Screw Post Binding
Screw posts are also known as Chicago screws and are typically made from aluminum. You can find them in a lot of different finishes including brass, black, and steel. (A caveat: sometimes the finish on black, brass, and gold screws isn’t that great.) Chicago Screws are perfect for binding thick documents because they are available in sizes up to five inches long. And even if that’s not long enough, you can buy extensions so your posts can measure up to ten inches long. This is great because it means you can bind just about any size document. Not very many other binding methods allow you to bind such large documents.
When selecting the screw posts for your project, you need to keep in mind that the size of the screw post indicates the post itself, not the head. Therefore, if you select a post that is one inch in length, you can bind a document that is an inch thick. Be extra careful when measuring your document because if you choose the wrong size post, your document will not look that great.
Screw posts are easy to use. All you really need to do to use them is first get holes in your document. To do this, a three-hole punch will work just fine. The majority of three-hole punches put holes measuring 1/4? in your document, which is the perfect size for use with screw posts. If you tend to bind a lot of documents with screw posts, you may want to invest in a paper drill. It will help you save time during the punching process. Traditional 20 lb. bond paper is great to use with screw posts, although you can bind other materials as well and are really only limited by your imagination. For example, if your company produces leather-bound menus, you can definitely use screw posts. (Try binding a leather-bound document with a plastic comb binding machine. It probably will not work.)
Finally, one of the best things about screw posts is that they are inexpensive. A bag of 100 posts can cost you less than $10.00 (depending on the size), making this method one of the most cost-effective binding solutions around.
Now that you know all about Chicago Screws, you should give binding with them a try. They are easy to work with and they will give your documents a unique look. If you are binding a lengthy document, there really is no better binding method. Try it for yourself today!
