I read the other post about the BIA and the Cinch.....been looking at it and thinking (I don't NEED another tool but maybe.....)
For those of you that have a binding machine...how often do you use it and what types of things do you use it for?
I need to justify this to myself
Alison

mini books, pads, I made kids pads for the children, a smash book for my DD,,,,,,

I use it every month or so,,,,,not as much as I thought I'd use it,but when I have it, I am ridiculously glad I do.

I don't use my BIA very often, but when I need it I'm glad I have it. I've used it for mini-books, 8x8 albums, etc. I'll be using it for my Christmas/December Daily that I'm using a Fancy Pants Brag Book because the orginal coils got bent, plus I wanted to rearrange the pages to what I wanted.

I even used it to make a super simple calendar last year--I found a cheap calendar that had tear--off pages, but I didn't want that so I used the BIA to bind it so I could flip the pages each month. Some day I'll use it to bind a paperback cookbook that fell apart (after I left it on a crockpot that was warm...steamed the glue apart!) but I haven't yet because that involves punching all of the pages...and I'd rather be scrapping!

I'm with HuskerMom98. I don't use my Cinch all the time but when I do, I'm glad I have it. I can't make the comparison between the Cinch and the BIA as I have never used the BIA. My Cinch is used for mini albums as I"m hooked on making the things.

My friend Nan did this comparison video of the Cinch and Bind It All:

http://scrappynan.blogspot.com/2010/09/bind-it-all-f ore...

That should help make your decision

I use the Bind It All all the time -- yes, I teach classes for them and I teach independently and still choose the Bind It All.

I use the Bind It All for books, calendars, home decor projects, gifts, wall hangings, organizers, to bind anything I want bound like kids book reports, take out menus....really anything you can punch with it, you can bind with it. My gallery is FILLED with project ideas as well as my blog an the Bind It All blog is also an awesome resource for project ideas as well.

I won't argue the points--the video does it perfectly. The Bind It All is even half the cost of the Cinch, the inner workings are manufactured in a factory with over 40 years experience manufacturing binding machines...it really is the best option. If you think about a pre-made chipboard book running about $15, the BIA will pay for itself after you make 4-5 books. To bind something at Kinko's costs $5 per item (and you have drive there and wait hours) so after 10 items the BIA would have paid for itself.

Hope that helps!!

please know when watching the video that Nan WORKS for bind it all.

she makes cinching the cinch look all but impossible,,,,I did it right out of the box with not even half the problems she had.

Here's the problem,,,,,,Nan works for BiA,,,she's NOT unbiased. the BIA is a good machine,,,,,,and so is the cinch. But don't make your decision based on a video from someone who WORKS for one of the companies in question.

JMHO.

As far as cost goes,,,,,the Cinch is slightly more expensive,,,,I wouldn't say double. I know it's 99 bucks at HL,,,,and I used a coupon and got it for 50.

I'm about to get one, the other, or both. I'll let you all know what happens, and then you'll all have the final, definitive answer. I won't let anybody down.


-Kory
*the above statement is a joke, except that I'm getting one of the two, and that I'll let you know what I think. ;-)

LOL, I told you, Kory,,,,,,,the cinch comes in BLUE,,,,,,

so does the BIA, but the blue BIA is version 1,,,,not nearly as good as version2

Thanks for the responses...I guess I was kinda thinking the Cinch as everyone keeps saying it's easier to use, hence the title of my post.
However, I was really wondering how often you find yourself using your binding tool (whichever one you use) and what kind of things you use it for....
I'm trying to figure out if I can justify spending the money. It seems cool but I don't really make mini books right now, I mostly use 12x12 albums already made. Although, I am doing an 8x8 recipe book and I did make a kindergarten book for my son out of an old file folder.....hmmm
Alison

I have a BIA and I wish I would I would have gotten a cinch instead. I've used both and IMO the cinch is easier to use.

• CommaHolly Said:

This Bind It All is $59.95 and with the coupon at HL you can get it for about $30. So it is about half of what the Cinch costs.

• CommaHolly Said:

The "blue" Bind It All is the original version and it was discontinued. There are 3 main differences between version 2.0 (pink) and version 1.0 (blue), most significant in my opinion is the 50% larger slot to allow punching of thicker materials. Unless you are regular punching wood or particle board, you can use the V1.0 with no issues. I still have my original V1.0 I bought 5 years ago.

As far as being unbiased, really no one is. Whoever is buying the machine has to make the decision based on their preferences. For me, the Bind It All offers more:

smaller footprint on the tabletop
bag to transport
rectangular holes that are forgiving if I make a mistake or need to shimmy things around
easy to apply formula for punching holes
allows me to punch pages AFTER they are decorated with bulky items on both sides (Cinch does not allow this)
Always has a 2:1 pitch on holes so any industry standard o-wire will fit (Cinch has a slightly smaller pitch so longer bindings are imperfect)
tool itself is manufactured by a company who has been making binding machines for 40 years
all metal inner workings
half the price of other machines
loads of videos and inspiration available online
and so much more

Hope that helps in making your decision

Heyy Jennifer!

I got the BIA yesterday. Pink and all. The pink was the last thing holding me back on it- not that I have anything against pink, itself- but for a machine, I just hated thinking how it would look on my shelf. But I gave in because I liked the shape of the holes it punches.

For me, put the word out and make the BIA3 a nice silver. At least. lol

I'm still thinking of coloring it with a Sharpie. We'll see.

But it's freakin easy to use!!!

-k

ALSO- the thing I didn't like about The Cinch- besides it's boring little round hole punches- I didn't like that you have to carefully watch when closing the wires and do it just so- I like that the BIA has the little measuring cards so you set how far the 'crusher' goes. (I make these names up as I go, so sue me).

So far, I love my horrid pink BIA!

• designguyKORY Said:

LOVE the silver suggestion. Or even black. I put black vinyl decals on my blue one.

How about flames?

Flames would be cool.

Great idea!

One thing you might try - instead of buying one. If you don't think you will need it that often, check out your local scrapbook shop. Mine will let you use their tools for a small fee. You may need to buy the coils but compared to buying the tool itself you may save some money.

• nswilliams Said:

This is assuming, of course, that one actually HAS a local scrapbook shop
Enjoy yours double for me!