When I started blogging about planners way back in 2016 really the only discbound planner available was the ARC and Happy Planner. Things have progressed a lot since then and there’s now plenty of brands to choose from! As you’re shopping for a discbound planner you’ll probably notice two types of discs: plastic or aluminium. So what’s the difference? And which one do I recommend?
Related post: Guide to Discbound Planners & Frequently Asked Questions
Discbound brands
I previously did a detailed comparison of brands that offer discbound planners and went through which discbound brands are compatible.
Not all of the brands mentioned in those posts offer aluminium and plastic discs. Some of them you can only get the discs when you buy a planner (discs aren’t available for sale separately), although that has been changing in recent years and I expect the majority of the brands will offer more options in the near future.
Most discs are sold in sets of 11 as that is the maximum you’d likely need for US letter or A4 page size planners.
Related post: How to print an A4 printable onto US letter size paper (and vise versa)
Aluminium versus plastic discs
Apart from the material, what as the pros and cons of each, and what companies offer each of these types of discs? Read on!
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking one of these links I’ll receive a small commission in exchange for referring you (at no extra cost to you).
Aluminium Discs
- Far more expensive than plastic discs (at the time of writing this post, a set of 11 aluminium discs from Levenger costs $28 USD, a set of 11 plastic discs from Happy Planner retails for $8 USD)
- Usually only come in silver, gold or rose gold
- Heavier than plastic discs
- Sturdier than plastic discs, less likely to break if you drop your planner on tiles, concrete or other hard floor
- More likely to have a smoother finish on the disc making it easier to turn pages in your notebook or planner
- Usually available in the most popular disc size 1.25″, less readily available in smaller or larger sizes (overall seem to be less size options available than plastic discs)
Companies that sell aluminium discs (without having to buy a planner too)
- Levenger Circa (one of the few companies that sell colored aluminium discs! They also have discs in pretty marble effects. If you’re looking for aluminium discs, this would be my top pick)
- Inkwell Press
- Plum Paper (only as of 2022, however you can use other discs with their planner like I did in this post).
- Inkwell Press ($22 USD for a set of 9, 1.18″ size only)
- MAMBI Happy Planner
- Atoma (multiple sizes available – 8, 12, 16, 120, 24, and 28mm)
- Maggie Holmes
- Carefully Crafted
- May Paper Co
- Cloth and Paper
- Fancy Plans
Rose gold aluminium discs in the Time and To Do planner
For this planner, I used solid metal discs from Carefully Crafted with Plum Paper planner inserts. You can read more in this post: Which discs are compatible with Plum Paper’s disc punched planners?
Plastic discs
- Available in many colours
- Available in translucent option (sometimes these have a confetti design too!)
- The plastic can be punched with a cut out in the centre in various shapes (hearts, mickey mouse, stars, circles)
- Cheap! (and much cheaper than aluminium discs)
- Lightweight so good for large planners e.g. day to a page
- Can be fragile and depending on the brands, the discs can break in transit or if you drop your planner multiple times on tiles, concrete or other hard floor
- Depending on the brand, plastic discs usually come in more sizes
- Most brands offer a variety of disc sizes to choose from ranging from 0.5″ to 1.5″ diameter
Different size plastic discs in the Happy Planner and ARC Notebook
Thanks to the Happy Planner, there are multiple brands now offering the popular heart cut out design. In the photo above it’s Happy Planner on the left, Carefully Crafted gold plastic discs on the right.
Translucent discs from Happy Planner
Companies that sell plastic discs (without having to buy a planner too)
- Carefully Crafted (my sister’s shop)
- Happy Planner
- Maggie Holmes (translucent with confetti)
- Eleven Discs
- May Paper Co
- Various Amazon shops
- Various Etsy shops
Plastic discs available from Carefully Crafted
Which disc material do I prefer?
I like both! I tend to gravitate more towards the plastic discs as I like black discs (they go well with anything). There are more color options with plastic discs so if I’m making a custom discbound notebook with a pattern cover, I tend to use plastic discs so I can match the cover’s pattern colors with the color of the discs.
Be careful when shopping for discs, just because discs look shiny in a photo, doesn’t mean they’re made from aluminium. You can get plastic discs that look like a convincing gold but sometimes the discs can have gold flecks come off revealing black or whatever was the original disc colour. If you really want gold discs, I’d splurge for aluminium discs.
I actually prefer solid discs to those with shapes punched out of them. I think the solid discs are more sturdy and look more professional on a notebook. My favorite are these aluminium solid discs from my sister’s shop that I used for one of my Plum Paper Planner’s.
Favorite discbound brands?
My favorite brands to get discs from are:
- My sister’s shop (Carefully Crafted) – of course!
- The ARC discs (can’t go wrong with black, it coordinates with any color inserts and covers)
- The Happy Planner for the range of colors and size options
- Levenger would be on my list if I lived in the USA but international shipping is too expensive to get it to Australia. Their products are high quality and they have a huge range of really nice colored aluminium discs in various sizes
What is my favorite disc size?
As for my favorite disc size, that depends on what I’m binding (a planner, list pages, if I’m making a project planner etc.). If I can, I try and use small discs (which varies depending on the brand but usually between 20mm / 0.75″ and 28mm / approx. 1″ seems common).
I rarely use discs larger than 1″ as the ring gets a bit too chunky for my liking. Plus if the ring is that big I’ll just keep adding more and more pages. By using smaller discs with multiple notebooks I can find things quicker and keep things organized better.
If you want to make a 12 month planner you’ll need a larger disc size (probably around 38mm / 1.5″).
Some of my discbound planners & notebooks
How to make your own DIY discbound bullet journal, notebook or planner
More about discbound planners
- Where to find discs to make a discbound planner or notebook (downloadable comparison)
- ARC by Staples versus MAMBI – Which discbound system is better?
- How to make your own DIY discbound bullet journal, notebook or planner
- Discbound punch comparison – ARC versus Levenger versus Happy Planner
- Ultimate Discbound planners & notebooks comparison (plus my favorites)
- 10 Discbound notebooks for planning or bullet journaling
See all of my reviews of 20+ discbound planners and notebooks here.
MAMBI Happy Planner Discbound Punch versus the ARC (are they compatible?)
Planning tips
- 7 Quick and easy ways to make your bullet journal less boring
- 25 Ideas for your Bullet Journal To Do List Spreads
- 5 Planner supplies you never knew you needed
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Karyn says
Having tried Happy Planner and Arc, I prefer the solid aluminum too! I’ve noticed a drastic reduction of Happy Planner products across 3 different retailers in the US. I realize they have a website too, but it makes me wonder if there’s been a shift in the planner market.
Thanks for another great blog post!