Tab Printing, From the Plant That Die-Cuts the Tabs
Tabzoola does tab printing for binders: your section names printed on index tabs, with Mylar on every tab, die-cut, punched and collated at its own plant in Schaumburg, Illinois. A 5-tab set is $5.45 a set at the 25-set minimum and $1.57 at 250 sets, priced online with a free PDF proof before anything prints.
Tab printing prices, per set
| Tabs in the set | 25 sets | 100 sets | 250 sets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 tabs | $5.45 | $2.35 | $1.57 |
| 8 tabs | $8.00 | $3.58 | $2.44 |
| 10 tabs | $9.70 | $4.40 | $3.02 |
| 12 tabs | $11.40 | $5.22 | $3.60 |
Paper tabs printed one side with clear Mylar on every tab, setup included, no sales tax added. Collating, 3-hole punching and colored Mylar are priced in the designer as you choose them. The smallest order is 25 sets of 5 tabs, $136.25.
Tab printing, in numbers (September 2026)
- Printed, die-cut 5-tab paper sets with Mylar on every tab: $2.35/set at 100 sets, setup included; $1.08 at 1,000.
- Paper sets ship ~5 business days after proof approval; poly ~15; 3-day rush available on paper.
- Any cut 1/2–1/15, clear Mylar or 19 Mylar colors, 11 poly colors — one plant, Schaumburg IL, over 60 million tabs since 1993.
Most tab printing is brokered: a print shop takes the order, a converter somewhere else actually makes the tabs. Tabzoola is the converter. Your titles are printed, the Mylar is applied and the tabs die-cut, then punched and collated, in one plant in Schaumburg, Illinois that has been die-cutting index tabs since 1993 — with the whole job priced instantly online, from $1.08 per set at volume.
No artwork, no template, no setup call. The designer draws production-ready tabs as you type, prices the run instantly, and draws a free PDF proof before anything prints. Already have the titles? Paste the list, pull them from a document’s table of contents, or photograph the set you use today.
What the service covers
Binder tab printing, printed index tabs, divider printing — the service goes by many names and covers everything between your section names and a finished set on the binder rings: single- or two-sided tab printing on 90# or 110# index stock or .015 poly, any tab cut from 1/2 to 1/15, Mylar on every paper tab in clear or 19 colors, 3-hole punching, and collation into finished set order. Sets from 1 to 500 tabs; numbered, A–Z, and monthly runs generate themselves. Unpunched stock for binderies, and bottom-edge hanging tabs for top-bound books, are standard options rather than specials.
The honest economics of printed tabs
At one or two binders, hand-labeled store tabs win — we publish free printable tab templates for exactly that job. Printed tabs win the moment a set repeats: a 5-tab paper set is $5.45 per set at the 25-set minimum and an 8-tab set $8.00, $1.57 and $2.44 per set at 250, and the tabs arrive finished, collated, and identical across every binder — which is what a records room, a trial team, or a tax season actually needs. Nothing is quoted by callback; the designer shows the number as you build.
Copier tabs vs printed-to-order tabs
Copier tabs are blank, pre-cut tab sheets sold to run through your own copier or laser printer — you buy the blanks, load them in bank order, print each title yourself, and add no Mylar. They earn their place in one situation: variable data, where every binder needs different wording and an in-house machine prints it on demand. For everything else the math runs the other way: blanks plus toner plus misfeeds plus collating time, and the finished tab still has no Mylar on it. Printed-to-order sets from this plant arrive with the titles printed, Mylar on every tab, punched, and collated — a 5-tab set is $5.45 per set at the 25-set minimum and $1.57 at 250. If your copier-tab habit is really a same-titles-every-time habit, the designer will show you the number in about a minute.
Printed tabs for binders: what “print divider tabs” actually means
People come at this job with different words for the same thing.Binder tab printing, printed tabs for binder,print divider tabs, index tab printing— all of it describes one operation: putting your wording onto the tab extension of a divider before the tab is cut, rather than writing on a blank one afterwards.
The distinction that matters is whenthe printing happens. A blank divider printed at a desk has ink laid on a sheet that was die-cut months earlier in a factory, so the wording lands wherever the printer’s feed happens to put it. Here the sheet is printed first and the tab is cut afterwards, in register — which is why the title sits centred in its tab on every set in the box, and why the Mylar can be applied over the printed tab instead of around it.
Practically: send a list of titles, a document whose contents page carries them, or a photograph of a set you already use. You get a free PDF proof before anything runs, roughly five business days on paper, and a price on screen while you type — from $1.08 per set at volume, $5.45 for a 5-tab set at the 25-set minimum.
Printed by quote: reverse tabs, PMS ink, custom sheet sizes
Three jobs are quoted rather than priced in the designer. Reverse printed tabs carry a solid ink background with the title showing through in the color of the stock. PMS ink prints the titles in a matched color instead of black. Custom sheet sizes cover any sheet size up to 11 x 17 tabloid, such as half-letter, 7 x 9, A4 and 9 x 12. Send the details to sales@tabzoola.com or call (847) 397-1200 for a price. A one-color logo on the divider sheet is not quoted: it is priced in the designer — see tab dividers with your logo.
Print shops and brokers: we run trade work
If you sell print and a customer needs tabs, you do not need to own a die-cutting department — that is what ours is for. We produce finished, unbranded tab sets for resellers and binderies: send the spec or the customer’s list to sales@tabzoola.com or call (847) 397-1200, answered at the plant. Unpunched and uncollated formats for your own finishing line are no extra ceremony.
Frequently asked questions
Who does tab printing for binders?
Tabzoola does. It prints binder tabs to order at its own plant in Schaumburg, Illinois, where index tabs have been made since 1993: your section names are printed on the tabs, Mylar is applied to every tab, and the set is die-cut, punched and collated. A 5-tab set is $5.45 a set at the 25-set minimum ($136.25) and $1.57 at 250 sets. The price shows online as you build, and a free PDF proof comes before anything prints.
Where can I get printed index tabs?
From Tabzoola, online, with no account needed. Type or paste your tab titles into the designer and printed index tabs are made to order on paper with Mylar on every tab, or on poly, in any cut from 1/2 to 1/15. An 8-tab set is $8.00 a set at 25 sets and $2.44 at 250. Paper sets ship about 5 business days after you approve the free PDF proof.
Where can I get printed tabs for a binder?
Directly from the plant that makes them. Tabzoola die-cuts and prints binder tabs in Schaumburg, Illinois and has done since 1993, so binder tab printing is not brokered out — the printing, the Mylar, the die-cutting, punching and collating all happen in one building. Order online with the price shown instantly and a free PDF proof, 25-set minimum, no account or quote form.
Can you print divider tabs with my own wording?
Yes — that is the whole product. Any wording on any cut from 1/2 to 1/15, 1 to 500 tabs per set, one or two sided, on paper with Mylar on every tab or on wipe-clean poly. Type the titles, paste a list, upload a document and pull them from its table of contents, or photograph a set you already use and the wording is read off the picture.
Is index tab printing cheaper than printing dividers myself?
Past a few sets, yes, and the crossover comes sooner than people expect. An 8-tab paper set is $8.00 per set at the 25-set minimum, $3.58 at 100 and $2.44 at 250 with setup included. Home-printed dividers have no Mylar on the tab, where a divider takes the handling, alignment drifts between sheets, and every set is assembled by hand. For one or two binders the free templates are genuinely the better answer.
Is tab printing a service or a product?
Both, and that's the point: tab printing means having index tabs manufactured with your wording on them, rather than writing on blank store-bought tabs. At Tabzoola the whole job happens in one plant — printing, Mylar, die-cutting, punching, and collating — so what arrives is a finished, ready-to-use tab set, not sheets you still have to process.
Do I need print-ready artwork to have tabs printed?
No. The online designer builds production-ready art as you type — no design files, no templates to fill in, no prepress charges. If your titles already exist somewhere, skip the typing: paste a list, upload a document and pull tab titles from its table of contents, or photograph an existing tab set and the titles are read straight off the picture.
How fast is custom tab printing?
Paper tab sets print and ship in about 5 business days after you approve the free PDF proof, and the proof itself is drawn instantly while you design. A 3-Day Rush is available when the deadline is real. Poly runs about 15 business days. UPS Ground from Schaumburg, Illinois reaches most of the Midwest in one day and most of the country in one to three.
What can be printed on the tabs?
Any wording you want on every tab — printed one- or two-sided in black ink on paper stock, or black or white ink on poly, where white pops on the 11 darker sheet colors. Tab color comes from the Mylar on each tab, clear or one of 19 colors, on paper sets, and body printing on the divider sheet itself is available on poly.
What does printing tab dividers involve?
Printing tab dividers is a two-operation job, which is why an office printer cannot do it. Tabzoola prints the sheet on a press, then applies the Mylar and cuts the tab in a single second operation — the tab extends half an inch past the 8.5 by 11 inch body, into the area a desktop printer physically grips, and the Mylar that protects it goes on before the tab is cut. You send the titles, approve a free PDF proof, and the sets arrive die-cut with Mylar on every tab, punched and collated in order. Paper orders produce in about 5 business days from proof approval, from a 25-set minimum, at $5.45 per set for 5 tabs at 25 sets and $1.57 at 250.
How to print out tabs for dividers?
You don't need to — that's the service. Home and office printers handle tab stock badly: alignment drifts, the tabs get no Mylar, and every misfeed wastes a sheet. Binder tab printing here means you type, paste, or photograph your titles, and the plant prints, applies the Mylar, die-cuts, punches, and collates the finished sets. For the rare job where printing your own genuinely makes sense — one or two binders — our free tab templates are built for exactly that.
What are copier tabs and do you sell them?
Copier tabs are blank pre-cut tab sheets made to run through an office copier or laser printer — you print the titles yourself, one bank at a time. Tabzoola doesn't sell blanks; we sell the finished article: your titles printed, Mylar on every tab, punched, and collated into ready-to-use sets from $1.57 per set at volume. Blanks make sense when every binder needs different wording printed in-house on demand; for sets that repeat, printed-to-order is cheaper per finished tab and every tab carries Mylar, which blanks never do.
Are these pre-printed tabs?
Yes — every set ships pre-printed with your titles on the tabs, which is the whole distinction from write-on tabs and insertable-label dividers. If you're searching for pre-printed binder tabs in standard ranges like 1–10, A–Z, or Jan–Dec, those are one-click presets of the same process, printed to order at the same price.
What is the minimum order for printed tabs?
25 sets, with volume pricing to 1,000+ — an 8-tab paper set runs $8.00 per set at the minimum and $2.44 per set at 250. A 5-tab set is $5.45 per set at 25 and $1.57 at 250. A single title can also be printed in quantity as individual tabs, cut to any position, from $51.25. Every price shows in the designer before you commit to anything.
Can you print tabs to match a set I already use?
Yes — photograph the set you have, whoever originally made it, and every title is read off the photo exactly as printed, with each tab matched to the nearest stock color. The free PDF proof shows the match before anything prints. Reorders of your own past Tabzoola sets rebuild themselves in one click.