We are so excited to make your 4everBound book(s)! Before you send your papers, they need to be ready to be bound. If there are preparations you would rather not do yourself, or if you have special things you want in your book like greeting cards, postcards, or extra large pieces you want us to trim or fold for you, those extra services and current pricing are listed toward the end of this blog post. Just tell us what you want to order when you send your papers and we will email you an invoice to pay securely online.
CHOOSE the papers you want in your book.
REMOVE staples, paperclips, binding combs, yarn, string, anything that is holding papers together. You don’t have to remove staples or paperclips if you ordered removal service.
REMEMBER that up to 1/2 inch on the left side of your papers will be inside the binding area and may not be visible.
ORDER your pages how you want them to appear in your book. We will not rearrange them, so if any pages are upside down or backward, that's how they will appear in the book. We don't want to second guess all the different customer personalities we have, so we do not rearrange pages.
STIFF PAPERS: If you have a page that is particularly stiff that doesn't bend or turn very well, we reserve the right to move it to the end of the book because we don't want it to interfere with the way the rest of the pages turn when your book is finished. Pocket Dividers, Archival Sleeves, Photo Pages are all placed at the end of the book by default. We cannot bind cardboard. If anything is too stiff to be bound, we will return it to you.
TRIM any pages that are larger than 8.5 x 11. Many construction paper pieces are 9 x 12. We will trim up to 5 pages for you as a courtesy included with the price of your book. If you have many pages to be trimmed and would rather not do it yourself, we can do it for you. We take great care to trim each piece one by one so that we center and preserve as much of the artwork as possible. Our menu of services and prices is at the end of this article.
LARGER ODD SHAPED ITEMS: If you have things that are between a half page or larger, like a pumpkin or a heart or a Santa or a fish, we want to try to bind it as is, like its own page. The book is so much cuter that way. If any parts are sticking out, like a hat, arm, or wing, we will fold it in. We don't charge extra for this service because it's a unique feature of our books that make them different from anything else out there. If we cannot bind it as is, we will mount it as needed at no additional charge.
SMALLER ODD SHAPED ITEMS and PHOTOS: Please glue/mount any small or odd shaped items like photos or small cut out shapes onto the blank side of other pages in your book, or onto its own dedicated page, then place that page where you want it in your book. If you would rather we do the glue mounting for you, we have non-wrinkle, archival quality glues that will last for the life of the book. Please see our services menu below.
FOLDING: You are welcome to fold your own pieces down to 8.5 x 11, but remember the left-hand edge gets bound into the book. That means if you fold it equally in half, both edges will be bound into the book and you won't be able to open it. If you want to fold yourself, please be advised we may need to add another fold so the top half of the piece doesn't get bound into the book. We may also need to adjust your fold, which will likely create additional creases in your piece. Folding can be tricky because we have to get the size and the folds just right so it fits in the book and opens well. If we have to refold something for you, we will not charge you for that, but we cannot be responsible for any additional creases in your piece. If you would rather we just handle all the folding for you, we can do that as well. Our menu of services is at the end of this article.
GREETING CARDS: We can now include greeting cards and postcards in your book and we are very excited about it. We have a proprietary system that allows us to bind in your card or postcard, but still enabling it to "flip", so you can see both sides or read what is inside the card. It requires extra labor, time and materials, so we do charge a base rate plus a fee per card. Prices in the menu below.
NOTE: If we receive your papers with unfolded, untrimmed papers and/or cards to be bound and/or mounted, we will assume you want us to provide those services for you. We will assess the project and email you an invoice for the extra service, based on our menu of services below, which you can then pay securely online. Then we can proceed with your book.
It's important that the pages you send us will fit the book you ordered or we are happy to upsize you to the appropriate book size for the difference in price. Our upsize prices are listed at the end of this article.
Page counts are just a suggested ballpark. It's more important that you measure.
MEASURE YOUR PAPERS
STACK your papers neatly, but doesn’t need to be perfect.
MEASURE your stack alongside the left-hand binding edge, to make sure your pages will fit in your book, according to the chart above. Please don't press down on the stack while measuring. If the pages won't fit your measurement without pressing down, then they won't fit in the book, either.
REMOVE pages if necessary or you can UPSIZE YOUR BOOK
UPSIZE OPTION: If you ordered a Sentiment or Keepsake book and then discover you need a thicker book, we can upsize you for the difference in price. However, Chronicle is our largest book, so there is no upsize option. Instead, you can order a second volume if you prefer.
We measure all stacks of papers to make sure they will fit in the size book you ordered. If we have too many pages, we will contact you to upsize or create volumes. Likewise, we have downsized people when they ordered a size bigger than what they actually needed.
You can ship your papers however you like, but we have some specific recommendations to save you money and get your papers here safely and securely.
BENEFITS OF USPS PRIORITY MAIL SERVICES
Low postage rates when using Flat or Regional service.
Price includes tracking. You can sign up for email notifications, text notifications, or just go online and track your package.
Price includes insurance up to $50. You can add more if you like.
Packaging is free. Boxes and envelopes available the post office or you can order online and have it delivered to your door.
Packages arrive in 1-3 days. It's not guaranteed but is extremely consistent. That's why companies like Amazon use it almost exclusively.
Many people choose to use the Flat Rate and Priority Mail Envelopes and boxes that are available for free at the Post Office. PRO TIP: If you have an extra minute or two at the Post Office and want to save a few dollars, they have Regional Rate A boxes behind the counter that are cheaper than Flat Rate Medium boxes. The Regional Rate A box will cost no more than $10.28 and is plenty big enough to fit most papers. You can save quite a bit of postage using a Regional Rate box over a Flat Rate box, and it still includes Priority service and tracking. The trick is, you have to ask for it at the counter, they don't keep them in the lobby. They prefer you use the Flat Rate boxes, but the service is exactly the same.
You can always check with the person working behind the counter at the USPS for their recommendations how to ship. These are our suggestions, but you can certainly ship papers to us however you like.
4everBound attn: Robyn Pomonis
826 E Palisades Rd
Oro Valley AZ 85737
We hope you found this helpful and please email us with any questions! orders@4everBound.com.
Looking forward to receiving your package! ~ Robyn, Co-Owner
