MyBinding Knowledge Base
What is the difference between Velobind and Surebind?
When speaking to customers who are interested in a hot knife binding system I am often asked to explain the difference between Velobind and SureBind binding machine systems. The binding machine systems look nearly identical and are priced similarly. Both binding systems are made by General Binding Corporation (GBC for short). However, both binding systems were not always made by GBC.
A number of years ago, VeloBind and GBC were competitors in the binding machine industry. GBC was the leader in the binding industry and was responsible for binding supplies and products such as twin loop wire binding and plastic comb binding. Then GBC found that they were beginning to lose some of their loyal customers to a new binding system called Velobind. This new system used a hot knife technology to securely rivet documents together with a permanent small binding strip.
Surebind was GBC’s response to the Velobind product. Velobind and Surebind work in the same way but used a different hole pattern than the VeloBind product. Both binding systems use an 11 pin binding strip. GBC designed the SureBind binding machine system to be compatible with the 19 Hole GBC CombBind hole pattern. The binding machines look the same, but the holes are in different positions and the strips look a little bit different. The Velobind strips have 11 equally spaced pins of equal length while the Surebind strips have one longer prong and the pins aren’t equally spaced.
Several years later, GBC acquired the Velobind brand and now they make both the Velobind and SureBind binding machine systems. There are several considerations when choosing between the two binding machine systems:
- Since there are considerably more Velobind binding machine systems on the market, the SureBind system is actually more secure as a binding system. In order to edit a document bound with either VeloBind or SureBind, an individual would need to debind the document (cut off the binding strip) and then use the VeloBind or SureBind binding machine to rebind the document.
- Velobind strips are available in more colors and sizes than SureBind strips. If you are interested in colored binding strips or binding large documents, it is best to first check to see if the strips you want are going to be available.
- For individuals who are looking to save time and subject their punch to less wear, pre-punched paper and covers are available for the Velobind binding machine systems. Unfortunately, pre-punched items are not widely available at this time for the SureBind binding machine system.
Check out more articles on GBC products or contact us with any further questions. We love to help.
< 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)
