Shopping from Saunders Mfg Co.

Recycled Aluminum Snapak

Editor's Note: friend and guest blogger Tom B. is back again with an entry on archival organizational tools from Saunders, "universally recognized as the leading manufacturer of aluminum form holders and plastic and aluminum clipboards" (Saunders company website).

Despite the impressive user interface, iPhones and their ilk will never completely replace paper and pen for organization and note-taking. Hopefully, the massive popularity of the Moleskine brand indicates the stability of the medium. But let’s take a look at another option for those suffering from Moleskine overload.

Recycled Aluminum A-Holder

Saunders is a company based in Maine that produces hardware supports for paper, from pastel plastic clipboards to absolutely brilliant aluminum form holders.

Most organizers, lap-desks, and time-managers are hopelessly fussy and bring to mind business travel, black pleather, and jumbled bins at TJ Maxx. It’s almost worse when venerable companies add organizers to their accessories section.

Filson Time Manager

The endless pockets for credit and business cards, the obnoxious six-ring format, the brass rings clashing with the silver snap closure– it’s simply too much, even if the materials are high-quality. The death knell, of course, is the $200 price tag (currently on sale for $99).

The genius of Saunders products is their versatility – you can imagine throwing all kinds of scraps into the case and snapping it closed. Rather than a slot for every scrap, it’s more of a corral for clutter that seals up nicely and can be tossed into a pack or tote.

Redi-Rite

Citation Holder II

Most of Saunders’ products are made in the USA, and most of the aluminum products are made of recycled materials. The prices are embarrassingly low. The build quality is superb. There’s a very wide range of products, including the Ticket Board, designed for traffic stops, although there are marine patrol and “Homeland” versions too. [Editor's Note: I highly recommend screening the Ticket Board demo video on Youtube.]

Ticket Board