What things should I consider before buying a binding machine?

Binding can take your document or proposal to the next level, giving you a professional look and a competitive edge. But before you choose your own binding machine, ask yourself some key questions about your projects and needs. The following are 5 questions to consider before making your binding machine purchase:

1. What Kind of Projects will I be Creating? There are many factors involved in determining your need for a binder. Budget is usually important, but just as critical is reliability. You may have the need to mail the documents you create, but style may is also be important. You may need an easy-to-use option or a durable machine with a quick punching mechanism. From cost to performance, to capacity, you should review your needs even before you begin your binder search.
2. What is My Biggest Priority? Although you may have several needs for a binder, taking all of your needs and boiling them down to one or two major priorities is the most effective way to evaluate the right binder for you. Is your budget the most important factor, or is speed and volume? Your choice should be narrowed based on your major business needs. When you find what is most important to your business, you can begin to shorten the list of possibilities.
3. What is the Best Kind of Equipment? Now is the time to compile the information you have uncovered and continue to shorten your list of choices. You have probably decided upon a budget, and your other needs such as speed, style and volume. Now you are ready to compare available binders, and begin to determine the right type and brand of binder for you.
4. What is the Best Style of Binding to Meet My Needs? Once priorities are set and needs are determined, you must choose a binding style that is the best fit. There are four major binding styles, the following will give a brief description of the pros and cons for each.
   • Plastic Combs offer an option that is both conventional and economical. Comb binding lets the pages lay flat, making revisions quick and easy.
   • Wire-O is a style that also lets pages lay flat, with a 360-degree rotation. This binding style is permanent, allowing your documents to stay in place. There are wirebind systems with spines that open and close for easier revisions.
   • Therm-a-Bind is a style that offers a clean and seamless finish. Each page is bound together permanently, without creating holes, or using other kinds of fasteners. It is best used when revisions aren’t necessary.
   • VeloBind is a binding style with a spine that locks pages into place and gives you an almost book-like finish. This style is great if you have to mail, stack or file your documents.

Understanding your needs is the beginning. Knowing your projects, your priorities, the equipment available to you and the correct binding style for your needs are all vital factors when coming to a conclusion. Whether you choose a large or small capacity binder, a quicker or slower feed, or one of the four major binding styles, If you truly understanding the equipment and styles available to you, choosing the proper binding machine for your needs can become a simple, stress-free process, and the result will be the perfect binding machine for you.