LBPro Printing Adventure I
Hi!
Note: Some of this info is mine, and some is from various posts, or from the LBPro website.
Intro:
I spent several hours searching the web for help with printing/binding my LogBookPro. I consolidated all the info into one file. Some of the info was helpful, but there was a lot that wasn't, or was bad info for me. I thought I could pick up a binder at Office Depot (or somewhere else), take it to FedExKinko's with my logbook report on my usb drive, have them print it, punch holes, and I'd be all done. WRONG!!!
If this process seems to complicated, LBPro will do all the work for you of printing and binding your logbook. I believe this process could be completed in one or two days. It costs a lot (around $250). I didn't want to spend a lot, and it didn't seem that complicated to do it myself.
Binders:
The LBPro software will format your digital information to be printed basically into a landscape (the page is wider than it is long) format. One entry will take up a line on two standard sheets of 11”x8.5” paper. Think about how a paper logbook looks (if you have one, or if you remember when everyone carried around paper logbooks). Since it's landscape, most binders will not work. It's difficult to find ones that will.
I recommend, like many of the other posters have, that you use a ring binder, so that it looks nice, and it's easy to add more pages as you get more experience. The difficult part is finding a ring binder that is in landscape format, with the holes punched in the short edge of the paper.
If you use a comb binder, you can add pages, but it's difficult. The employees at several stores told me the binding WOULD break after a while, because a comb binding is designed to be a permanent binding. They told me if I had a binding machine it WAS practical to add or subtract pages. I don't have a binding machine, and don't want to pay for one.
The binder I liked best (well, really I liked the Cirrus binders through LBPro, but those cost $130:LBPro now advertises one for about $70) was this one:
http://www.binderfinder.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=10200&type=store
It is a black, 1”, cloth covered binder. It's also available in a 2” size.
It was about $37 with UPS ground ($11), which is the cheapest way to ship with this company.
***Note: I got the 1” binder, and it is basically too small already. If you have any amount of hours, get the 2” one right away.
This one is cheaper:
http://landscapebinders.com/
It is black vinyl, and is $16 without shipping (I don't know the shipping charge). It comes in 1” or 1.5”.
These look nice:
http://thebookbinders.com/individualcommercial.htm
Office Depot ONLINE has these:
Wilson Jones Raven Post Binder:
http://www.officeworld.com/Worlds-Bi...LJ24140N/06Q4/
If you want a 7-hole punch binder, one or more guys bought “Commercial check binders”. The seven holes are less stress on the paper. I bought heavy weight paper, so I think the 3 vs. 7 thing isn't a problem.
Multiple posters mentioned having trouble finding a “landscape” format binder. Several mentioned they are available at Office Depot.
I first went to Office Max (DTW). The guys there thought I was insane when I explained I was looking for a landscape binder. They told me I wanted a binder that held legal-size paper. Surprisingly, they didn't have any landscape binders.
Then, I went to the nearest Office Depot. They had none. They said they could order them via the internet, but they never had them in stock. They had never heard of a 7-ring landscape binder (like the commercial check binder).
So, even though I wanted my logbook done that day, I ended up ordering the binder online, as mentioned above, and didn't get it done in one day.
Paper:
You have a choice of colors and weights. I shopped paper at both Office Max and FedEx/Kinko's. I found out that they don't have a very wide selection of paper at all. So, if you're selective, you'll probably want to go to a paper store and buy the paper there and bring it to wherever you want to print it at.
I decided on a light green colored paper (kind of like the Jepp logbook, I guess-my paper logbook has white) that was an 80# weight. It is about the density and thickness of a business card. The Kinko's guy said it would be no problem printing on this thick paper at home as long as I had a flat or a “C” feed (one directional turn) printer. He said if it was an “S” feed or worse (two or more turns inside the printer) it wouldn't work.
It was $.24 for each duplex (both sides-just like your paper logbook) sheet. I also bought a whole pack (250 sheets) for $10 for blank pages to add to the logbook. It was much cheaper to buy the whole pack than to buy enough individual sheets to meet my needs.
I also found out that comparing the weights of paper is arbitrary. Kinko's 90# paper is thinner than the 80# paper.
I wanted to get the holes punched in my paper, but since I didn't have the actual binder, I didn't want to mess it up. So, I'll wait for the binder, and wait for a day when I'm in the same place that the binder is delivered to (crashpad), and then I'll take the paper back to Kinko's. They'll drill holes for me in my
logbook pages, and in the extra paper I bought to add to my printed logbook.