Binding - Buyers Guide

Document binding is a simple way to create professional looking presentations, reports, manuals but also it is a good method of securing and tidying your documents.
One of great advantages of binding is that it can be used with as little as few pages up to hundreds of them.
When buying a binder you should consider few factors to determine what type of machine suits you:

What volume are you going to be producing daily/weekly
You have to consider the size of document, binding style, how many pages will have to be punched and aligned

How many sheets are going to be bind together
Sheets binding capacity starts from around 100 up to 500 hundred sheets. If you are only going to bind low volumes of sheets you don’t need to overspend on a machine that is designed to deal with high volume binding. And it works the other way round - if you know you will need to put together 200 or 300 pages at time don’t buy a binder that will not work for you as it only takes a 100 pages.
 

How many sheets will need to be punched at one time
Depending on the model, the number of pages that can be punched in one go varies from 5 up to 30. This is based on 80 gsm paper – if you are using heavier paper it means that the number of sheets that can punched will be smaller.

Will the documents require editing afterwards
Some of binding types such as comb and wire binding allow you to re-open the documents in case you need to add more pages or take some of them out. Other types of binders such as thermal or tape binders make editing a bit awkward and time consuming.

Binder types:

Comb Binders – this is the most popular type of binding technology as it is the least expensive and it also guarantees aesthetic end look. The plastic strips used for binding come in a wide range of colours and are quite durable. Depending on the type of machine you can bind form 5 pages up to 400 pages. The most common size of documents that are used with binders is A4 but you can use smaller formats as well. One of advantages of comb binding is that they can be easily edited when it’s needed.

Coil/Wire Binders – the technology used within such binders is the same as in wirebound notebooks and notepads. The binder uses a wire that is coiled in and out through holes in the sheets. Some binders allow you to cut and crimp the edges of the wire automatically but if a machine doesn’t have that function, you have to use finishing pliers and manually apply the finishing touch. Wire/Coil binding might be a bit more expensive than comb binding but it also gives a bit more professional look and it is more durable as well.

Thermal Binders – this type of binders use thermal glue which is usually placed in the cover that goes around the document. Thermal binding gives you a paperback book look since there are no wires or combs used to put the sheets together;  there is also no need to punch the sheets. Thermal binders can put together 5 to 500 sheets depending on the binder model. You can edit your documents but it is a bit messy process as you have to re-heat the document in the binder so that you are able to take out or insert new pages.