How you choose to bind your publications can say a lot about you. Whether you are binding a book, report, or some other multi-page document, choosing the right binding will give your documents a professional look. Listed below are the most common types of bindings and the equipment used.
Spiral Binding / Coil Binding Equipment
A spiral binder, also known as a coil binder, uses a plastic or metal wire that runs through holes along the edge of the binding. Spiral binding, also called coil binding, is the type most commonly used for blank notebooks. It consists of a metal or plastic wire that runs through many small holes along the side of a stack of papers. Coil binding adds a professional look to your documents. It has the advantage that the pages lie flat when opened, and the pages fold all the way around.
Spiral binding is a three-step process: the pages are punched, the coil is inserted, and the ends of the coil are crimped and cut.
Spiral binders can be purchased as a complete system or as separate punch and coil inserter machines. A binding system is generally used for lower volumes of binding by organizations such as schools and churches. Separate punches and coil inserters are more efficient and are used for larger volumes of documents.
Features to look for when choosing a spiral binding machine:
- Punch capacity – how many sheets it can punch at one time
- Bind capacity – how many sheets it can bind at one time
- Paper sizes accepted
- Manual or electric
Tape Binding Equipment
A tape binder uses cold or thermal tape to bind the spine. Tape binding uses tape to bind the spine of a stack of papers. It provides a quick and easy solution for low-volume binding needs. There are two main tape binding types: cold tape and thermal tape. Cold tape includes a pressure-sensitive adhesive that instantly bonds on contact. Thermal tape, on the other hand, must be heated by the tape binding machine. Tape binding provides a simple alternative to other types of bindings that require you to punch holes. It provides a quality appearance with little work.
Features to look for when choosing a tape binding machine:
- Bind speed
- Bind capacity – how many sheets it can bind at one time
- Paper sizes accepted
- Cold or thermal tape
- Manual or electric
Plastic Comb Binding Equipment
A plastic comb binder uses a plastic binding with many “combs” that are inserted into the holes along the edge of a stack of papers. Plastic comb binding is one of the most popular types of binding used. Because it is economical, durable, reusable, and easy to use, plastic comb binding is well-suited for many applications. Comb binders are frequently used by schools and businesses, as well as for home use.
Manual plastic comb binding machines begin by punching holes in a small stack of papers. A plastic binding is then inserted into the machine and a handle is pulled to open the combs. The holes in the paper are aligned with the open combs and the handle is released. This causes the combs to close around the papers and bind them together.
Some plastic comb binders use a two-lever design. The plastic comb is inserted and opened before the papers are punched. The papers are aligned with the opened combs as they are punched. This eliminates the extra step of having to manually align the paper holes with the combs and saves times.
Electric comb binding machines are also available. They are more efficient than manual comb binders and are generally used for high volume binding needs.
Features to look for when choosing a plastic comb binding machine:
- Punch capacity – how many sheets it can punch at one time
- Bind capacity – how many sheets it can bind at one time
- Paper sizes accepted
- Manual or electric
Wire Binding Equipment
A wire binder binds pages using a spiral binding or a double loop design. There are two main types of wire binding available: spiral binding and double loop binding. Spiral binding uses a continuous wire that runs through the edge of a stack of a paper. Also called a coil binding, a spiral binding resembles a spring. More information about this type of wire binding can be found on the spiral binding page.
Contrary to spiral wire binding, double loop wire binding uses two wires per hole. This provides a stronger alternative to the single wire spiral binding. Double loop wire binding allows the document to lay flat and the pages to wrap all the way around. Double loop wire binding is commonly seen as items such as hanging calendars.
Features to look for when choosing a wire binding machine:
- Punch capacity – how many sheets it can punch at one time
- Bind capacity – how many sheets it can bind at one time
- Paper sizes accepted
- Manual or electric
Perfect Binding Equipment
A perfect binder is a type of glue binder that is used to create pads and books. Perfect binding is a type of glue binding that is often used for pad and book printing. The process uses hot glue to bind the pages together. A stack of paper is slid through the perfect binding machine on rollers. The spine is then coated with hot glue and cooled by pans. Finally, the cover is wrapped around the spine.
Features to look for when choosing a perfect binding machine:
- Speed
- Bind capacity – how many sheets it can bind at one time
- Paper sizes accepted
Binding Supplies – Each type of binding equipment uses special binding supplies. Make sure you choose the right type of supplies for your equipment.