MyBinding Knowledge Base
How do I choose the right ProClick Binding Machine?
ProClick binding from GBC is one of the most innovative and popular document finishing methods available today. These incredible supplies allow you to edit your work even after your booklets have been bound. They even let your pages rotate a full 360 degrees, making your documents easy and enjoyable to read. It is entirely possible to bind your work by hand with ProClick materials, but having a machine will make the process much faster and easier. Here’s a brief guide to choosing a ProClick binding machine.
- Do you just want a punch or something more? The simplest ProClick device available is the P50 which is simply a punch that will put the 32-hole pattern in up to 6 sheets of paper at a time. After you’ve punched your paper, you can then insert the spine by hand and close it with the special tool that came with your supplies. The P50 is great if you need to punch and bind away from the office or if you’re on a budget. There’s also the P75 which closes the spines and can be used in conjunction with pre-punched paper. However, using these products isn’t the best idea if you’re in a hurry or if you need to bind a lot of books. In that case, you need a machine.
- How about a manual device? There are both manual and electric ProClick machines, and it goes without saying that the manual ones a bit less expensive than the others. However, a manual machine can still be a high-quality device and that’s evident with the P200. This product can punch up to 16 pages at once and produce books containing up to 100 pages. It also has a ergonomically friendly punching handle and it’s easy to use. This is definitely the best of the manual devices, so if you prefer non-electric machines, the P200 is your best bet.
- Looking for a powerful experience? If electric devices are more your thing, there are three products to choose from. The first is the P210E, and its punching and binding capacities are almost identical to the P200′s. This product has a document centering system for accurate processing and it’s compatible with 3:1 spiral coil spines, giving you two binding options. If you’re looking for a machine that can help you bind a book in the blink of an eye, the Pronto P2000 or P3000 is a device you’ll love. (Note: the only difference between these products is the P2000′s lack of an integrated punch.) Both of these machines can bind books containing up to 125 pages and they can finish off a single book in 6 seconds. These products use cassettes that contain 20 ProClick spines, one of which will be instantly inserted into your document when you use one of these devices. In fact, these products are so fast, it’s possible to bind over 400 documents in a single hour. Just think of how much time that could save you!
< 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)
