MyBinding Knowledge Base
What should I know about paper drills?
If you have a lot of paper that needs holes in it, you should consider getting a paper drill. These devices are more heavy-duty than regular three-hole punches and they can typically drill holes in hundreds of pages at once. You can drill just one hole or multiple ones, depending on your machine. If you think you want a paper drill, here are five things to consider when looking for one.
- The number of spindles. Paper drills are pretty similar to drill presses. A single spindle will only be able to drill one hole at a time, so you need a machine with multiple spindles if you want to drill more holes at once. Having a drill with multiple spindles will definitely help you save time during a busy workday.
- Drilling thickness. Drilling thickness refers to how much paper a machine can process at once. Heavy-duty drills can handle a lot of paper so you’ll be able to get things done quickly. Try to get a drill that can handle at least 2” of paper at once.
- Drill control. There are manual, electric, and hydraulic paper drills. Manual drills generally work well but electric and hydraulic machines are much easier to use. Whichever drill you choose, you should use bit wax to keep the bits in good shape. The bits should also be sharpened regularly.
- Drill bit availability. Drill bits come in different sizes but not every drill can handle every bit. When looking for your machine, you should make sure that replacement bits are readily available. This is especially important if you want to use bits that can drill non-standard hole sizes.
- Size. Finally, you should make sure that your drill will be able to fit in your work area. Drills are available as free-standing machines as well as countertop devices. The countertop models tend to be smaller but they might not fit the bill if you need a heavy-duty device. The free-standing drills are bigger and are well-suited for environments such as print shops.
< 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)
