Printed Flip Inserts

I have been printing attribution information on my flip inserts with a .05mm drafting pencil. I see many people have nicely printed information and can include much more detail and it just looks nice. What do you guys do? I have Microsoft Office if that helps. Would MS Access be good? Maybe print on heavy paper and use a paper cutter to cut out each one?

 

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I'm looking at overhauling my storage and display system in general. Since I collect primarily imperial denarii, I could go with something like a CAPS album if I wanted. Under that system, I'd basically have to have a database that cross referenced attributions, as they won't fit on the pages.

Other things I'm considering are a custom-made hardwood cabinet, or Abafil trays. In that case, I'd be looking at computer printing tags from a database, preferably on archival paper.

 

My own personal preference would be the paper-cutter route, provided you can find suitable acid-free paper. I'll be facing the same problem soon, as I want to re-house about 300 coins before summer. I'd make them up twenty at a time (8½ x 11 paper), first printing a "draft" on copier paper, which I would then keep in a 3-ring notebook, in page protectors, as a ready-made quick-reference inventory. I would also use Courier font, I think it's easier to read in very-small format.

I might make up only 10 at a time, depending on the weight of the paper, so I could fold them over to double thickness.

 

I just realized I didn't ask: is this for your personal collection or coins you have for sale? I might do something different for coins I wanted to sell than coins I intended to keep.

 

It's just for my personal use. I like to put as much information on the insert as possible and my printing can get weird when I try to print tiny.

 

I would suggest a basic attribution and description on the tag itself and a cross reference to some other document (either paper or on the computer). That way you can have a pointer to a lot more info than can fit on a 2x2 tag.

 

Actually, if you double over the paper of the tag, you have a space 2 x 4, not 2 x 2. The bottom portion of the flip holds the coin, and the top holds the description, front and back, but you can see only half at a time.

Or, another variation, if you have a place to post blogs, you put a lengthy description into a blog, and the tag inside the flip contains only the URL, and if it's long, you run the URL through www.TinyURL.com (free). I think it can handle a URL up to 256 characters.

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Here's a sample TinyURL:
http://TinyURL.com/nlf2xkx

This one takes you to a description of the Fetter Lane hoard of Roman coins found in London in 1908. I have about 4,000 URLs in 44 categories in Excel. Stamps and music account for about half of them. I will show anyone how to set up my system, it works like a charm.

 

I use an inexpensive page layout program called Swift Publisher 3 and the following template for 2" x 2" flips:



I print on cardboard stock using a color inkjet printer.

For small numbers of inserts, I just use a steel ruler and an Exacto knife to cut out the labels. For larger numbers of inserts, I have a paper cutter that I use.

 

I use Word to print multiple 2"x4" labels on 8.5x11 sheets and cut & fold each to 2"x2". The original tags are stored inside the folded paper label.

The 2x2 paper label & the original tags are in their own plastic flip. They are not stored in the coin's 2x2 flip. The paper is adjacent to the coin so that the coin can be conveniently viewed from both the front & the back.

 

I simply made a custom table in Word. As long as the text fits in the boxes, the size will be about right when folded. This may not help you since you say your tiny print looks weird. But if anyone wants to grab my template, it’s better than nothing. You can get it from my dropbox here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9xrqv0g80l678uu/Flip Insert Template 13.doc?dl=0

 

Thank you all for the great suggestions. I have plenty to experiment with. Right now I store my coins in blue plastic Witman coin boxes. I like that they are portable and easy to put in the safe.

 

When I print a flip in Word, which is not often, I prefer side-by-side, rather than the orientation used by GR above. Two regions that fit 2x2's side-by-side can be folded along the vertical between them. Then both sides are facing up at the same time. I put the basic coin description (emperor, dates, type) in the left (front) region, and reference ID numbers, weight, and purchase information on the right (back).

 

I use an inkjet printer to print my flip inserts on light card stock, which makes them much easier to insert and remove from a flip. I cut them with scissors when dealing with just a few, or with a paper cutter when printing dozens. I use pretty small font to fit full description, citation and provenance. ALWAYS include provenance on your flips.

Currently, I manage my collection with MS Access, and I've designed a report template to generate my flips. Before Access, I typed them myself in MSWord by using a table with 1.75x1.75 cells and outline showing.

 

I have been handwriting my flips, but this thread has given a lot of suggestions and I think I will switch! Thanks for all the great ideas.

 

There was another thread on this topic but I cant find it at the moment. Maybe someone else can point to it.

 

I use Excel to print my labels. You can adjust the cells to whichever size you want then cut it. Making two cells will let you fold it over using both sides for info or a logo if you want.

 

Most office supply stores sell 65 pound acid free card stock. Scrapbook suppliers produce a large variety of safe printed papers/cards if you want fancy labels. My daughter is into scrapbooking and I have used the back sides of her scraps for labels on occasion when I was out of plain.

I do not know the status/safety of ink jet ink. I switched to a monochrome laser years ago and never print color.

 

Here it is:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-organization-and-attribution-at-work.250251/

You can put the label into the part of the flip that doesn't contact the coin, and leave the coin untouched, thus avoiding any potential problem with inks and paper touching coins.

 

Every single one of you is making me feel like a lazy slug of a collector.

 

I know what you mean. I am recently retired and have a bit more time to dedicate to my hobbies of which I have too many. I truly love learning about my coins and giving them detailed attributions though. What got me interested in nicely printed flip inserts is a nice coin I got from one of the bigger dealers that had a really informative flip label. It looked so neat and professional. I contacted the seller and he was very nice but said the program waste something they could not share. I totally respect that. I'm going to try out the suggestions from this thread and developers something that works for me.