What Is a Binding Machine?

Binding machines are commonly used in the book publishing, advertising and marketing industries. Typically professional printers operate the large, more complex perfect and wire closer machines. Throughout offices and companies around the world, secretaries, clerks and other office administrators also use small to medium sized binders like plastic coil and comb machines to secure multi-page documents and executive presentations. The smaller machines are available at most office superstores while the larger machines are available from equipment manufacturers.

History

For centuries, human beings recorded written agreements on stone tablets. The advent of paper drove the creation of binding machines. Egyptians began using Papyrus plants to document financial and legal agreements in 3000 B.C. akin to the way people use paper today. In the first century A.D., religious texts printed on sheepskin were among the first documents that were bound together.
In about 1450, German inventor Johannes Gutenberg built the first printing press that used movable type printing. Fifteen years later, Gutenberg bound his first Bible. The bound book, which was called The Gutenberg Bible, was the first time a binding machine was successfully used to join documents.

Perfect Binding Machines

As noted by Powis (see references), in 1868 David McConnell Smyth patented a sewing machine that he used to bind books. Twenty-seven years later, in 1895, perfect binding instruments, a popular binding machine still used today, were created. After paperback books gained wide acceptance in the early 1900s, perfect binding machines like the Standard BQ-150, Standard BQ-P6, PB-25F, Dublo DB-250 and the Duplo DB-280, were more broadly used. Perfect binding machines that join and secure large documents, 200 to 300 pages, are generally more expensive than the smaller machines. Large perfect binding equipment can cost more than $15,000. These machines can take 20 to 25 minutes to warm up before they are ready for use.

Office and Desktop Binding Machines

After World War II when office workers came into high demand, inventors sought to create equipment to bind printed material using small- to medium-sized machines. The 1950s and the 1960s saw the creation of comb, velo and hole-punch binding machines. To strengthen the United States' economy, businesses began printing and binding commercial advertisements in large supply. In fact, it was between the 1930s and 1960s when product catalogs were first printed and bound in large numbers. After personal computers and desktop publishing took off in the 1980s, the use of binding machines increased. Prices for office and desktop binding machines vary and can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.

Plastic Coil Binding Machines

Plastic coil combination punch and bind machines are equipped with a hole punch feature that allows users to punch even holes in assembled pages. After holes are punched in all pages to be joined, a plastic coil is placed at the top of the binding machine. The hole-punched paper is fitted inside the coil that is secured by pulling down on a lever at the side of the machine. Modern coil machines allow users to punch holes and fasten the coil manually or electrically.
The Akiles RubiCoil, DFG Office Coil, MC 1000 Manual Coil and the EC1000 Electric Coil are a few of the coil binding machines currently used. The machines punch about 25 sheets of paper at a time and can bind up to 180 sheets. The larger the coil, the more paper the machine can bind at one time. Most of these machines come equipped with the ability to adjust the punch and coil size.

Comb Binders

Plastic comb binders are among the most often used binding machines in business offices. The machines are available in manual and electric types. If the combs are created by a professional printer, company names can be printed on the comb spine. These machines usually run from less than $100 to about $250 and are among the least expensive of the binding machines. Types of comb binders include the SircleBind CB-260, Fellowes Starlet Manual Comb, DFG Office Comb Plastic, Akiles Off Bound Plastic Comb and the DocuGem 9602 Manual. The machines generally punch 15-25 pages at a time and bind from 100 to 300 pages. Larger sized combs allow you to secure or fasten larger stacks of paper.

Tape Binding Machines

Documents that are joined using a tape binder are bound at the spine. The two major types of tape binding instruments are the cold and thermal tape machines. Cold tape uses pressure-sensitive adhesive. Thermal tape requires heat to bind documents. The machines are popular because they do not require you to punch holes in documents. Top machines like the AccuBind Pro and the AccuBind Pro 2 can bind documents as small as five pages up to documents as large as 325 pages.

Considerations

Electronic communications including email, PDF files, e-books and downloadable website documents offer healthy competition to the binding machine industry. As more people learn how to bind thick documents, 200 to 300 manuscript pages, from their homes and company offices, small- to medium-sized binders may increase in popularity and strengthen the binding machine industry.