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How to Order Custom Poly Tabs Online (Step by Step)

Poly index tabs are the heavy-duty option: durable .015″ polyethylene that shrugs off tears, moisture, and years of daily page-turning. Ordering them custom-printed is just as easy as paper — you design the whole set online and approve a proof before anything prints.

Here's the full process, including the choices that are unique to poly: the 11-color palette and black or white ink.

Step 1 — Set your cut and tabs per set

Open the poly tab designer and choose your tab cut — how many tab positions sit across the page edge (1/5 cut is the most popular) — and how many tabs are in each set. Need more tabs than one row holds? They automatically step down into additional staggered rows called banks.

Step 2 — Type your tab text

Enter the label for each tab, up to two lines. The live preview is shown to scale, so you see exactly how your text fits on the tab at your chosen font and size — Arial, Helvetica, Helvetica Condensed, or Times New Roman, with bold, italic, and underline styles.

A tip from our shop: on poly tabs, larger and bolder text reads best — the screen-printed ink stands out most at generous sizes.

Step 3 — Choose your poly colors

Poly tabs come in 11 stock colors — from 99 White and 00 Natural through Black, Blue, Emerald, Bright Yellow, Azure, Bright Orange, Ivory, Gray, and Red. Use one color for the whole set, or give each tab its own color to color-code sections at a glance.

Step 4 — Pick black or white ink

This choice is unique to poly: your tab text can print in standard black ink, or in white ink that stands out sharply on dark poly colors like Black, Blue, and Emerald. Choose white ink in the designer and the preview instantly shows your text in white, exactly as it will print.

  • Black ink — the standard look on white and light poly colors
  • White ink — high contrast on dark poly colors; great for safety and shop-floor binders

Step 5 — Finishing options

Round out the set with the finishing menus: 1- or 2-sided printing (two-sided reads correctly from either direction), 3-hole punching for ring binders, collation so sets arrive assembled and ready to use, and optional one-color body printing on the divider sheet itself.

How poly tabs are printed — and recycled

Poly tabs are screen printed with UV inks — an environmentally friendly process that cures the ink onto the polyethylene for a tough, scratch-resistant finish that won't rub off with daily handling.

And when a set has finally done its job, poly tabs are 100% recyclable — the .015″ polyethylene goes right back into the recycling stream.

Step 6 — Live pricing, checkout, and your proof

The price updates as you build — no waiting for a quote. Choose your quantity (25-set minimum with volume pricing), add to cart, and check out securely. After you order we email a free PDF proof, and nothing prints until you approve it. Poly production runs about 15 business days from proof approval.

Ready for tabs that outlast the binder? Design your poly tabs online with live pricing whenever you are.

New since this video was recorded

Two upgrades since filming: (1) the designer now auto-fills tab text — sequential numbers, A–Z letters, months, or Roman numerals across all tabs in one click; and (2) if you choose 1-Color Body Printing, you can now upload your body-copy artwork (PDF, AI, EPS, PNG…) right in the designer — no need to email it separately.

Ready to design your tabs?

See live pricing as you configure — no account needed.

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