An office does not measure its storage in centimetres but in binders. So the question before buying a shelf is rarely "how wide" but "how many". The answer can be calculated, because both sides have fixed dimensions: the binder at the manufacturer, the shelf with us. The calculation has four steps, and the third one, the weight, produces something that surprises most people.
The binder size
A wide Leitz binder measures 81 × 318 × 285 millimetres according to the manufacturer, spine about 8 centimetres, and holds 600 sheets. Empty it weighs 490 grams. Its narrow sibling with a 5 centimetre spine holds 350 sheets. From this follow the first two shelf dimensions: the compartment needs 35 centimetres of clear height, because 31.8 plus room for a grip does not fit into 25, and the board needs 35 centimetres of depth so that the binder's 28.5 centimetres rest fully on it. Both are standard at KUUDU, the 35 gap and the full board.
How many side by side
A KUUDU board is 75 centimetres wide. The posts sit 2 centimetres from the edge and are 1.5 centimetres in diameter, which leaves 69.5 centimetres between them. That is eight wide binders with just under 5 centimetres of air for pulling them out, or thirteen narrow ones. Per metre of wall: a good ten wide binders. If you want more, you do not buy wider boards but more levels; the grid stays.
What they weigh
A sheet of A4 at 80 grams per square metre weighs five grams, so a hundred sheets weigh half a kilo. A full wide binder carries 600 sheets, three kilos of paper, plus the 490 grams of binder: 3.5 kilos. Eight of them side by side are 28 kilos. A KUUDU board carries 20. That is the surprise: eight binders fit on a board, but not eight full ones. Filled to the top, five will do, the sixth would be just over. With 400 sheets in the binder, which is closer to everyday reality, eight weigh exactly 20 kilos, the limit.
| Object | Size W × H × D | Side by side per board | Gap height | Weight full | Of which per board at 20 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wide binder, 600 sheets | 8.1 × 31.8 × 28.5 cm | 8 | 35 cm | 3.5 kg | 5 (6 = 20.9 kg) |
| Wide binder, 400 sheets | 8.1 × 31.8 × 28.5 cm | 8 | 35 cm | 2.5 kg | 8 (19.9 kg) |
| Narrow binder, 350 sheets | 5 × 31.8 × 28.5 cm | 13 | 35 cm | 2.2 kg | 8 (9 = 20.2 kg) |
| Archive box Click & Store Medium | 28.1 × 20 × 37 cm | 2, overhang 2 cm | 25 cm | 0.9 kg empty, plus contents | by contents |
| Suspension file box | 35.7 × 28.5 × 36.7 cm | 1, overhang 1.7 cm | 35 cm | 1.5 kg empty, plus about 15 files | by contents |
The two boxes show why measuring pays: both are a few centimetres deeper than the board and stick out at the front. That is no problem, but it looks different from what you had in mind. And the suspension file box fits only once per section; two side by side would be 71 centimetres, the board has 69.5.
From the binders to the wall
Now the fourth step. An office that fills twenty binders a year and keeps them for eight years carries 160 binders at steady state; how that number comes about is in the article on retention periods. With 400 sheets per binder that is 20 boards of eight: four sections of five levels each, three metres of wall, 1.59 metres tall. If the binders are full to the top, it is 32 boards of five: six sections of six levels each, four and a half metres of wall, just under two metres tall. So whether an archive is "full" decides over one and a half metres of wall. Anyone who knows that in advance counts once instead of extending later.
The order on the wall is the one from every archive: the heavy old years at the bottom, in boxes if they only lie there now; the current year within reach between 80 and 170 centimetres; the light things at the top. And for the weight of the whole wall, it is not only the board that counts: four sections of five full levels are 400 kilos on three metres. For a concrete floor that is nothing; for a timber beam ceiling in an old building it is a question for someone who calculates ceilings.
For offices
The office shelving page and the page for law offices show configurations built on this calculation: full boards with a 35 gap for the binders, half depth above for what is only looked at. If you are ordering for a company, the Pro area is the entry point for business customers. And what else fits on 15 or 35 centimetres, from the paperback to the record, is in the article on shelf depths.
Sources
- Leitz, Qualitäts-Ordner 180° Plastik, wide (art. 1010): 81 × 318 × 285 mm, spine width approx. 80 mm, 600 sheets (80 g/m²), weight 0.49 kg according to the specification table. leitz.com, retrieved 14 September 2026. Narrow binder (1015): 350 sheets according to the overview page, retrieved 14 September 2026; empty weight not stated there.
- Leitz Click & Store Medium Box (art. 60440095): 281 × 200 × 370 mm, 0.9 kg. leitz.com, retrieved 14 September 2026.
- Leitz Click & Store Suspension File Box (art. 60460001): 357 × 285 × 367 mm, 1.47 kg, approx. 15 filled suspension files. leitz.com, retrieved 14 September 2026.
- Paper weight: A4 according to ISO 216 (210 × 297 mm = 0.0624 m²) at 80 g/m² gives 4.99 g per sheet; all binder weights calculated from this.
- KUUDU dimensions: configurator constants (board 75 cm, posts Ø 1.5 cm with centre 2 cm from the edge, clear width 69.5 cm; gaps 25 and 35 cm; board 1.6 cm; foot 10 cm, cap 1 cm). Load 20 kg per board according to the product information.