MyBinding Knowledge Base
What should I know about Health Care Pre-Punched Paper?
Employees in the healthcare industry know that paper is used everywhere. Charts are bursting with colorful pages. And if you’ve ever been to the hospital or seen a doctor, you most likely filled out paperwork and came home with a handful of documents as well. Almost every page has a sprinkling of holes. These punches vary in number and placement but one thing is true for all of them: someone had to punch them out. Here’s how your medical office can benefit from switching to pre-punched paper.
- Save time. Everyone knows hospitals are busy places. Just look at an emergency room; there are always people waiting to be seen. And how many times is the doctor running behind schedule? Ordering your paper pre-punched leaves you free to concentrate on what really matters: the patients.
- Save money. Think punching your own paper is cheaper? Think again. By the time you add in labor and equipment, the costs aren’t that much different. Then throw in pages wasted from incorrect punching. By now pre-punched paper is looking pretty good.
- Wide selection. Pre-punched papers come in standard letter size and in either 20lb or 24lb bond. You can find them in crisp white for a clean look. Or jazz it up with pink, yellow, blue, ivory, or green. Papers are available in two-, five-, seven-, and twelve-hole choices. Even if your practice contains doctors who prefer different punched paper, there is a choice for you. Twelve holed paper accommodates almost any chart, including both vertical and horizontal.
- More consistency. When you order your paper pre-punched, you can be sure you’re getting the right number of holes in the right spacing in the right color. Most companies will replace an incorrectly filled order but what recourse do you have if the new guy punches the wrong holes in the wrong color?
- Smoother copying. Punched paper doesn’t always run smoothly through copiers and printers. However, pre-punched paper is generally run through rollers to avoid curling and then sealed in a moisture resistant ream. This allows it to swiftly run through high speed copiers, office copiers, desktop laser and inkjet printers, DocuTech style printers and small offset presses. No matter which machine you use, pre-punched paper will go through just as well as regular paper.
- Better organization. With all the color choices, you can color code your charts. Be sure to get the paper from the same place so the color will remain a consistent hue. Color coding can streamline your filing system, which in turn increases productivity.
- Less mess. Are you fed up with all the paper chads that result from punching paper? Do tiny circles litter the floor of your office? Tidy up by getting pre-punched paper. All the chads stay out of sight and off your floor.
< 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)
