An Overview of Spiral Coil Binding

Are you looking for a new way to bind your documents? If so, you might want to consider coil binding. Here's an overview of it so you can decide if it's right for you:

• Coils are available in more than 60 colors, ranging from primary hues to neon pink and green. Since there are so many colors available, coils are great for artists, schools, marketing firms, and graphic designers.
• Coils range in diameter from 6 to 50 millimeters, so you can use them to bind documents containing up to 440 pages. However, binding documents that are more than 1” thick can be tricky. If you need to bind thicker documents, make sure you curve the spine of the book for easier coil insertion. This can be done with your machine's spine forming channel or a binding sleeve.
• If you are going to be binding a lot of documents, you should consider using a coil inserter. These are sold separately from coil binding machines and they contain rollers that help spin the coils through the holes in your documents. If you don't have a coil inserter, you will need to insert the coils by hand which can be time-consuming and tedious.
• Every time you bind a document, you will need to crimp the ends of the coil. This is done with a pair of crimping pliers. Crimping the coil entails clipping the ends of it and turning them in slightly. It can be a bit difficult at first but you'll get the hang of it with practice. The key thing to remember is to always make sure the red dot on the crimpers is facing up. If you don't see the red dot and try to crimp the coil, you will just end up cutting it and you will need to start over.
• Most of the coils on the market are designed for a 4:1 pitch hole pattern. (That means 4 holes are punched per inch of paper.) There are some 3:1 and 5:1 coils available, so make sure you choose coils that will be compatible with your coil binding machine.
• Coil binding is suitable for documents of varying sizes since coils can be up to 36” long. However, you will need to make sure that your binding machine has disengageable dies so you will be able to punch the correct number of holes in your document.
• Coils are fairly durable so they're good for documents that will be mailed. However, the plastic may soften a bit when exposed to high temperatures, so keep them away from heat.

Hopefully this article has provided you with adequate information about coil binding. If you have any questions about this document finishing method, get in touch with us. We will be glad to help you out.