# Archiving large quantity of print-outs

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archiving-large-quantity-of-print-outs/354561>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 28, 2006, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archiving-large-quantity-of-print-outs/354561 "2006-04-28T06:33:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archiving-large-quantity-of-print-outs/354561/1 "2006-04-28T06:33:59Z")

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Hi all,

I just got a semster of Univerisity through, and I am having headache as to how to archive all the tutorial, lecture and supplementary notes. I could just throw them away, but I got a nagging feeling that I might need them somedays…

…and also, I have a habit of printing out articles (mostly on programming and stuff like that) and after reading through them have no idea how to file them easily. I hate punching holes and dealing with ring files.

Mind sharing some ideas on how to deal with so many pieces of papers?

Thanks in advance!

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**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archiving-large-quantity-of-print-outs/354561/2 "2006-04-28T06:44:24Z")

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Well, my preferred way is a three-hole punch and a legion of binders, but you seem not to like that. Heh.

[Expanding files](http://www.smead.com/Director.asp?NodeID=9) are neat, though. I have one that’s plastic and looks like a binder, so it sits happily on a shelf. The ones with flaps are best if you don’t have a filing cabinet. I think one per semester ought to be enough.

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**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archiving-large-quantity-of-print-outs/354561/3 "2006-04-28T08:28:11Z")

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For the kind of paperwork that I keep ‘just in case’ I use A4 cardboard archive boxes [like this one](http://www.leitz.com/deDE/Products/Archiv-Schachtel_mit_Verschlusslasche_-_60840000.html) - the paper does not need punching and the boxes can be labeled and put on a shelf just like binders.