Category: Best-selling Pop Up Cards, Decor, & More

Best-selling Pop Up Cards, Decor, & More

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What is better notebook or binder?

Ringless Binder with single spine and 150 pages capacity
No Ring Binder with single spine and 150 pages capacity

Notebook or binder.

Are there binders without rings?

Students in US schools forced to deal with the pain of using and carrying around brick-like ring binders are asking endless questions. You can easily see that on the top of their wishes is a quite legendary “Binder notebook.” This nowhere to find mythical beast combines the utility of the ring binder with a simple, easy-to-use notebook.

Three-ring binder was born at the same time as the First Steam engine

Students shopping for basic school supplies meet the stark market reality where the only choice is a 133-year-old Ring-binder.

A not exactly modern solution, the Ring binder was invented when the first Steam Engines came to life.

A few manufacturers are producing a variety of widgets that are supposed to replace the Ring Binder, but none of them is up to the task.

The problem is spines exceed the thickness of the paper they contain. The need to deal with metal prongs (Prong Folder) that easily hurt fingers with sharp metal edges, or the fancy Punchless binders in various shapes, frankly missing the tooth to grab and keep the leaflets effectively. 

There is a solution that comes closest to fulfilling the dreams. The Flex hybrid note binder has collapsible rings made from steel wire, but the heavy-duty beast takes up so much space in the backpack and, quite frankly, quite often feels like an overkill. Pounds of steel to carry ounces of paper?

Notebook Binder
Notebook / Binder for school

So among the unsatisfied, a designer came up with a simpler solution.

The ringless binder is made from a sheet of tear-resistant paper.

Ringless binder with its 2 oz (56grams) average weight is ECO friendly. The designer Eliminatined 80% of the material usually involved in the CONSTRUCTION of the OLD Ring-binder.

Try it out! Visit our Shop at SmartPaperCuts.com 

Binder Notebook opened
Binder Notebook opened

 

 

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I am missing.. The insects. Are we Next?

The bee

Do you remember the time not so long ago when you seriously considered installing a “bug shield” on your car since every drive ended with a windshield smeared with insects you met on the highway? Right now, the sky is clear, and even on the most extended trip, multiple hours spent on the road do not produce the same result. The long-time effort of Monsanto to pollute our environment has final effects. I am missing the bugs, Their night swirl around my headlights, The heart-stopping sound when the big one meets the windshield. Oh, I wish I drove slower. Now they are gone. Hardly anything is swimming in the air along my long trip on the highway. Even the mosquitos are missing from the morning scroll among the trees of a nearby forest preserve. What next? Who is next? As the remainder, I created a Bee as a paper pop-up in honor of our gone but not recognized insects/friends. What should I do next? Long lost, from my view, a Grasshopper? Pop-up paper monument? In a Coffin? Are we next?

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Printed Matter Art Book Fair

Over a year ago (2019) Prompted by my family’s desire to see the newest indie-independent art we went to Chicago’s “Printed Matter Book Fair”. After finding parking on Wabash Ave short stroll brought us to the Michigan location of this glorious event. Old buildings on Michigan Ave destinations by themselves showing to the visitor quite an interesting 19-century approach to architectural design. There is a certain charm preserved in the old interior decoration. A crowd of mostly young people filled the stairs and walkways on 3floors of the building.
Crowded Floors filled with exhibitors and viewers with little space in between on the first sight offered plenty of interesting things to see. But after a while searching for the new, beautiful, and unexpected there was a sort of disappointment. Clearly, we expected more. The first thing which struck my practical mind was a discovery that no independent bookseller present on these 3 floors was offering something I would purchase, read and cherish for at least for a while.

Books exist not only in their physical form but at least to me as the frame for an interesting message. The message was the ingredients missing. The main message emerging from seeing the fair was a message of the author’s loss and confusion. Focusing on form, printed pages without a clear intellectual path produced nothing memorable. Even a few pop-ups I saw, did not bring to me this kind of satisfaction or curiosity to prompt me to purchase one since they are bound to sit on the shelves forgotten because of the sin of not carrying a message.
Message It is the ingredient missing from contemporary US American art. That’s why Manga Books and similar foreign inventions dominate the U.S. market. They bring the message – excitement.
In a culture focused on the financial aspect, simple seeds of imagination and creativity have no chance to flourish. The young generation of makers is trying but since there were born and raised in this environment there are trying, but falling short.
Coming back to my family we came to the conclusion that our time could be better spent.
Unfortunately.
But I think we should keep watching. true art comes unexpectedly and in small portions.
This February 2021 Printed Matter will launch its first Virtual Art Book Fair (PMVABF)
https://pmvabf.org/

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Amazon Amazing steal

The story of US-based small and not so small business put out of business by Amazon copying their product itself or pushing made in China Fakes is not universally known.
An article published by “The Wall Street Journal” describes one aspect of the well known Giant. As the article states: “Amazon Has Ceded Control of Its Site. The Result: Thousands of Banned, Unsafe or Mislabeled Products”
The most Amazon-Amazing fact is that such a giant can exist despite our antitrust (another Paperweight) laws.
To ensure its market dominance not only engaged in direct theft of intellectual property of others but also joined its resources with other Big Tech companies to successfully push the 2011 Legislation “Reforming” our patent laws. The first Success of the “2011 Leahy–Smith America Invents Act” was a 50% average drop in US patents’ value. Now 10 years later, we deal with several problems. There is no problem with IP (Intelectual Property) theft because patent issued by USPTO has no value, and it may be freely taken by competition from startup or individual inventor without any consequences thanks to the “Efficient Infringement” doctrine telling them that it is cheaper to steal than to pay licensing fees to the inventor. The cost of any patent-related lawsuit in the US is in millions what rarely any inventor or startup can afford. Plus, if the inventor misbehaves, the new USPTO arm PTAB, known as “Patent Death Squad,” will invalidate His/her Patent. ( 84% chance). It leads to a situation where the Patent owner is often forced to pay ransom to an entity applying to invalidate his/her patent. Entities hunting for patents with juicy infringement awards. Also, several Supreme Court decisions subsequently weakened the position of the Patent owner.
Thanks to such an arrangement, Big Tech has guaranteed no competition Market.
Shame on us.

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The quality of your Greeting card goes long way

The Face By Jacek Alfac.us

Have you ever thought about how your greeting card is received?
Is it quickly put away?
You bought run-of-the-mill cards and they are recognized as such by recipients?
Lost opportunity since a better, memorable piece of paper art may keep your name longer on display and bring you either some love or some new business.
It will not cost you a dime more, just some attention to where to spend your hard-earned money and get a better product. There are some significant differences in how cards are received.
3-dimensional cards stay on display While flat greeting cards?
Usually, they disappear quite quickly. Some remain on display for a few days. Especially during the holiday season. After that? Most of us discover flat cards during big cleaning projects; years later tucked away.
3D pop-up cards hold more staying power with some differences.
1) The one in the “book” form requires two hands to open and face a similar fate. They are exposed to the viewer just for the moment. Not a big difference compared with the flat one.
All of them are Almost or let’s say simply IDENTICAL.

Sold, for example, by Lovepop, Hallmark, Americangreetings, Chinese companies on E-bay, and a number of other sellers under different names.
2) and then really original Free-standing cards remaining open on their own, at the TOP of the Pack.
Like Santoro, Paper D’Art, Graphics3inc, or us, Paperbee.net



They stay displayed by the recipients for DAYS., and months to come.
Take it into account when you decide which of the little ambassadors you will employ.

The quality of your card goes long way.

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Santoro – British pop-up cards.

santoro card

Santoro is one of the most innovative publishers of pop-up greeting cards. Engineered, designed, and printed in the UK.

First, they searched for their soul, trying a few different design types before settling on a few proven ones.
Since they ventured outside of the pop-cards realm, I would not expect major changes in their offer.
Their energy is now applied in other directions. (Among other Real estate development)
But their selection is first class.
One of my observations is that their cards are divided into two parts.
!) Self-assembly (by the recipient – of course)
2) More complicated and elaborate Buildups.
All of them containing something movable, free-hanging elements.
I am a big fan of their (simple) “Swing Cards,” but when it comes to their “Pirouettes” and “Poprocks” and “Pendulum” cards, I think that they may be too complicated and too big to enjoy on everyday displays of their recipients. I think small is more beautiful than BIG. More intimate and better equipped to reach the hearts. But their popularity is telling me that I am wrong. One of the lessons I learned in the past is: do not underestimate your lesser achievements because they may be the top ones in public eyes. I still remember Chicago Art Institute Buyer, who chose, to my surprise, not the best-designed Glass Flowers, when to enlarge my offering. I included some (In my eyes) lesser designs in a bunch of my samples they requested.
Going back to the Santoro. They are an excellent destination for your gift offerings.

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Up with Paper. Pop-up simplicity.

When I first saw “Up with Paper” greeting cards I was impressed with their small square cards. Their traditional book format was something new in the right size, and they were a success story with virtually no competition. Graphic3D existed much longer but was and still is invisible, focusing on a steady business market. Far away from the hustle and bustle of retail. I think “Up with Paper” initial success was not justified for a period of time because their made in China cards did not stand out exactly with their quality. Their rough-cut pieces glued together did not make an impression when inspected close up. It changed, and now you can enjoy well made and designed cards with nice simple artwork. I do not see any new concepts, but as with every established business, they focus on their proved holdings. A nice choice for occasional mailings to your friends and family. They also try their hands on a small collection of pop-up books. I am less impressed with it, but they addressed it to kids, and apparently, some kids enjoy their work.

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With Me&McQ pop up card you will not dare loose Christmas Cheer.

Me&McQ is in its 30th year publishing groundbreaking greetings cards. What I admire are the illustrations. Painstakingly rendered details with a big dose of imagination.
I do not favor that the cards are overflowing with too many details, and their technical construction is based on the basic trellis construction. Of course, my personal taste or distaste should not stop you from loving the cards. They are charming. Exactly the type of item to bring Christmas cheer to any household. Highly recommended. Designed in Great Britain produced in China. Their designs are 90% original. However, I saw a couple of identical cards sold by others. The reason behind this is that some Chinese manufacturers sell overruns of some designs produced for a particular company and also like for example bird cages are produced independently for several customers at once.

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Jupiter FL and it’s original pop-ups

Santa by Graphics3ink
Santa Space-Xmas Rocketship’
Santa Space-Xmas Rocketship by Graphics3inc

Years ago during my annual vacation in Florida when my family enjoys the beach usually I was driving around finding interesting things. One of my trips ended in Jupiter FL. As I discovered at the time there was a company Graphics3 producing original (rubber band powered) pop-up greeting cards. When I entered the building there were pallets of huge paper sheets printed with images and ready to cut. The pleasant crew quickly showed me around. Unfortunately, regardless of my fascination, there were not impressed by my idea to allow me to sell their product. They specialize in selling Christmas cards to businesses, as you can see on their website. I was so impressed by the quality of their ART. Looking for a product able to replace lost in the carnage of 2008 my Luna Moth Christmas Ornaments, company; their cards became my inspiration It was my starting point to try to develop my own pop-up card designs. First I was only trying to avoid the deteriorating after a year or two rubber bands powering their pop-ups. After some attempts, I was able to come out with an original card not glued but assembled from interconnecting, free moving parts opening itself under pure gravitation force, under the weight of paper the card is made from. Pressed by other activity first I kept this project on the slow burner promising myself to go back to this project. Since the gravitation cards are quite interesting and their development aligns with my other invention I think now is the time to add some more to this pop-up collection. I urge the reader not to settle on the popular “trellis” construction made in China/Vietnam cards but strive to find something higher quality like the Graphics3inc.com cards I here recommend.

You may enjoy our automatic self-opening popups on the paperbee.net pages.