How Much Do Custom Printed Binder Tabs Cost? Prices to the Cent

Price per set, one-time setup included, for paper tabs on the default options (90 lb index, one side printed, unpunched, uncollated). Quantities from 25 to 1,000 sets are priced the same way in the designer.

• 5-tab sets: 25 sets $5.45 a set ($136.25) · 100 sets $2.35 a set ($235.00) · 250 sets $1.57 a set ($392.50)
• 8-tab sets: 25 sets $8.00 a set ($200.00) · 100 sets $3.58 a set ($358.00) · 250 sets $2.44 a set ($610.00)
• 10-tab sets: 25 sets $9.70 a set ($242.50) · 100 sets $4.40 a set ($440.00) · 250 sets $3.02 a set ($755.00)
• The lowest per-set price: a 5-tab set at 1,000 sets is $1.08 a set

A set that goes straight into a ring binder is usually ordered 3-hole punched and collated — assembled in tab order, ready to drop in. Tabzoola's 8-tab set finished that way, the shape of an estate planning, case file or employee handbook binder, is $8.17 a set at 25, $3.75 at 100 and $2.61 at 250. A 10-tab set finished the same way is $9.92 a set at 25 and $3.24 at 250.

Your own section names cost the same as numbers or letters: the price follows the number of tabs and sets, not the wording.

Using an 8-tab set at 100 sets as the example — $3.58 a set on the default options — each option changes the per-set price to:

• 3-hole punched: $3.64 a set
• Collated in tab order: $3.69 a set
• Printed on both sides of the tab: $3.85 a set
• Binding-edge reinforcing (a Mylar strip along the punched edge so holes do not tear out of the rings): $3.80 a set
• 110 lb index instead of 90 lb: $3.98 a set
• Mylar on the tab itself is not an extra: every Tabzoola paper tab carries it, clear or in one of 19 colors

Solid .015 poly tabs are one wipeable piece and suit binders that get wet, wiped or handled daily. Poly carries a larger one-time setup, so it pays at higher quantities: a Tabzoola 8-tab poly set is $40.80 a set at 25, $16.56 at 100 and $9.92 at 250. Poly ships in about 15 business days from proof approval.

There are three ways to buy binder tabs, and they price differently. Office-store packs are blank or insertable tabs sold by the pack; they are cheap for one binder, but every label is written or slotted in by hand. Print-to-order suppliers often list the product with a quote form instead of a price, so the cost is unknown until someone replies. A few manufacturers publish per-set prices online, which is how Tabzoola sells.

When comparing two quotes, check what each one includes: whether setup is in the price or billed separately, whether sets arrive collated, whether the tabs carry Mylar, whether punching is included, and where free shipping starts. Two quotes that look far apart can be the same set with different options left out.

Tabzoola ships free by UPS Ground on orders of $75 or more, which includes the minimum order of 25 sets of 5 tabs; smaller orders ship UPS Ground for $19.95.

The minimum order is 25 sets. Below that, press setup costs more than the tabs, so blank tabs you label yourself are the better buy for a single binder. Every order gets a free PDF proof first, and nothing prints until you approve it.