MyBinding Knowledge Base
What features should I look for in a spiral coil inserter?
If you are looking for a spiral coil inserter to use in your office or print shop and don’t know where to start, don’t worry. This will help you better understand the different coil inserters that are available on the market so that you can better make your decision.
- Number of Rollers: Coil inserters come with either one or two moving rollers. Generally speaking, spiral coil inserters that have two rollers are easier to use than inserters with just one roller. However, the Tamerica Duracoil EL is an exception to this with its large grooved single roller and Teflon coated plate. The Duracoil EL is just as easy to use as most of the dual roller Spiral Coil inserters available on the market. Not all dual roller are the same. Some dual roller coil inserters have on stationary roller and one moving roller. The best dual roller spiral coil inserters have dual spinning rollers.
- Roller Spacing: A few of the best coil inserters on the market include the ability to adjust and gap the rollers. This makes it possible to use these rollers with larger diameter coils. The GBC CC2700 coil inserter and the Rhino Tuff HD4170 both include adjustable rollers, making it easier to use these machines with larger diameter coils. It is important to note that none of the coil inserters available on the market are proficient at inserting coil on documents greater than 30mm. Most professional binderies end up inserting coils larger than 30mm by hand. This is a process that can be made much easier through the use of a coil inserter.
- Spine Former: Many spiral coil inserters have a cupped area on the top of them to curve the spine of your book so that it matches the curve of the coil that you are inserting. This is helpful when inserting larger diameter coils. However, for extremely large books you may still want to consider getting the EZ book former to help you hold the book in place when inserting large coils.
- Foot Pedal Control: All of the best spiral coil inserters on the market offer foot pedal control. This allows the operator to hold the book with two hands while inserting the coil. Being able to hold the book with both hands makes it much easier to ensure that the coil spins smoothly across the entire book without problems.
< Over the years, a number of customers have asked me whether they can use twin loop wire with their plastic comb binding machine. These customers often don’t want to have to buy a brand new machine but like the look and feel of twin loop wire binding. However, the answer to their question isn’t as simple as it seems. You see, they actually do make twin loop wire that is designed to work with the plastic comb binding hole pattern. With that said, if you want to use these wires you are going to need a way to close the wires. What is Spiral-O Wire? Let me explain a little bit more…There is a product that we carry called Spiral-O Wire. This wire has 19 loops and is designed to work with the hole pattern from a plastic comb binding machine. Spiral-O Wire is sometimes called Wire Combs or Ibico Wire and was originally designed for use with some of the older Ibico binding machines. A number of the older Ibico plastic comb binding machines also included a twin loop wire closer on the front of them to allow users to use both plastic combs and wire. This 19 loop wire was designed for this purpose. What Equipment is Needed? As the Ibico brand has been phased out by GBC and all of the older Ibico plastic binding machines have been replaced with new models, they no longer have the twin loop wire closer on the front of them. This presents a problem in trying to use these spiral-o wires since you can’t use the wires without a way to close them. One of the only options left is to purchase a Twin Loop wire closer. However, since twin loop wire closers are not incredibly cheap this option usually only appeals to users who have larger electric plastic comb binding machines. Otherwise, it is often advisable to simply buy a low end 3:1 pitch twin loop wire binding machine (the supplies are cheaper). This being said, if you have one of the older Ibico binding machines that has a wire closer included you are in luck. The Spiral-O binding supplies that we carry will work perfectly with your machine and you will be able to use both plastic combs and wire depending on your needs. These Spiral-O binding supplies are available in Black, Silver, White, Blue and Red and in sizes up to 1″ in diameter. If you aren’t sure what type of wire binding supplies that you need to work with your machine simply give us a call. Our trained sales representatives will be glad to help you find the correct supplies for use with your machine.(Read More)
