Re: Advice on binding

[Paul Gauthier <PGauthier -at- DELRINA -dot- COM>]

>Several of our customers have requested that we change our binding format.
 We
>are currently using wiro binding.  Customers and internal folks are
requesting
>3-ring binders for the following reasons:

>o Update information with change pages instead of just release notes.
>o We expect to have many updates during the next 12-18 months.

>I'm aware of the following problems with 3-ring binder formats:

>o Binders are expensive.  That means initial cost will exceed my normal
printing
>costs.
>o Binders are known to cause customers to lose pages.
>o Change pages produce additional overhead, since we have to produce
release
> notes anyway.

>Because I am a department of one, resources are limited.  I'd appreciate
your
> sharing your experiences with 3-ring binder formats.

Most of the manuals we send out are perfect-bound with an intended audience
of end users of our products (people who design or fill in forms).

Just now I am starting to document the programming interface for one of our
products. The audience for this is programmers.

Because of the change of audience, I did a quick survey of our development
staff and found that most people preferred this kind of material in a
binder.

We hesitated because we wondered if people really do update their manuals
when they receive update pages (we decided this was not our responsibility).
Finally, we decided to go ahead and use binders.

To reduce the cost, we are using plain-covered binders with clear plastic
pockets on the front and on the spine in which we insert fancy covers
depending on the product. That way the binders can be used for different
products and we save because of buying in bulk.

Hope this helps.
Paul           8-)}
(PGauthier -at- delrina -dot- com)