Discbound planners are my all time favorite type of binding. The disc binding means you can add, remove and rearrange pages as often as you please so they’re perfect for making a DIY planner using printables.

What are discbound planners?

Discbound planners use individual discs to bind pages together. The punch has a round part for the discs (like a mushroom top) and an extra bit that ‘grabs’ around the discs.

It’s similar to ring bound only the discs don’t get in the way and you can add, remove and rearrange the pages without opening and closing rings – you just pull the page off and then press it down in the new spot.

Related: Planner Organization: Why I use the Arc Planner instead of binders

Not pictured: The rest of my Happy Planners and my Levenger Circa which is on it’s way! 🙂

FAQ

1. What brands offer disc binding?

• ARC by Staples (my personal favorite)
• MAMBI Happy Planner (my 2nd favorite)
• Martha Stewart
• Levenger Circa
• Inkwell Press
• TUL
• ADOC (European)
• Atoma
• Rollabind
• The Perfect Notebook
• Dokibook Discagenda

Related: The Perfect Notebook Review (Discbound Planner)

2. Disc sizes

The disc size will depend on what discbound brand you use.

• The Happy Planner comes in 3 disc sizes: Mini (0.75″), Medium / Classic Planner size (1.25″) and big (1.75″)
  • Medium discs (1.25″) are basically at full capacity with just the MAMBI monthly  + weekly pages and no notes for the 18 month planner version
• The Levenger seems to come in the most sizes: 0.25″, 0.5″, 0.75″, 1″, 1.5″, 2″, 3″
• My favorite is the ARC which comes in 2 sizes: (big are 38.1mm or 1.5″) and small (19mm or 0.75″).

If you want to fit an entire years’ worth of planning pages (plus a few extra notes, list pages etc.) you’ll need around 38.1mm (1.5″) i.e. about ARC large size.

 

So you may find yourself needing 2 notebooks: 1 for your planner and another 1 for lists, notes, projects, cleaning checklists, meal planning etc.

The ARC disc sizes

Related: Why I use the Arc Planner instead of binders

3. What page size works with discbound planners?

Any size you like.

• The ARC comes in A4 and A5 (for my fellow Australian’s and also my European readers, this is your page size)
• Office by Martha Stewart comes in US Letter size (8.5 x 11″) and junior size (5.5 x 8.5″) (USA)
• Levenger Circa comes in Junior (Half US Letter) and Letter size (USA)
• TUL comes in Junior (Half US Letter) and Letter size (USA)
• Inkwell Press (USA page sizes)

You can punch any size paper and pop it in (e.g. tear off the notepad page you wrote your grocery list, reminders, bills etc.), it doesn’t have to sit on all of the discs to stay in the notebook (only needs about 2 – 3 discs).

When I purchased some planners from Plum Paper I requested they come unpunched then used the ARC punch and discs.

Read more: Arcing my Plum Paper Planner – everything you need to know if you’d like to try it yourself! 

You can resize any printable to fit the page size you’re using. See this post for a tutorial.

From full page…

… to A5 size!

4. Do the discs get in the way when you write?

No, I don’t find them annoying. You can turn the pages back completely on themselves and you can pull the page out of the notebook then pop it back in when you’re finished writing.

The discs are less prominent if you fill your notebook.

Related: Honest review of the Happy Planner by Me and my Big Ideas (MAMBI)

5. Do the pages fall out?

I’ve kept my password log in my ARC notebook for 6 years. I’ve only had to reprint and re-punch the pages once. So basically if you’re frequently flicking pages all the time they may get worn out.

If you’re rough with your planner and unnecessarily reaf the pages every time you turn them then they’ll likely wear out faster.

I’ve added, removed and rearranged the same pages many times and they’ve been fine.

If you want to make your pages extra durable, print onto cardstock. I use Quillboard from Officeworks for dividers but you could also print printables directly on them. Quillboard is like thick paper but not thick enough that it would jam your printer.

6. What can I punch?

Just about anything. Some of the things I’ve punched:

• Sheets of planner stickers
• A DIY cover printed on cardstock and laminated
• Laminated list inserts
• Planner printables
• Bills
• Reminders
• Pages from notepads that you’ve written your shopping list
• Takeout menus
• Etc.

I did a demo of how the ARC punch works in this post.

7. What discbound brands have a punch?

• ARC by Staples (my personal favorite)
• MAMBI Happy Planner (my 2nd favorite)
• Levenger Circa
• TUL
• ADOC (European) – although it’s super expensive
• Atoma

I have stuck to the ARC punch as it’s super sturdy, is the easiest to get here in Australia and I like that I can just move the bar on the machine to change the page size. It gives an accurate punch every time, it’s quiet and I can easily punch multiple pages at once. It’s also strong enough to punch through laminate.

Related: 10 Discbound notebooks for planning or bullet journaling

8. Are the punches and discs compatible between brands?

I’ve tested the Happy Planner, ARC and TUL – all are interchangeable. I.e. the spacing between discs, the way the paper sits on the discs etc. is the same. You can use MAMBI Happy Planner insert refills with ARC and TUL discs.

I’ve done detailed testing of disc compatibility between brands in this post: Discbound planners & notebooks: brands that are compatible

9. What colors do the discs come in? And what type?

Again, depends on the brand. MAMBI (Happy Planner) offer the most colors (they also have hearts in the centre of the discs). If you’re just after black, most discbound brands offer black discs (Levenger, TUL, ARC).

MAMBI have plastic discs which can get damaged if you’re very rough with your planner (i.e. don’t take care of it properly or drop it on tiles or as I found out, if someone doesn’t package a box coming from overseas properly). If a disc does break, it’s no biggie, just replace the disc (they’re quite cheap).

These companies offer sturdy aluminium discs:

• MAMBI Happy Planner
• Levenger Circa
• Inkwell Press

For the ARC I use 12 large discs for an A4 size notebook and 8 discs for an A5 size notebook.

Most companies offer the option of purchasing discs separately if you want to switch out the colours, or add a DIY cover and your own printables to make an inexpensive custom notebook. If you’d like some lined note paper that’s also color coded click here (if you’re an existing blog subscriber, you can login to the free printables library here).

As you can see, I have a preference for black discs 🙂

10. What cover options are available?

Most brands have a poly color (a thin, bendy plastic type cover). The TUL and ARC offer this.

Related: TUL Student Planner Discbound Notebook

MAMBI (Happy Planner) have laminated cardstock covers.

The ARC, MAMBI Happy Planner and Levenger do leather covers which are more expensive but will last a long time (I’m still using my original ARC leather covers from 6 years ago – they’re in as new condition). The Levenger have rose gold covers <3

Some of the ARC color options (there’s also a green but it’s more vomit green than a nice shade of green)

11. Where can I get discbound planners?

Mostly online. The ARC is on the Staples website. Most brands can be found on Amazon as well. My sister stocks the Happy Planner in her planner supplies shop.

12. How much does it cost?

Depends on the brand you choose. When I purchased the ARC some 6 years ago they were half the cost that they are now (although here in Australia everything is more expensive). If I was just getting started with discbound today, I’d go with the MAMBI Happy Planner as it’s the most affordable.

You can reuse the same discs (and punch) year after year. So when a new year comes, just replace the cover (if you added the date to it somewhere, otherwise you could just keep using the same cover).

The punch will last for years (I’ve been using the same ARC punch for more than 6 years and it’s still working great).

If you want to DIY your own planner, see these posts:

• How to easily print printables double sided (duplex printing tutorial)
• Best Paper for Printing Printables
• How to Choose a Printer (Including the best printer for printing printables and planner stickers) 
• Don’t own a printer? Here are 5 companies that will print and ship printables to your door

If you purchase the punch, discs, a leather cover and print and punch your own pages, it will probably be more expensive than 1 bought planner however you’ll be able to reuse everything (except the refill pages) for years to come.

13. What accessories are available?

The ARC have plastic zip pockets you can use to hold planner stickers, sticky notes etc.

ARC also have plastic sleeves. I found discbound folders at the Manor department store in Switzerland which have pocket sleeves which I use for storing recipes.

Related: How to organize recipes plus a free printable recipe binder

ARC do list refills, dividers with tabs, sticky note dashboards. Much like the ARC, the TUL planner has a pop in ruler and sticky note dashboard.

You can also make your own list inserts. Tutorial in this post

Related: Free printable planner insert (for to do lists, grocery lists, weekly routine tasks etc.)

Happy Planner have tons of pre-punched inserts including list refills, monthly calendar refills, weekly planner refills, half page inserts etc.

Related: Using MAMBI inserts and Carpe Diem planner stickers for a colorful weekly spread!

14. What do I need to make a discbound planner?

1. A discbound punch
2. Prepunched and printed inserts (or print your own)
3. Dividers
4. Front and back cover
5. Discs

15. What are the pros and cons of discbound planners?

To help you make your decision once and for all, here are the pros and cons of discbound planners:

Pros of discbound planners

• Easily add, remove and rearrange pages as often as you like
• Discs come in multiple covers
• Many brands to choose from
• Available worldwide
• Can DIY a cover or purchase one already made
• Can create a custom notebook
• Re-use year after year
• Plenty of accessories available
• Quiet (unlike ring bound there is no loud annoying ‘click’)
• If a disc breaks, just replace that disc, you don’t have to chuck out the whole ring binder
• Over time rings can become misaligned, this doesn’t happen with discs
• Can fold the pages back on themselves like a spiral notebook (i.e. lay flat)

Cons of discbound planners

• Expensive to initially setup (i.e. buying a punch)
• Some brands are more expensive outside of the USA (i.e. if you’re Australian like I am, the Levenger is expensive)
• The pre-printed planner page refills most companies offer are very generic (except for the Happy Planner)
• Dividers are the most hard to find accessory (although you can DIY your own by printing digital paper or trimming cardstock)

More planning tips

• Answers to 50 Frequently Asked Planner Questions 
• 10 Reasons why I plan using printables (and why you should too!)
• 130+ functional ideas to use blank notes pages of your planner or an empty notebook

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