Tricks To Buying Online Office Supplies The Inside Scope To Buying The Best File Folders

I hear from people constantly about how confusing it is shopping for office supplies online. There are so many office products and choices today. The category people moan about the most is Filing Supplies. There are literally thousands of alternatives to chose from, each with different colors, uses, sizes, brands and tab designs. Office supplies are my forte, so read on to learn the secret to shopping for filing supplies.

To begin, ask yourself what you are using your filing supply for. Maybe you just need standard folders to hold contents you keep in your office desk drawer, or take with you on sales calls. Standard file folders are probably the answer for you. Or, maybe you have tons of file folders already, but need a way to organize these folders in a filing cabinet. Then hanging folders are the ticket. These are folders with metal tabs on the side that slide along the rails of file cabinets, and can hold many more file folders together.

Are you organizing a lot of documents that require a folder with multiple sections or a big expansion? Then classification folders, or possibly box bottom folders are right for you. Classification folders have everything you need. Metal fasteners for securing your documents, different expansions from 1 to 3 inches, and they also come with different sections inside the folder, from 2 up to 6 sections. Box bottom folders are the big brother of hanging folders, and expand to 3\" to hold more contents than standard hanging folders.

Let\'s look at a fun choice next - color. Today most online office products companies have tons of color choices outside of standard green or manila folders. Purple, maroon, teal, lavender and other fashion colors are available. A helpful tip; always use color coding for your filing. That way you can simply look at the color of the folder in your file cabinet, or on your desk, and know right away what project or department that folder is for. Now let\'s look at size, an d there are basically two choices. Letter size, or 8-1/2\" x 11\" is the standard size used in most copiers and printers today, and is the most popular size. Legal size, or 8-1/2\" x 14\" is used by lawyers, realtors and bankers - those who work with a lot of legal documents.

The position of the tab is a critical feature to filing supplies. Tabs are also referred to as the \"cut\" of a folder, which refers to how many different tab positions there are in a box of folders. For example, the most popular tab design for hanging folders is called a 1/5 cut meaning there are 5 different positions, moving from left to right on a folder, that you can place a hanging folder tab on to label the contents that are in that folder. The most popular standard file folder cut position is 1/3 cut, meaning the box contains folders with a tab in the middle, one on the left and one on the right. There are many other position choices, just not as popular, so make sure and find the one right for your needs.

An important thing to understand about \"cuts\" or tab styles; there are two standard tab styles to chose from. The medical profession typically has substantial filing needs to keep track of customer records. They use medical filing systems with folders that are end tab. This means the tab is on the short side of the folder, on the \"end\", so you can apply an alphanumeric label on the end for organization. Most people prefer the top tab folder style which has tabs on the long side of your folder, like standard file folders in any office. In general hanging folders and file folders are normally top tab. Classification folders are many times preferred using the end tab, and Smead or Pendaflex brands are top selling.

As to the best brands, many standard folders are basically the same, and most people look to the best value. Brands like Universal tend to be popular and very competitively priced. If quality is important, than brands like Smead, Esselte Pendaflex and Globe Weis are long standing brands known for solid quality.

Let\'s not forget about the environment and recycled content in our file folders. Anytime I\'m buying a paper based office product I consider my \"green\" options before buying. The good news is, the filing supply industry has been on the recycled band wagon a long time. Most all standard file folders and hanging folders are made with a minimum of 10% post consumer waste recycled material, and most are 30%! Items not marketed as \"green\" are actually already doing what is right for the environment. There are also 100% recycled filing supplies available that are marketed as great green solutions. Most quality online office supplies companies have special sections of their websites for green/recycled products, so search them out.

So remember next time you are confused over the right filing supply for your needs - define the function, size, color, cut and tab position - and then it\'s simply a matter of selecting the brand and price that is right for you. As to selecting the right retailer for you, I recommend independent online office supply companies versus the big box chains. Most importantly, I support companies that give back to the community and do good wor k. There are new companies today using a business model of conscious capitalism, and I always support companies who follow this vision, not big corporate retailers.

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