Friday, November 4, 2016

Why does everything suck - Index card edition

It seems the general deterioration of everything into general junk has eroded even the paper industry beyond all hope.  As Chris Norstrom aptly puts it here, there is, in fact, a conspiracy - one is intended to prevent righteous and right-minded people from buying good, old-fashioned 3x5 index cards that don't suck.

Basically, nobody seems to product index cards made of card stock any more.  Which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of.

Index cards are supposed to be made of 110 lb. card stock.  That's why it's called CARD STOCK, y'know?

But even index cards are no longer made with card stock any more; it seems that, at best, you might be able to find 70-80 lb. weight cards nowadays.  (Some seem as thin as 40 lb, or about twice the thickness of regular printer paper.)

Nothing available anywhere is 110 lb anymore, it seems - read the Amazon reviews for proof.

Solutions:

-  You can buy them from Chris above - I'm not a relation or anything, and don't care except kudos to him for offering a fix.  Would be reasonably priced if we were not in different countries.  Or:

-  You can go to a Staples Copy & Print Centre, buy 250 sheets of 110 lb. card stock for $20, and have them cut it any size you want for $6.  It'll take a couple of days, but it is machine cut with a laser and should look perfect.  Plus, you can get any size you like!

[Update:  OK, Staples lied.  It was $15 for the cutting, plus tax, or about $17 total. So they're expensive cards, but still possible.]

Either way, you can do whatever you want after.  Punch 'em, smurf 'em (yes, real thing), throw them in your printer and print 'em up, whatever.

I intend to create a little desk reference using these, some cut-down Levenger Circa covers and some of the Circa disks for binding.  I could not find what I wanted in a resortable notebook (of course), and then I found I couldn't even create an index card notebook (of course!).

Until I figured out how to make the cards, that is. Which leaves me feeling a bit like those people who make everything "from scratch".  Next I'll be reduced to cutting my own trees in order to make 110 lb cardstock in the first damn place because that'll be the next thing to go.

Tip:  You can cut standard Levenger notebook covers to size using a regular rotary paper cutter - as long as it is sharp.  Just don't press too hard and do multiple passes until it cuts through.

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