. Oh for a Malden Personal with 30mm rings!
Another advantage possibly to using the Cuban I discovered is because the organiser is wider than the clasp closing type it has the extra space required to be able to use Franklin Covey Tabbed pages without them sticking out the edge of the organiser.
To be honest I'm still undecided on my preference if I had to decide between the Malden or the Cuban Zip, both have their advantages and disadvantages for me. I will alternate between both to try them for more than just a few days, to see if there is one that I like more than the other.
Other zipped organiser posts:
- Migrating to the Cuban Zip - Filofax Fixation
- Never ask a lady her weight - Filofax Fixation
- Filofax Cuban Zip Personal - The Life of the Perpetual Student
- My Filofax My Love - Rori Rants
Once again thank you to the people at Filofax for supplying me with this review sample.
03 January 2012
Free For All Tuesday No 48
So today or yesterday was the first day back at work for most people. But let us help you answer any Filofax questions you might have.
Fire away with your Filofax questions.
Fire away with your Filofax questions.
02 January 2012
Reader Question - Which Punch?
[Update - Please also see this post about Punches]
Over Christmas I had a couple of emails from folks asking me about paper punches 'Which is the best punch to buy?'
Now if you own more than one size of Filofax... and frankly who doesn't...<cough> ! Then buying individual punches for each size from Filofax works out quite expensive. Filofax Germany do sell a 'Multi-fit' punch, but it is also quite expensive at just under €70 plus shipping. The multi fit does Mini, Pocket, Personal and A5
As I've said before I do not recommend the Filofax plastic portable 6 hole punch sold by Filofax, they only punch a single sheet at a time and after using one for a few months the holes in the paper aren't that clean a cut. You would be better off putting the money towards a proper metal paper punch.
So here are a selection of alternatives with links and references to reviews for different sizes.
So if you have a Mini, Pocket or Personal size Filofax I recommend the Rapseco Diary Punch 66P which I reviewed back August 2009. It is still available from Amazon and I know lots of people have bought this punch. It has moving punch blocks that allows you to set it for Personal and Pocket size and it also works for Mini size too. I have one I bought myself and I use it quite frequently for punching pages I've printed off myself. This punch will also work with Mulberry A5 organisers as they are the same spacing as Filofax Personal organisers.
For A5 punches there is the Filofax A5 punch. This only punches A5 size. This one is available through Amazon slightly cheaper than Filofax, although shipping might alter the total price.
There is also an A5 adjustable punch available from Amazon made by Rexel. This comes with 4 punch dies but it can be fitted with 6, and then it would punch A4, A5, Personal, Pocket and Mini sizes, but you would have to adjust the hole spacing on the punch to match the size you were punching for. One other advantage of this particular punch is if you are using a Quo Vadis, Franklin Covey, Day Timer, Mulberry organiser you would be able to set the hole spacing to match those of the organiser as these are all different to Filofax A5 size.
There is an excellent review of the Rexel 420 here
KW Trio-9170 6 hole adjustable punch this punch will do A5, Personal and Pocket sizes Also available here, this punch is very reasonably priced for it's specification. However, the cost of shipping it outside of Holland can increase the price considerably. Try to source it locally if you can.
If you have an A4 Filofax, then any standard 4 hole punch will suit, I picked one up at my local supermarket for under €15, they come in quite a range of prices according to how many sheets you want to punch at the same time. I just bought a standard desk top one that punch up to 15 sheets at a time. More than adequate for most peoples needs.
If you have any other 'punch' questions, please pop them in to the comments and I will do my best to answer them.
And if you have a 'reader question' then please email us at philofaxy at gmail dot com we are always happy to answer them directly or via a post like this.
Over Christmas I had a couple of emails from folks asking me about paper punches 'Which is the best punch to buy?'
Now if you own more than one size of Filofax... and frankly who doesn't...<cough> ! Then buying individual punches for each size from Filofax works out quite expensive. Filofax Germany do sell a 'Multi-fit' punch, but it is also quite expensive at just under €70 plus shipping. The multi fit does Mini, Pocket, Personal and A5
As I've said before I do not recommend the Filofax plastic portable 6 hole punch sold by Filofax, they only punch a single sheet at a time and after using one for a few months the holes in the paper aren't that clean a cut. You would be better off putting the money towards a proper metal paper punch.
So here are a selection of alternatives with links and references to reviews for different sizes.
So if you have a Mini, Pocket or Personal size Filofax I recommend the Rapseco Diary Punch 66P which I reviewed back August 2009. It is still available from Amazon and I know lots of people have bought this punch. It has moving punch blocks that allows you to set it for Personal and Pocket size and it also works for Mini size too. I have one I bought myself and I use it quite frequently for punching pages I've printed off myself. This punch will also work with Mulberry A5 organisers as they are the same spacing as Filofax Personal organisers.
For A5 punches there is the Filofax A5 punch. This only punches A5 size. This one is available through Amazon slightly cheaper than Filofax, although shipping might alter the total price.
There is also an A5 adjustable punch available from Amazon made by Rexel. This comes with 4 punch dies but it can be fitted with 6, and then it would punch A4, A5, Personal, Pocket and Mini sizes, but you would have to adjust the hole spacing on the punch to match the size you were punching for. One other advantage of this particular punch is if you are using a Quo Vadis, Franklin Covey, Day Timer, Mulberry organiser you would be able to set the hole spacing to match those of the organiser as these are all different to Filofax A5 size.
There is an excellent review of the Rexel 420 here
KW Trio-9170 6 hole adjustable punch this punch will do A5, Personal and Pocket sizes Also available here, this punch is very reasonably priced for it's specification. However, the cost of shipping it outside of Holland can increase the price considerably. Try to source it locally if you can.
If you have any other 'punch' questions, please pop them in to the comments and I will do my best to answer them.
And if you have a 'reader question' then please email us at philofaxy at gmail dot com we are always happy to answer them directly or via a post like this.
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