Wire binding uses durable wire binding spines to create strong, tamper-resistant, and professional-looking bound documents. The MRB-300 3:1 wire binder is one of the most economical wire binding machines on the market, offering manual punching and closing capabilities for less than $100. Below is a video that shows the MRB-300 wire binding machine in action, and provides an overview of the wire binding process.
Regardless of what industry you’re in, business cards are one of the most cost-effective and popular tools for sharing your business information with clients and prospects. With all of the user-friendly graphic design software available in today’s marketplace, it’s easy to create attractive and professional-looking business cards in your own office using a desktop printer. But once you’ve printed out your custom business cards, how do you cut them down to the appropriate size? In this post, we take a closer look at personal business card slitters, which accurately and efficiently cut letter-sized paper into standard 2″ x 3-1/2″ business cards with minimal effort.
The Basics
Personal business card cutters are available with either manual or electric operation, with either standard or full bleed cutting capabilities. Standard business card slitters are used to cut cards that have a blank border around the outer edge of the design, which are designed using a 12-up template (12 cards per sheet). Full bleed cutters are designed to cut cards that have images or text that run to the edge of the card, created using a 10-up template (10 cards per sheet). The resulting cards are borderless, which makes the full bleed cutters an ideal choice for graphics- or photography-based designs. While full bleed cutters can cut standard business cards (created using a 10-up template), standard cutters are not able to cut cards with full bleed designs.
Whether using a manual or electric model, personal business card cutters generally perform a two-step process in order to trim the business cards down to size. On the first pass through the machine, the pre-printed, letter-sized sheet is inserted vertically and trimmed down to two 3-1/2″ x 11″ strips. The strips are then fed horizontally through the machine to be cut into 2″ x 3-1/2″ business cards. The entire two-step process only takes around 10 seconds (depending upon the machine), which means that you can accurately cut up to 72 business cards per minute.
Uses
Personal business card cutters are designed for trimming business cards, but they can also be used to cut a variety of other useful items. If you have a photo-quality printer, you can print sheets of photographs onto photo paper and cut them into individual, wallet-size prints using your business card cutter. You can also create ID badges for trade shows, events, or for use around the office using either a 10-up or 12-up template and trimmed with your business card cutter. Teachers can design their own custom flash cards or other teaching materials with ease using their favorite word processing or graphic design program, and cut them to size using a business card slitter. You can even make your own full-color, business card-sized magnets using printable, magnetic stock and your personal card cutter. If you are using a standard cutter, you will need to leave a blank border around any item that you place into the 12-up template in order for them to be cut properly.
In Review
Business cards are a valuable tool for sharing your name and company information with clients and prospects, but not every organization has the budget to order custom cards from a professional print shop. For small runs of professional-looking business cards on a budget, you can use your favorite graphic design or word processing program along with your color printer and a personal business card cutter to create your own business cards. In addition to making business cards, you can also use the same process to create ID cards, full-color promotional magnets, flash cards and other teaching aids, wallet-size photographs, and many other useful items. Personal business card cutters are a great choice for home offices, small offices, and classrooms, with their ease of use, versatility, and affordable price point.
Manual coil cutting and crimping tools are one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways of finishing a coil-bound document. Because they perform both cutting and crimping actions, they have to be used correctly in order to achieve the best results. In the video below, we provide a demonstration of a pair of manual coil cutting and crimping pliers in action.
Powis Parker’s Fastback binding systems are known for creating durable and professional thermally-bound documents using their patented Fastback binding strips. The Fastback 9 binding system (which is one of their newest models) is the most compact and affordable of all of their thermal binding systems. Specifically designed to work with Lx binding strips, this user-friendly thermal binding machine is capable of binding documents ranging from 10 to 250 pages in length in as little as 35 seconds. In this post, we share a basic overview of the Fastback 9 binding process.
While pouch laminators have been the preferred choice for laminating small documents for many years, a growing number of organizations have been replacing their pouch laminators with compact roll laminators. With sizes from 12″ – 13″ wide, these office-friendly laminators utilize bulk film rolls instead of pre-cut laminating pouches, which can reduce your supply costs. In this post, we take a closer look at the Tamerica VersaLam 1300 – a heavy-duty 13″ roll laminator that can mount, laminate up to 10 mil, and even perform single-sided lamination.
The Basics
The VersaLam 1300 from Tamerica is a 13″ roll laminator that is capable of laminating with film thicknesses ranging from 1.5 to 10 mil. Unlike other comparably-sized roll laminators, the VersaLam has a 3″ core (using core adapters included along with the standard 1″ mandrel), which allows it to use larger film rolls (up to 500′) and a greater variety of film types. Many professional-quality films are only available with a 3″ core, making the VersaLam 1300 the only 13″ laminator able to use specialty films like DIGIKote, Super-Lam, and nylon laminating film. Though its laminating speed is a modest 4′ per minute, it can mount up to 3/16″, has high-quality heated silicone rollers, includes a rolling metal stand, and has a one-year warranty.
Furthermore, the VersaLam 1300 can perform both two-sided and single-sided lamination. It is equipped with decurling bars, which counteract the curling tendencies of documents that are only laminated on one side to help ensure a flat finished product. It also has an independent on/off switch for the bottom roller, so that the heat can be turned off during single-sided lamination.
In Review
Small roll laminators (with a laminating width of 13″ or less) are growing in popularity with schools, copy centers, churches, offices, and even home users, because they have lower supply costs compared with pouch laminators and can often increase output speed (since the documents can simply be fed into the machine instead of being manually inserted into pouches). While there are a number of quality, entry-level machines in this size, there are very few professional-level machines. The VersaLam 1300 is capable of laminating using films up to 10 mil thick, can utilize rolls with both 1″ and 3″ core sizes, mounts up to 3/16″ thick, and includes a heavy-duty, rolling, metal stand. It is also able to perform single-sided and double-sided lamination, thanks to built-in decurling bars and an independent heating switch for the bottom roller.
Though the VersaLam 1300 may be too large of an investment for small offices, it is by far the most affordable machine on the market when it comes to single-sided lamination. It is also the only 13″ machine that uses heated silicone rollers instead of heat shoes (which tend to leave small scratches in the film as it passes over them). If you’re looking for a robust roll laminator that is packed with features but doesn’t occupy a lot of space, then you’ll definitely want to consider the VersaLam 1300.
The Fastback Model 9 thermal binding machine from Powis Parker is a compact binder that is small enough to fit on your desk, yet powerful enough to bind documents in as little as 35 seconds using patented LX strips. Below are five helpful tips for binding with your Fastback 9 binding machine:
Velobind binding is a thermal binding method that uses two-piece plastic binding spines to create a durable bind. Unlike adhesive-based thermal binding methods which can often be edited fairly easily, documents bound with Velobind strips cannot be edited unless the spine is completely removed and replaced with a new spine. In this post, we learn more about the Velobind binding method and take a closer look at some of the unique benefits it offers.
The Basics
There are two types of thermal binding – binding with an adhesive spine and binding with sets of pronged plastic bars (commonly referred to as “Velobind spines”). The most popular thermal binding style involves the application of an adhesive-lined spine to a set of documents using a specialized machine that heats the spine and melts the glue, allowing adhesive to permeate the documents and create a bind. These spines are available in a few styles, including varieties that have pre-attached covers in both soft- and hard-cover formats.
Velobind-style binding is preferred by people looking to create tamper-proof binds, as it is impossible to edit without having to rebind the document. To bind with these spines, the user punches the documents with the proper hole pattern (generally 9, 11, or 14 holes, depending on the document size), inserts the pronged side through the holes and then slides the flat side onto the prongs. The document is then placed into the binding machine, which trims the prongs to size and melts the ends to secure the bind. Because the individual prongs act as reinforcements for the spine, Velobind strips can be used to bind documents up to 3″ thick, which is considerably thicker than most other conventional binding styles can accommodate.
Velobind Spines
Velobind spines (also called “hot knife strips”) are available in 9-, 11-, and 14-pin varieties, which accommodate binding on 8 1/2″, 11″ and 14″ paper. They are able to secure up to 750 pages in a single book, making them the preferred choice for large documents. Hot knife strips come in a broad range of attractive colors like other binding spines, but they are only offered in three sizes (1″, 2″, and 3″) which makes stocking them much easier. Since the excess length of the prongs is cut off during the binding process, the same 1″ spine can be used to bind a document that is 20 sheets or 250 sheets.
Velobind Binding Machines
Binding with Velobind spines requires punching with a specialized hole pattern before performing the thermal bind, which generally means that the machines cost more than other thermal binding systems. Because of the additional punching step, Velobinding is commonly regarded as being one of the most secure and tamper-resistant binding styles, which is why it is often used in binding legal documents.
The process for binding with Velobind strips is fairly similar to binding with other styles. To begin, the sheets of the document are punched in sets (based on the punch capacity of the specific model being used) until all pages as well as the covers have been punched. Next, the flat half of the binding strip is placed into the binding channel so that the alignment pin is inserted into the corresponding hole on the strip. Then, the pronged ends of the spine are inserted through the holes in the document. Finally, the prongs are inserted into the holes on the flat strip so that the document is sandwiched between them. The binding process is then activated (see the manual for your machine for specific instructions), and after about 30 seconds, your document is ready to remove from the machine.
In Review
Creating professional-looking bound documents is easy with thermal binding. Velobind binding is a secure and durable binding method that uses a thermal binding machine to melt and fuse a two-piece plastic binding spine. With its versatility and strength, Velobind binding is a great way to create bound documents that look and feel professionally-made at a reasonable cost.
The Foilfast P21x printer from Powis Parker offers users an easy and cost-effective way to create custom binding covers on demand. Below are helpful tips for troubleshooting the most common problems experienced while using the Foilfast P21x:
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Lamination Depot offers laminating pouches in hundreds of unique sizes to accommodate the most popular insert document sizes. Because laminating pouches need to be larger than the insert document in order to achieve a proper seal, there are a few guidelines that should be followed to help determine the most appropriate size for your document.
A minimum border of 1/8″ is required on all sizes of your document in order for the pouch to seal properly. The easiest way to determine the ideal laminating pouch size for your insert is to simply measure the document and then add 1/4″ to both the length and the height. The resulting measurements will represent the appropriate laminating pouch size for your insert. If your insert document is a standard size (such as a letter-sized sheet or a business card), then you will likely find a pouch that is designed to be an exact fit.
Even if your document is an unusual size, it is still somewhat likely that you will find a standard pouch size that will work. Although you cannot have a margin of less than 1/8″ between the edges of your pouch and the edges of your insert document, having a larger margin will not cause any problems. You can choose to leave the larger border intact or trim it down to 1/8″ using a paper cutter or a pair of scissors. If the pouch that you are using is substantially larger than your insert document, then you may notice small bubbles forming in the areas where the layers of excess film meet (which is why it is important to use the pouch size that most closely matches your document).
If you plan on using pre-slotted laminating pouches (or will be using a manual slot punch to add slots after lamination), then you will need to increase the margin to account for the slot. A standard slot is 1/8″ tall, and a 1/8″ margin is required above and below the slot itself, bringing the required margin to 3/8″ for the slotted portion. When you add this to the 1/8″ margin that is required on the edge opposite the slot, your pouch will need to be 1/2″ larger than the insert document on the slotted side (and will need to be the standard 1/4″ on the side without the slot).
Whether you’re binding your documents using binding wires, 19-ring plastic combs, spiral coils, or Velobind binding spines, it’s the cover of your book that will make the first impression on the reader. There are few more powerful ways to enhance the look of your reports than by binding with customized binding covers. Below are the step-by-step instructions for printing single-color clear binding covers using the Foilfast P21x Printer from Powis Parker (for Windows users):
Note: When you choose to print your cover using the single-color mode, the printer will ignore the colors used in your original artwork and will only print in the designated foil color. For example, if you original artwork is black, but you select red foil in single-color mode, then your image will be printed with red foil. Similarly, if your artwork has multiple colors, then using single-color mode will cause the entire image to print in the designated color of foil.
Instructions (Using Non-Adobe Software)
Instructions (Using Adobe Software)