Times are tough right now for many businesses and current economic conditions in one way or another affect most people. Businesses are looking for ways to trim costs and save money. One way this is being done is by bringing outsourced projects back to an "in-house" status. Businesses and organizations are saving money right now by doing their own book, report and presentation binding in-house.
Book binding isn’t complicated, and compared to paying a third party, the machines pay for themselves over a short period of time. The most common forms of binding, done by businesses, are comb, wire, coil and VeloBinding. The supplies are available in different sizes, colors and give the operator freedom to bind almost anything. Another advantage to binding books in-house is speed and convenience. With a binding machine, books can be bound in seconds, as they are needed.
Before taking the plunge towards in-house operations, determine how many books you will need to bind per day, week and month. Also determine how automated you want the binding machine to be. Many are not aware of this, but binding machines vary in functionality like a car. Some are completely manual, where others are almost fully automated. Cost does go up the more automated the machine becomes, but the amount of time and effort required to bind a book may be worth the investment.
There are four types of binding that are commonly used for in-house binding. The most popular of the four is comb binding; followed by coil binding, wire binding and VeloBinding. The binding process with these four types of binding machines is simple. Punch holes in the paper and covers, insert the binding element and close it. Most of these binding machines take less than a few minutes to use per book.
There are a few features to look for in a binding machine. One of them is an adjustable margin depth. This allows the operator to adjust how deep into the paper the holes will be punched. This is especially nice if you will be binding books of varying thicknesses. The thicker the book, the deeper into the margin the holes need to be punched. This helps to prevent pages from ripping out of the binding element. If you will not be binding thick books (100+ pages), this shouldn’t be a concern.
Another feature to be aware of are disengageable (disengaging) punching dies. This is also sometimes referred to as variable punching dies. This allows the user to determine which hole to or not to punch. This is very nice to have if you will be binding pages of varying sizes. It helps to eliminate the dreaded half-hole, which happens when the punching die runs off the paper and only punches part of it. If you will only be punching standard 8 ½ x 11-inch paper, this may not be a necessary feature.
Any printer, organization or business that creates books or reports can benefit from owning their own
binding machine. Contact
Office Zone for more information on binding machines.
