Well, hello there,  This subject always brings me back to the dadaistic
scene in the cartoon film, "Dough for the Do-Do" (Warner Bros./1949)
(a.k.a. "Porky in Wackyland"), with the literal "Rubber Band" marching
through.

I have to put my two cents in, although they are mostly derived from
20er organ rolls (although we also have quite a large 88-note roll
collection).  Most of it has been said, and I can only confirm it:

- Yes, rubber bands do dry out and become brittle and crumble away;

- Yes, some of them start to "glue" themselves onto the rolls
(in that case, you can get most of the rubber band off, but not
the colour stain);

- Yes, rolls should be aligned to one flange while still loose,
then tightened until the roll squeaks, before finally fixing the
roll in that position with whatever you have.

I have many times used just a strip of tape (no, not audio tape!) for
prototypes of rolls, but that usually will have you remove parts of
the paper when removing the tape.

Something new I found are these rubber bracelets that were "in" not that
long ago (maybe still are?), kicked off by the "Live Strong - Armstrong"
campaign, but then they came in all sorts of colours for all sorts of
other "messages".  These fit quite nicely on a close to full 20er or
31er roll.  I don't know how long those will take to dry out and become
brittle, but I'd figure it will take longer, as they are quite thick
and wide.  I will, however, also try those Velcro plant ties __ sounds
like a great idea to me.

I guess, if you do not plan on playing a roll for quite some time, then
a cable tie might be a good long-term solution.  They can be re-used,
when opened with a tiny flat screwdriver, as cutting them open when
tied around a paper-roll doesn't sound too great of an idea anyway.

As long as you don't expect them to rust, plant-wires can be twisted
around a roll, too, but if you twist them too much, they might cut into
the paper.

Any other wacky ways of going about it?

Musically,
I. Krause
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada