Super-B (13x19) Hanging folders?

[mimosatexas]

99% of my films are printed on super-B sized film, 13x19 inches.  I have been storing these in 15x20 kraft envelopes up until now and have just been stacking them on a shelf I built.  I am starting to get to the point where there are simply too many jobs to be able to quickly find the correct envelop for repeat jobs, even though they are well sorted, since I have to thumb through a stack to find them.  I would like to consolidate both the films and any additional paperwork into a single hanging folder with a visible label poking out the top like a standard filing system if possible, but I am having no luck finding hanging folders large enough to hold the films.  I have found 14x18 ledger size, but none that are 19in or wider.  Anyone have any idea where to look for these?

Does anyone have a film storage system that can also incorporate other paper work and is quick to reference.  The envelopes just aren't cutting it anymore.

[ericheartsu]

99% of my films are printed on super-B sized film, 13x19 inches.  I have been storing these in 15x20 kraft envelopes up until now and have just been stacking them on a shelf I built.  I am starting to get to the point where there are simply too many jobs to be able to quickly find the correct envelop for repeat jobs, even though they are well sorted, since I have to thumb through a stack to find them.  I would like to consolidate both the films and any additional paperwork into a single hanging folder with a visible label poking out the top like a standard filing system if possible, but I am having no luck finding hanging folders large enough to hold the films.  I have found 14x18 ledger size, but none that are 19in or wider.  Anyone have any idea where to look for these?

Does anyone have a film storage system that can also incorporate other paper work and is quick to reference.  The envelopes just aren't cutting it anymore.

there are a couple of posts about this, that have been made in the past, but we are right there with you. We had a system, but keeping them organized, is a full half day for an employee a week!

[alan802]

We use the envelope system, 15x20.

http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-5278/Paper-Office-Envelopes/15-x-20-Jumbo-Kraft-Envelopes

We have a design number for every different design and we put that number on the top left corner of the envelope and they are filed by number on a hanging rack.  Finding any file takes seconds because everything is in numerical order.  I installed a closet hanging system and use regular 18" wide clothes hangers for the files.  There is a pic somewhere, I'll try to find it.

[alan802]

[ZooCity]

We use the big manila envelopes and pants hangers that clamp them at the top, got a grip of them at a yard sale for this.  Clamp the sample shirt in there and write job info or paste a print out of the job sheet onto the envelope.  Any info on the folder is just redundant and there for convenience, all that is backed up in two other spots.  We don't file anything that's not repeat or was a DC job with touchy color.  It's not worth it to file most things if you look at film/ink costs, wasteful though that sounds.  Also, the cheaper films don't really last that long in storage and will get funky.

Alan, where do you put the job samples?

[mimosatexas]

i like both of those ideas.  those are the exact envelopes we already use and we write info on them in the same way, I just was stacking instead of hanging, which was the main PITA.  I like the hanger idea a lot...

[alan802]

Alan, where do you put the job samples?

We only keep samples for the tougher prints with very specific colors and those are cut out of test tubes and sit here with me at my desk.  We write down most all of the print settings on the job folder like specific ink, mesh count, squeegee type, speed, pressure, etc. so it's almost impossible to print something different so we don't have a need for as many samples as we used to keep around.  We used to put a cutout of the test print inside the 15x20 folder along with the film.  I'm working on putting together a little portfolio with our prints like you see at a furniture store with fabric and color swatches.  I'm still trying to find the best way to make a booklet of sample prints if anyone has something like that already done let's open a thread about it and share ideas.

[mimosatexas]

replying due to a similar thread just popping up...

I want to thank you Alan for the hanger idea.  So stupid simple and cheap, and we were already using those envelopes.  I build a double poled rack on casters and it is already holding almost 200 envelopes which only takes up maybe a tenth of the space on the racks.  Cost me about 40 bucks and a little under an hour to build it.  I'll upload a photo soon.

[alan802]

replying due to a similar thread just popping up...

I want to thank you Alan for the hanger idea.  So stupid simple and cheap, and we were already using those envelopes.  I build a double poled rack on casters and it is already holding almost 200 envelopes which only takes up maybe a tenth of the space on the racks.  Cost me about 40 bucks and a little under an hour to build it.  I'll upload a photo soon.

I can't remember who I got the idea from but I can't take credit for it.  I just copied someone else's brilliant idea.  Who was that who posted a pic a few years back of the hanging system?  About 2 hours after I saw it I was back from Lowes with the stuff to build it.  The guy who thought up our original file system didn't like the new idea and was crapping all over it but the way we were doing it really sucked and we needed to make the change.  And we were thinking about dropping major coin on the Jalema system, glad that someone posted that pic that day.

[Kevbeck]

Great solution, thanks