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The Staples Better Divider with Sliding Tabs

Accessories Notebook Reviews Organizing — 02 October 2009
The Staples Better Divider with Sliding Tabs
The Staples Better Divider

The Staples Better Divider with sliding tab

I usually enjoy a stop at my local Staples to see what kind of stuff they have, but as much as I love it there, they dont usually have what I consider to be really unique office supplies because they obviously need to cater to the larger market of folks who just need the basics.  I was surprised when I saw the better divider sitting on the shelf a few weeks ago when I stopped there, because it looked like such a great idea.

In the past Ive used the regular sets of dividers that have a fixed position tabs on them, and of course they work out fairly well, I mean they have probably sold hundreds of millions of sets of them by now, and you might look at them and think that they cant be improved.  Well, if thats what you thought, then you may have thought wrong because Staples has actually managed to add new functionality to divider tabs.  These heavy duty plastic dividers with tabs work just like any other tabbed divider, but instead the tabs are built into a small track that runs along the top and outside edge of the divider, and the tab itself slides up and down through the track.

Staples brand divider

The Staples Better Divider with sliding tab...on the top this time

Usually with regular tabbed dividers you are stuck with between 5-8 fixed locations, and if you want to shift the order around once you have written on your tabs, you are pretty much out of luck unless you have removable labels for the tabs.  With the ability to slide your tabs into just about any position, you can reorder the the position of your dividers.   As with most tabbed dividers, Id suggest that you use some removable lables so you arent stuck with what you write on them the first time, but as you can see in the pictures, I was actually able to write on the tab with a regular Sharpie marker with no problem.

If youare looking for a bit more flexibility with your tabbed dividers, then the Staples Better Divider with Sliding Tabs is a great option.  In addition to the sliding tabs, they alo come in multiple colors and they have a transparent center which lets you see through to the first page in each section.

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  • http://regardingwolf.com Ryan

    While I can definitely see the plus side of being able to realign the tabs, and even move one up to the top, I’m suspecting a cost comparison that will make these a not for everyone/everything item. But my real question popped into my head the minute I saw the photo: just how well does the tab take that corner?

  • http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

    @Ryan – Hey Ryan, good to hear from you, its been a while. You are right on the price comparison. Overall the sliding tabbed dividers arent THAT expensive, but they come out to about $1.19 ea, when you can get standard ones for about .35 each. I think these are probably much more durable than those though, but yeah, if cost is a concern these are probably not the best answer.

    And as for the cornering (makes me wish I had a car review site now) they take the corners fairly well. The tab needs to fit into the track pretty snugly so they dont slide unintentionally, but I think the way that the two rivets in there are spaced out allows for them to slide around the corner more easily than you might expect. Its much easier if you actually have it in a binder as opposed to just doing it while you are holding the divider in your hand though.

  • http://future-nostalgic.blogspot.com/ Sam

    Now that looks like a good idea! I can see me needing a few sets of these dividers. Great review, thanks. :)

  • http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

    @Sam – Thanks, I think every always “needs” more office supplies. ;)

  • Monica

    These are a great idea. I’ve always wished I could move my tabs. Lol I will be taking these into consideration when I go to buy new dividers.

  • http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

    @Monica – The added flexibility is really nice, and to be quite honest I dont really see any trade-off where you are giving anything up other than a few extra pennies depending on how many you buy.

  • Rob

    i bought a bunch and all the slide tabs popped out and now i cant get them to fit back in. is their an easy way to do so?

  • http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

    @Rob – Thats surprising that they all came out on you, the one I have seems pretty solid, but I was able to yank it out. In order to get them back in, I kind of folded the track portion of the divider in down the center long ways and slid one side of the circles on the tabs back in, to get the other side of the circles back in the track I still had the track folded in half and I just slowly let up the pressure on it wo unfold and was able to bend the other half of the circles back in. Not sure if that is easy to follow or not…let me know.

  • Linsey

    I have bought several of these for a work portfolio, but I can’t get the sticker off the front page (the one I managed to get off left the whole front sticky). Any suggestions?