Spiral binding is one popular method of securing loose printed pages using single or double loop wire that fits into round or rectangular holes in the pages. Spiral binding allows the books to lay flat when opened cover to cover. Spiral binding is used for blank notebooks and for reports, mostly for books that have a short shelf life. Spiral binding is commonly used for cookbooks, calendars, and instruction manuals where the books have to be opened wide. Spiral binding is elastic and does not get out of shape easily. Spiral binding is available in almost every color to coordinate with the covers and can be easily cut to any length. Spiral binding requires punching and inserting equipment. Spiral binding elements are available in diameters from 6mm (1/8") up to 32mm (1-1/16") and either 12" or 36" lengths. Ring binding is another method of securing loose printed pages with rings to hold the pages through holes punched in the pages. This form of binding is often used for procedural manuals or documentation where changes are frequently made. Another form of spiral binding is the double loop wire binding. Double loop wire binding is mostly used for contemporary, professional documents. Like spiral bound documents, double loop bound documents also lay flat and wrap around for easy reading. As a bonus, the pages are bound so securely that they won't fall out and documents maintain their neat appearance for the lifetime of the information. Double binding is mostly used for a longer shelf life than the spiral bound documents. There are three different types of wire binding, the 3:1 pitch, 2:1 pitch and Spiral-O. 3:1 wire means that the machine will punch three holes per inch, 2:1 wire machines will punch two holes per inch and Spiral-O wire, also known as wire comb binding since it uses the same style of punching die as plastic comb, punches 19 total holes along the 11 inch side of a standard sheet of paper. A double loop wire machine is easy to operate. After punching the paper, insert the wire and close the wire, using the wire closer normally provided with the machine. |
