There are different kinds of 3 ring binders available in the market, and you need to choose the right binder to suit your purpose. In fact, the different types of binders are determined as per their size and designs to suit the exact and several types of needs of the consumers. Therefore, you can buy binders online or choose from any shop as per your requirement. However, you can still categorise the binders based on their sizes such as small 5 x 7 binders, digest 5.5 x8.5 binders, photo 8 x 10 binders, a4 8. 25 11.75 binders, letter 8.5 x11 legal 8.5×14 binders, music 9 x 12 binders, scrapbook 12 x 12 binders, art 14 x 17 binders, and ledger 17 x 11 binders. You can also categorise the latest binders based on their uses and as per the shape of their rings such as gaming storage binders and movie ticket compact collection kit, and O rings or round ring binders, D ring binders and slant D ring binders.
Nobody confirms about who invented the binders first, but the first patent done for the loose leaf was on 1854, and in the same year two other patents were done for 2 rings and 3 rings binders by an American citizen named T Sisson from Rhode Island. Though Sisson patented the binders the binders were not available in the market in 1854. The first ring binders were available in the market in Germany in the year 1886 which was invented by Friedrich Soennecken from Bonn. He also patented for the hole-punched loose leaf ring binders in the same year. Interestingly, the three-ring binders did not appear during these all years, but in the early days of binders, the 3 rings binders named “binder board” were used for heavy paperboard with plastic covers.
There is no statistics available for the exact numbers of binders sold in the market across the world every year. But a rough estimation of binders selling in the United States comes around 50 to 60 million a year. The 3 ring binders from the beginning are mostly used to store and protect the loose leaf papers. People also store valuable papers such as certificates and agreements in the binders. However, your papers should either fit into your binders or you should buy appropriate binders that fit your papers. The basic difference between the present-day modern binders and old version of binders are the types how they are made, and a few features such as extra pockets and the materials used to make them.