For years, Velobind has been the binding style of choice for organizations that wanted both a professional look and a secure bind. However, understanding your Velobind system can sometimes be a little bit difficult. This article is designed to provide you with some simple tips and tricks for binding documents with a Velobind system. Here are five things to keep in mind when velobinding.

Screw posts provide one of the easiest methods for binding documents, especially extremely thick ones. Sometimes called Chicago screws or Chicago screw posts, these small document fasteners are usually made of Aluminum. They are commonly used to bind swatch books, photo albums, wine lists, menus, engineering plans and extremely thick reports or presentations. Overall, screw post binding is very simple. However, this article is designed to provide some simple tips and tricks for binding documents with Chicago screw posts. Here they are... 1. Most users who are looking to bind documents with Chicago screws simply use a standard 3 hole punch to make the holes for the screwposts. Although every three hole punch is a little bit different, most will produce a 1/4" hole that is recommended for use with screw posts. Users who bind large numbers of documents with screw posts might consider buying a paper drill which will be much more efficient than a traditional desktop 3-hole punch. 2. Most Chicago screwposts come in a plain aluminum finish. However, it is possible to find screw-posts in black, gold, antique brass and even steel. Depending on the binding application that you have, one of these other colors may be a good fit for you. However, keep in mind that the black, gold and antique brass screws are usually just coated aluminum and the finish may not be highly durable. Steel posts are the strongest and most heavy duty binding posts but don't offer the same polished finish that aluminum ones offer. 3. Chicago screws are available in lengths as short as 1/8" and as long six inches. Additionally, extensions can be added to make the posts even longer and capable of binding thicker documents. In theory, it is possible to bind documents as thick as 8-10 inches with Chicago screwposts. No other system on the market is capable of binding documents greater than 3 inches. For huge documents, reports and archived documents, screwposts are the best option. 4. Screw posts are often used to bind materials other than traditional paper. One popular use for screwpost binding is for leather covered menus where the screw posts hold the pages into a wrapped foil stamped leather menu cover. The aluminum posts look excellent in this type of application and are easy to open and close when changes are required. Chicago screws are also used in binding other leather goods. 5. It is important to remember that the size listed for the different screw posts is the length of the binding post without the head on either side. This means that a 1/2" screw post is designed to bind a 1/2" document. If you choose too small a post the pages will not fit. If you choose too large a post the pages will be loose and the bind will be sloppy. These are a few simple tips for binding documents with screw posts. This unique binding style is simple to use and does not require a special binding machine beyond the 3-hole punch that you already have. Try it out for yourself and see how simple binding with screwposts can be.

If you have ever attempted to bind a book using large sized color coil (larger than 30mm) you will understand just how frustrating the process can be. For smaller sized book binding you can easily use your spiral inserter to quickly spin the coil binding onto your document. However, inserting coil on large books is a slow manual process that can be tedious. In order to make the process a little bit easier and to save a lot of time, here are some tips for binding large documents with spiral binding

For years, plastic comb binding was one of the only methods of binding available. Nearly every document, presentation, proposal, cookbook and training manual was bound with plastic combs. However, over time the novelty and elegance of combs has worn off. Documents bound with Combbind have become common and don't have demand the same attention that they once did. Yet hundreds of thousands of offices across the country still own plastic comb binding machines. For these offices there is a new solution. GBC Zipbind binding spines use the same hole pattern as traditional comb binding spines. However, Zip Bind offers a brand new look and new functionality for your documents. This article is designed to offer a few simple tips and tricks for binding your documents with Zipbind. Here they are... 1. If you plan on using the little zipper tool that comes in the package with the spines you are going to want to click the first few loops closed by hand. You will also want to crease the spine slightly in order to make the closing process easier. You can give the zipper tool a try or simply close the loops by hand and use the zipper to open spines to edit your documents. 2. Every pack of spines comes with a blue plastic piece. This is designed to slide over the comb opener on your binding machine. The blue plastic strip will hold your spines while you insert the pages onto them. This can come in really handy for the inserting process. 3. Spines are only available in two sizes and two colors. If you are going to need to bind documents with other sizes or need another color you will need to use plastic combs. This is one of the beauties of using Zipbind. You can always use combs for thicker documents, odd sizes and special colors. Keep this in mind. 4. One of the great things about this binding style is that you can very easily edit documents in the field. If you get stuck in the field without a zipper tool you can always use a pen to open the loops and click the loops shut manually. It might also be a good idea to equip your sales representatives with a small comb binding punch such as the CombBind c50 in their car or briefcase. This way they can punch additional pages or sales sheets to add into the documents on the fly. 5. Binding documents with Zipbind is also ideal for organizations that don't own a binding machine. They can simply buy prepunched comb bind paper and covers and put your documents together without ever touching a binding machine. This presents one of the lowest cost methods of binding available on the market. These are just a few tips to remember when binding documents with GBC Zipbind. Give zip binding a try and find out just how flexible this new binding style can be.

As far as binding styles go, GBC Surebind isn't really all that well known. It offers a look similar to Velobind but with a few interesting twists. Luckily, binding documents with GBC Surebind isn't really all that hard. However, if you keep a few important things in mind the binding process will be a lot easier. Here are some simple tips and tricks for Surebinding your documents. 1. Surebind binding spines have 10 pins for an 11 inch spine. Unlike Velobind which uses eleven equally spaced pins, the pins are not spaced evenly. Instead, the pins for Surebinding are designed to line up with the hole pattern used for plastic combs. This means that if you are looking to bind documents with Sure Bind and have a plastic comb punch you can combine the two styles. Using a comb binding punch will allow you to increase punching productivity and offers the flexibility of choosing the type of binding that you want for your documents. 2. The binding produced by a Sure Bind binding machine is both secure and permanent. Pages cannot be removed, edited and added back to a document without cutting the binding spine off the document and using your machine to rebind the document. This security is one of the greatest strengths of this type of binding system. However, if you are going to use this style for your documents you should definitely consider investing $15 in a debinder tool. This type of tool is used to safely cut the spines off of a bound document without injuring yourself. 3. Binding strips are available in sizes up to three inches thick. This means that these systems offer the ability to bind documents that are thicker than any other type of desktop binding system. However, if you are going to want to bind documents using three inch spines you are going to need a System Three Machine. Smaller systems will not bind documents with the larger sized spines. 4. One of the great things about binding with a Surebind system is that you don't need to stock a huge number of supplies. In fact, depending on the thickness of the books that you are looking to bind you won't need more than one, two or three sizes of binding spines. This can reduce the need for storage space and the cost of inventorying a number of different sized spines. Just make sure that you buy ten pin strips when you get your supplies and not eleven pin strips. This is a common mistake and unfortunately the two systems are not compatible with each other. 5. You can use your Surebinding system to bind hard cover books. You simply need to order custom hard cover cases to use along with your system. These hard cover cases will include a binding case and two adhesive fly leaves. You will bind the fly leaves into your document and then peel off the adhesive backing and adhere the fly leaf into the book. These are just five things to keep in mind when binding documents with your Surebind system. Give these things a try and see for yourself just how easy Surebinding can be.

Many of our customers prefer the exceptional quality that comes with the GBC / Ibico brand and are willing to pay a little bit more for these excellent quality pouches. However, if you aren't one of those customers who is generally willing to pay a little bit more for the brand name product you might still consider GBC's letter size laminating pouches. These pouches include a great feature not found on most generic pouches; they are sealed on the long side instead of the short side of the pouch. Here are two reasons why this will make a difference to you when you laminate your documents... 1. Document Alignment: One of the benefits of using a pouch laminator to laminate your documents is that no trimming is required for laminating your documents (provided you use the correct size of laminating pouches). You simply insert your document into the pouch and run it through your laminator and it leaves a nice edge around your document to ensure lasting protection (provided you center your document evenly inside the pouch). However, if you do not get the document centered inside the pouch the edges are not even and the document needs to be trimmed. With GBC's long side sealed letter sized laminating pouches centering your documents inside the pouches is much easier. You simply align the 11" edge of your document so that it is parallel with the sealed side of your laminating pouch and it is ready to laminate. This is much simpler than attempting to align your document with the short edge of the pouch since the whole document can easily become askew if it is not perfectly aligned at the top. 2. Productivity: In addition the time saved in aligning your documents inside of their pouches, Long side sealed letter sized laminating pouches are also much faster to laminate than short side sealed pouches. For the best results, laminating pouches should always be run through the laminator with the sealed side entering first. This ensures that your documents do not have wrinkles, imperfections or air bubbles in them when they are laminated. With short side sealed pouches this means that you need to run letter sized documents through your laminator the long way (11.5 inches must pass through the laminator). However, with GBC long side sealed laminating pouches you can run the pouches through your laminator the shorter way (only 9 inches must pass through the laminator). Thus, it takes 22% less time to run long side sealed pouches through your laminator than it takes to run short side sealed laminating pouches through your laminator. GBC makes long side sealed letter sized laminating pouches as part of their ultra clear line of laminating pouches and as part of their crystal clear line of laminating pouches.

Spiral coil binding is one of the most popular binding styles used today. It offers a contemporary look and feel with some great features such as full three hundred and sixty degree rotation. However, binding documents with spiral coil can be a little bit tricky, especially if you have never done it before. This article will provide you with six simple tips for binding your documents with spiral coil. Here they are. 1. There are several different hole patterns used for spiral coil binding. The most common hole pattern is 4:1 pitch (four holes per inch). However, spiral coil spines are also available in 5:1 pitch (five holes per inch) and in 3:1 pitch (three holes per inch). More than 90% of users choose a 4:1 pitch machine since the supplies are easier to find and less expensive. However, it is also important to note that some 4:1 pitch punches use a 43 hole pattern while others use a 44 hole pattern. If you decide to order pre punched covers or need to match a hole pattern from an existing document you will need to count the holes to make sure that you end up with the appropriate number of holes. 2. Using oversized covers with your coil binding machine is not recommended. In fact, many coil binding machines are not capable of handling oversized covers. When you try to punch an oversized cover with a coil binding machine the holes may not line up with the paper that you have punched or you may end up with extra holes. 3. Most coil binding machines do not have fully disengageable dies. This means that you can not choose to stop a single pin from punching. This makes it difficult to bind odd sized books and documents with your machine. Most coil binding machines are capable of binding letter and half letter sized documents. If you are going to need to bind smaller or larger documents, it is recommended that you choose a machine with fully or partially disengageable dies. 4. Once you have the holes punched in your document you will need to spin the coil onto the spine of your book. Start by taking the spiral coil and spinning through the first few holes of the document by hand. If you have a machine with a spiral coil inserter on it, you can use the roller from your inserter to spin the element the rest of the way onto the document. However, be careful that you don't spin the book right off the other side. If you don't have an electric inserter, you will need to simply spin the coil onto the book by hand. 5. The final step in finishing a book bound with spiral coil is to crimp the ends of the coil so that the spiral doesn't spin back off the book. Special coil crimping pliers are used to cut off the excess coil and bend over the end in a single step. It is possible to achieve the same results using a pair of needle nosed pliers but it is much more difficult and will require multiple steps. If you do have a pair of crimping pliers it is important to remember two things. The red dot should always face the ceiling and the spine of the book should always face towards you. 6. Binding documents that are less than one inch thick is fairly simple with colorcoil. However, binding documents that are larger than an inch can be somewhat difficult. In order to bind larger documents you will need to form the spine of the document so that it matches the curved shape of the coils that you are planning to insert. Most coil binding machines have a spine shaper built into them. However, if you are planning on binding lots of thick documents using coil you might want to consider buying a stand alone spine forming device. You should also note that you most likely will not be able to use your coil inserter for thicker documents. You will need to spin the coils on by hand. These are five simple things to remember when binding documents with spiral coil binding. Good luck and happy coilbinding.

GBC's new Proclick binding style is really cool. You can use a little tool to open and close the binding spines allowing you to add and remove pages from your document. Plus, the spines look awesome and offer 360 degree rotation. It is a really neat new binding system. However, if you are considering a Proclick binding system for your office, here are a few things that you should probably know before you rush out and buy one. 1. Proclick binding spines are only available in four colors: black, white, navy blue and frost. Provided that you can live with one of these four colors Proclick will work for you. However, if you have your heart set on a red, green or purple binding spine you will be out of luck with Proclick. 2. In addition to the limited color options available, there are also a very limited number of available spine sizes for Proclick binding. Currently there are only three binding sizes available: Small (5/16"), Medium (1/2") and Large (5/8"). These sizes are designed to fit the needs of most organizations. However, if you are going to need to bind larger documents and presentations you will probably need to find a different binding style. 3. Proclick binding spines are designed for use with standard letter size 11" x 8.5" documents bound on the 11" side. Currently Proclick spines are only available in 11" lengths. For half size documents it is possible to cut down Proclick spines using a sharp pair of scissors. However binding legal size or longer documents is not possible using a single Proclick spine. 4. Most of the Proclick binding systems available on the market are not designed to work with oversized documents or covers. If your company is used to using a slightly oversized document cover this can be important. The new Proclick pronto automated binding systems are not capable of punching or binding documents that are more than 11" in length. Likewise, the Proclick P50 is also not designed to punch documents that are shorter or longer than 11". If you do need to bind documents in other sizes you might want to consider a wire binding machine to do your punching. You could then close the Proclick spines manually. 5. Closing documents with the little zipper tool isn't as easy as it looks. In fact, if you don't crease the spine slightly and snap the first few loops shut by hand it will be almost impossible to close the spine. If you can't seem to get the hang of it don't worry about it. Sometimes it is just easier to snap the loops closed by hand. However, opening the spines with the zipper tool is very easy and it is also a lot easier to use the zipper tool to reclose the spines since they have already been creased. 6. The hole pattern used to bind Proclick can sometimes be a little bit confusing. The P50 and P200 punch an oversized round hole pattern, the Pronto punches an oversized Square hole pattern and traditional wire binding machines punch a smaller rectangular hole pattern. However, all of these hole patterns have 32 holes (3:1 pitch). You can mix and match pages that are punched with the different types of systems and they will work fine but they might look a little bit funny. If you plan on buying punched paper or binding covers to use with Proclick you definitely want to make sure that the hole patterns are the same so that everything looks good together. All in all, Proclick binding is an excellent binding system and is ideal for most offices. However, before buying a Proclick binding machine or choosing Proclick for your office it is important to recognize its limitations. With the information from this article you should be able to make a more informed decision in choosing the right binding system to meet your needs.

Millions of books are bound every day using plastic comb binding (sometimes referred to as GBC or Ibico Combbind). Certainly, you have seen documents bound using this 19 ring style. Most of these documents are bound using black plastic combs in small sizes. However, there are actually a number of different options for setting your reports, presentations, proposals and documents apart using this type of finish. Although ninety percent of the documents bound with plastic combs are bound with black plastic combs there are actually a number of different colors available for comb binding. Standard colors for plastic comb binding include: black, white, clear, red, yellow, green, dark green, navy, royal blue, grey, maroon and brown . In addition to these 12 colors, there are a few other colors of combs available on the market. GBC recently released a line of black matte plastic and in past couple of years has made translucent gel colored combs in four colors including: steel blue, amber, plum and sage green. Custom colors are sometimes possible. However, these usually require extremely large quantities since an extrusion of custom colored PVC material is required. The vast majority of documents bound with plastic combs are bound with combs that are smaller than 1/2". However, plastic binding elements are available in sizes as small as 3/16" and as large as 2". Spines from 3/16" to 1-1/8" are round while combs that are 1-1/4" to 2" are oval shaped with special locks to prevent the weight of the document from opening the spine causing the pages to fall out. The best way to determine the correct size of binding comb for your document is to measure the pages and add 1/16" to ensure that the pages turn freely. Although plastic binding combs are normally sold in 19 ring lengths for binding letter sized documents, they can also be purchased in shorter or longer lengths. Plastic combs are readily available in 15 ring lengths for binding half sized books and in 24 ring lengths for binding legal sized books. However, plastic combs can be special ordered in almost any color and almost any length. Finally, plastic comb binding supplies can be ordered with custom imprinting on the spine. The title of your document or your book can be printed directly onto the plastic comb using either foil stamping or silk screening. This allows for a fully customized appearance to your bound documents that can set them apart and can make a lasting impression.

No matter what size of company you work for, I'm sure you'll agree that image matters. One of the greatest assets your organization has is its brand identity and image. This is an asset that needs to be protected, enhanced and developed. One way to accomplish this is through your documents, reports, presentations and proposals. This article will provide you with five reasons to consider using plastic binding covers in your organization. 1. Moisture Protection: Plastic or poly binding covers provide your reports, presentations and proposals with a superior level of protection against moisture, stains and spills. When used on the front and the back of your bound documents, plastic covers can help to protect the contents of your reports against coffee stains, accidental spills and even rain. Documents bound with paper binding covers do not have this protection and can be easily damaged or ruined by water or moisture. 2. Tear Resistance : Unlike paper binding covers, plastic or poly covers are tear resistant. In fact, it is nearly impossible to tear a plastic binding cover. Over time, this means that the covers and your reports will stand up to more abuse and continue to display your brand identity to customers and potential clients. 3. Transparent Options: Not all plastic binding covers are transparent. However, there are a lot of transparent and translucent options for plastic binding covers. In addition to clear binding covers, there are also frost poly, stripe embossed poly, hologram poly and matte sand poly covers. All of these options allow you to see the contents of your document while providing a superior level of protection to your reports. 4. Heavy Duty Protection: Plastic binding covers are available in thicknesses up to 19mil. The thicker options in poly binding covers (namely the 16mil and 19mil covers) provide additional rigidity and strength to your reports and documents. These heavy duty poly binding covers are nearly impossible to crease and are ideal for binding documents that are frequently used and accessed. 5. Heat Resistance: Poly binding covers are also resistant to heat. This makes them ideal for binding with Unibind and fastback and also makes them a great choice for documents that may be exposed to extreme temperatures. Although poly covers are made from plastic, they have a very high melting temperature which makes them resilient and helps them resist becoming warped or deformed. If you are looking for a superior level of protection for your documents and reports you should definitely consider plastic binding covers. Plastic binding covers can help ensure that your reports will stand up to the test of time and continue to present your image in the best possible light for years to come.

At a recent dealer meeting, Powis Parker introduced and launched a brand new solution for binding photobooks called the Fastback Studio Photobook system. The studio photobook system includes four pieces of equipment: The Fastback 8x Binding Machine, the new Powis Stitcher, a Stitch flattening tool and the Fastback Hardcover guide. Used together, these four pieces equipment will allow small photo studios, print shops, photo stores and photography studios to create and bind their own professional quality hard cover photobooks. Here is how the new system works … 1. The first step to creating your own Photobook using the new Powis Parker Fastback Studio Photobook Binding system is to assemble your book block. This simply involves putting your photographs in the order that you want to bind them and adding an Endleaf Sheet to the back and the front of the book. These special endleaf sheets from Fastback have a small bead of thermally activated glue along the edge that is designed to be bound. For best results ensure that this strip of adhesive is facing in so that it attaches to the pages of the photobook during the binding process. 2. Once you have assembled your book block including the Fastback Endleaf sheets, the next step is to bind the book with your Fastback Model 8x. You will bind your photobook with the brand new Fastback LX-Photobook strips. These ultra thin strips have a minimal amount of glue on them and are designed to reinforce the spine of the book. However, these strips alone are not designed to hold the pages of your photobook. Instead this strip helps to ensure that the pages of your Photobook will not tear through the staples inserted in the next step. 3. The third step to producing your own Hardcover bound photobooks using the Powis Parker Studio Photobook system is to staple the book block of the photobook using the new Fastback Stitcher. The Fastback Stitcher has a convenient photobook binding table attached with special markings showing you exactly where to staple the binding edge of your photobook. Don’t worry about the staples, they will never show in the finished product and they will ensure that your photobook pages never fall out. Using the Fastback Stitcher also makes it possible to bind almost any type of glossy coated papers into your photobook. This is extremely important since many of the other photobook binding systems available on the market do not work well with heavy glossy papers or with coated photo papers. 4. In order to ensure the best possible bind with the Powis Parker Studio Photobook system the fourth step in the binding process is to crimp the staples added by the Fastback Stitcher. Crimping these staples will help to ensure that the staples are as tight as possible and that the staples lay completely flat so that they will never show in your finished product. In order to crimp the staples you simply use the special set of crimping pliers available from your Fastback dealer to crimp the bound edge of your photobook so that it is tight and the staples are completely flat. 5. Finally, you are ready to insert your bound book block into your hard cover case. Using your hard cover guide you can easily align your photobook cover and in less than a thirty seconds (once you have done it a few times) you attach the Endleaves into the hard cover case. At this point you can also use Fastback Headbands to give your photobook the look and feel of a stitched document. For more information on using the Fastback Hard Cover guide, check out our article on Binding Photobooks and Hard Cover Books with the Fastback Hard Cover Guide. All in all, after you have done it a few times, the whole process will only take you two or three minutes and you will professional quality photobook. Currently Photobooks are available in Impala White, Black Suede, Bright Blue Suede, Brown Suede, Burgundy Leather and Black Leather. These photobooks come in a landscape orientation with a wonderfully wrapped 4.25” x 3.25” rectangle window. The results are absolutely beautiful and the binding is impeccable. Check it out for yourself today.

In late 2006 Powis Parker Inc. released the new Fastback CP Binding Strip. The CP strip is designed as a solution for binding difficult to bind papers with the Fastback 15xs Binding Machine. The CP strip is designed for use with color copy and laser print papers up to 32# text. These color copy and laser print papers are often used in the workplace for reports, proposals, and other business documents. However, existing Powis Parker Fastback strips sometimes had difficulty binding these glossy paper stocks. The new Powis Parker Fastback CP strip has a strip of center glue that is formulated for extremely aggressive adhesion. The Fastback CP strip works well with split sheets and coated paper but also creates a strong bind with smooth paper without using the Powis Edge splitter which is part of their high end photobook production cell. However, to obtain this strong bind the CP strip requires extra binding time (approximately 45 seconds). The center adhesive on the new Fastback CP strips is thicker than the center adhesive on Fastback Super Strips. According to Powis Parker this has two primary benefits: First, pages bound with the Fastback CP Strip are not allowed to completely lay-flat creating a more sophisticated, signature look for the finished presentations. Second, the thicker glue of the Fastback CP Strip helps to protect the binding edge from the flex stress of page turning. Although these new Fastback CP strips are effective in binding many types of paper that have proven difficult to bind in the past it is important to understand that the CP strip by itself does not solve the problems with binding glossy coated stocks and digital output. Additionally, the extended bind time and extra heat required by the new Fastback CP strips can sometimes cause printing along the binding edge to bleed. Thus, these strips are not recommended for prints with full bleeds that run to the binding edge of the document. Still, the best way to know if these new strips will work for your application is to simply have us bind a sample for you and see the results for yourself. You can choose from four different colors of CP strips including: Black Fastback CP Strips, White Fastback CP Strips, Dark Blue Fastback CP Strips and Khaki Fastback CP Strips. These strips are packaged 75 strips per box and are available in two different thicknesses (narrow and medium). Khaki colored strips are slightly shorter than standard superstrips and are designed for finishing books using Fastback Hardcovers. If you are considering these new innovative binding strips from Powis Parker it is essential that you first determine if your machine is compatible. All 15xs Fastback machines manufactured after 3/9/2006 were shipped with the new firmware and required adjustments to adequately run these new CP strips. However, if your Fastback Binding Machine is older you may need to upgrade it in order to run these strips. This new upgrade for the Fastback 15xs will allow you to run CP strips, will provide you with a faster binding cycle when using Super strips, will allow you to produce sharper edges when binding and will fix a firmware bug that prevented user strip wrap settings from being saved properly.