Index Tabs 101: What They Are and How to Order

Almost every ordering mistake traces back to one of these terms being misunderstood:

• **Cut** — how many tab positions sit across the page edge. A 1/5 cut means five positions, so five tabs complete one row. Cuts run 1/2 through 1/15.
• **Bank** — one complete row of tabs. A set with more sections than the cut allows steps into a second staggered bank rather than shrinking the tabs.
• **Extension** — the part of the tab that projects past the page. It is only about half an inch deep, and it is where every divider eventually fails.
• **Mylar reinforcing** — a clear or colored film bonded along the binding edge for tear resistance. On paper tabs the colored Mylar is also what gives the tab its color.
• **Collation** — whether sets arrive assembled in your section order, or stacked by tab position for you to assemble. This is the most common hidden difference between two quotes that look identical.

Count the sections people actually file into, not the ones that would look tidy. Tabs created for neatness sit empty, and empty tabs teach staff to stop trusting the structure.

The section count then picks the cut: eight sections means a 1/8 cut, ten means 1/10. Past roughly fifteen tabs in one bank the labels become too narrow to read at a glance, which is why longer sets step into a second bank.

Paper tabs are printed on 90# or 110# index stock, optionally with Mylar reinforcing at the binding edge. They are the economical choice and suit office binders with normal handling.

Poly tabs are solid .015 polyethylene — sheet and tab in one piece of plastic, so nothing can delaminate. They wipe clean, resist moisture, and are effectively tear-proof, which is why they win where charts and manuals are handled daily. They cost more and take longer to produce.

Custom printing means the tab carries your own wording — up to two lines, in your choice of font and size. That is the whole point: a stock pack forces your sections into somebody else's labels.

For sequences — numbers, letters, months, Roman numerals — do not type them. Auto-fill generates the whole run at once, which matters when a set has 50 or 500 tabs.

Four choices, and the defaults are not always what people expect:

• One- or two-sided printing — two-sided reads correctly from either direction and is what most buyers choose
• Hole punching — standard 3-hole, or unpunched for coil, wire-O, post binding, or drilling later
• Reinforcing — protects the extension where tabs tear; worth it for sets kept for years
• Collation — assembled in order, or stacked by position for you to collate

Setup is included in the price here, but it is a real cost spread across the run — which is why the per-set price falls sharply with quantity rather than gently. An 8-tab paper set is $8.00 per set at the 25-set minimum and $2.44 per set at 250.

That curve is the single biggest lever on what a set costs. If the same structure will be reordered anyway, ordering the year at once is usually cheaper than ordering quarterly.

You approve a free PDF proof before anything prints — that is the moment to check spelling, order, colors and cut, because it is the last cheap moment. Paper sets then produce in about 5 business days from proof approval, poly in about 15.

The design is saved, so a reorder matches the original exactly rather than being re-specified from memory.