What should I know about Spiral Coil Binding?

Choosing the right binding system to fit the needs of your organization can be a very difficult task. There are almost a dozen different binding styles available on the market all with their individual strengths. One of the most popular binding styles available today is spiral coil binding and it is growing in popularity every year. This article provides six reasons why companies choose spiral coil for their reports, presentations and proposals. 

  1. Flexibility: Spiral coil binding is literally the most flexible binding system available on the market. The flexibility and ability for the spiral coils to remember their shape make it an ideal solution for documents that will be frequently handled or sent through the mail. Twin loop wire elements can become deformed and plastic comb elements can crack or break if bent or crushed. Documents bound with color coil elements do not have either of these problems.
  2. Rotation: Spiral coil bound documents allow users to lay documents completely flat on a table or rotate pages 360 degrees for easy copying and note taking. This feature makes spiral coil a popular choice for binding notebooks, calendars and training manuals.
  3. Color Choices: Spiral coil binding spines are sometimes called “color coil” because of the variety of available coil colors. Spiral coil is currently available in more than sixty colors making it possible to match coil to almost any company logo or color scheme. The huge variety of specialty colors makes spiral coil a popular choice for graphic designers, schools and for scrapbooking.
  4. Length: Spiral coil is one of the only binding options available in custom lengths without incurring significant costs. Both plastic combs and twin loop wire are available in longer or shorter lengths. However, these options have to be custom made and cost significantly more than standard elements. Spiral coil can be ordered in longer or shorter lengths without incurring custom order charges. In fact the cost per inch for custom sizes of coil does not generally change when ordering custom lengths.
  5. Available Sizes: Spiral coil binding spines are available in sizes ranging from 6mm up to 50mm. This means that coil can be used for documents that are as small as a few pages and for documents up to 450 pages thick. Although all of these sizes are available it is important to note that large size coils are somewhat difficult to work with. Picture trying to put a slinky on the edge of a book. Spiral coil is much easier to use with books that are less than 1 inch thick.
  6. Cost: Spiral coil binding elements tend to be inexpensive. This is especially true of smaller diameter coils which start at less than five cents per spine. Specialty colors of spiral coil can sometime cost a little bit more than the standard colors. The cost per book for spiral binding is one of the lowest of all available binding styles.
Related Knowledgebase Articles
Can I use wire with my comb binding machine?
Krish Technologies posted this on Jul 6, 2015

< 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)

How to clean my roll laminator?
posted this on Jul 6, 2015

(Read More)

How can I change the film on my roll laminator?
Production MyBinding posted this on Jul 6, 2015

(Read More)

How to fix a jam on my pouch laminator?
posted this on Jul 6, 2015

(Read More)

What should I look for in a Laminator?
posted this on Jul 6, 2015

(Read More)

How do I use a carrier with my Pouch Laminator?
posted this on Jul 6, 2015

(Read More)

How should I use my pouch laminator?
posted this on Jul 6, 2015

(Read More)

How do I choose the right Laminating Pouch?
posted this on Jul 6, 2015

(Read More)

How do I laminate something with a Roll Laminator?
posted this on Jul 6, 2015

(Read More)

What are my options for binding half-sized documents?
posted this on Jul 6, 2015

(Read More)