Office Equipment Blog from Office Zone

Do you have a cookbook, a report or perhaps a book that you need to bind? Many people think that binding a document is long, lengthy and complicated process. Others assume that binding has to be done by a publisher, regardless of the volume. This is not the case. Binding is easy, simple and can be done by anyone.

All you need is a printer and a binding machine. There are several “do-it-yourself” binding machines available, with the three most popular binding formats being comb, wire and coil binding. These machines allow you to print your recipe book or novel using a printer. Once printed, the document can be punched and binding elements inserted. The entire process typically takes less than a few minutes.

Speed is an issue for some people, especially if you need to bind hundreds of books per day. Manufacturers have taken this into consideration. Many binding machines are now available in a manual and electric version. The manual version of a binding machine is used for lower-volume binding and requires the individual to pull a handle to punch and binding.

Electric binding machines typically use a motor to punch the holes and often help assist with applying the binding element as well. Electric binding machines make it possible to bind several hundred books a day. You can often double or triple output simply by using an electric motor enabled binding machine.

As mentioned previously, there are three popular forms of binding; being comb, wire and coil (sometimes referred to as spiral). These three binding formats require paper to be punched and elements to be inserted. All three formats are available in manual and electric designs.

Comb binding machines use a plastic element. In the United States, 8 ½ x 11-inch paper is most commonly used. A comb-binding machine will punch a total of 19 holes with this size of paper. The holes are rectangular in shape. One the holes are punched, the comb binding element is opened and inserted through the punched holes. The machine then releases the comb and the binding process is completed. A nice thing about comb binding is that the supplies can be re-used and pages can be removed or added.

Wire binding machines use a wire binding element. There are three hole formats available, being Spiral-O, 2:1 pitch and 3:1 pitch. These hole formats sound complicated, but are easy to use. Again, using 8 ½ x 11-inch paper, a Spiral-O will punch 19 total holes, using a similar hole patter to the comb binding. The 2:1 pitch punches two holes per inch and the 3:1 pitch punches three holes per inch.

The more holes there are per inch the tighter the look of the bound book, however the more holes the fewer the sheets that can be bound. Holes are available in rectangle, square and round, depending on the machine. Different hole patters are not interchangeable with different pitches of binding supplies. It is critical to buy the correct wire binding supplies that match your binding machine. Wire binding machines, similar to comb binding, punch the paper. The wire-binding element is then inserted through the holes and the wire is actually closed shut. Once closed, the wire cannot be re-opened.

Coil binding, commonly referred to as spiral binding, uses a spring-like binding supply. The appearance is much like the spiral notebooks used in elementary school, except that the supplies are made from PVC plastic instead of metal. The plastic coils are available in various colors and diameters.

Coil binding machines punch holes in paper. The supplies are then spun through the holes either manually or by use of an electric coil inserter. Coil binding is available in 5:1 pitch (five holes per inch) and 4:1 (four holes per inch) pitch supplies. Much like wire binding, the different pitches are not interchangeable.

These are just a few of the binding machines available for binding booklets. There is no need to feel intimidated or disappointed at the thought of binding your book. Simply purchase or use a binding machine and bind it yourself!

Creating your own business cards in-house is a simple process, thanks to relatively inexpensive business card cutters offered by Office Zone. Business card cutters save you the expense of outsourcing your business cards to a professional print shop. One highly popular model with our customers is the CardMate Business Card Cutter. The CardMate is inexpensive and requires no electricity whatsoever. You actually operate it with a hand crank.

The CardMate can cut to size about 60 business cards in a minute. On the professional grade side, Office Zone offers the Intimus GC208 Business Card Cutter. This beauty can cut up to an amazing 18,000 professional-grade business cards in one hour!

The GC208 was engineered with a no-mess function that automatically sends unwanted trimmed strips into a waste bin. This impressive business card cutter is low-maintenance and compatible with most business card design software including: Illustrator, Word, Quark and InDesign.

Have you ever been frustrated with trying to track down a lost or much-needed product manual? Did you know that Office Zone carries several manuals for most office machines? You can find an exhaustive index here. Office Zone has a handy collection of office equipment manuals for most office machines including: paper shredders, paper cutters, laminating machines, money counting machines … you get the idea. All product manuals are available to download in PDF format. Feel free to browse through our extensive library of office machine manuals and download your manual here today.

Office Zone has offered the Semacon S-1400 Series currency counters for a few months now, but there’s a little-known feature of the S-1450 version, the top-end model, that will most likely get your attention. The S-1450 includes an exclusive filtration system that is especially helpful to bankers and other organizations that count a lot of bills.

The Semacon S-1450 features a sophisticated design that incorporates a blower/filter that blows dust and other contaminants off of counted bills. The machine also has a plastic cover that protects the user from flying dust and other crud. Why is this so important? Well, because we unfortunately live in a world with the criminal element. What I’m specifically referring to is drug dealers who deal in cash only. At times, the drugs and other contaminants related to their profession come in contact with the currency they use.

Bank workers and others will be relieved to know that the risk of counting potentially dangerous stacks of bills has been greatly reduced, thanks to the thoughtful engineers at Semacon. You can take a closer look at the Semacon S-1450 bill counter here.

Here’s a new product that we’re excited to unveil to our customers: Cooling Vests. Cooling vests are the perfect aid to any worker exposed to heat on a constant basis. Cooling vests may be worn by construction workers, warehouse staff, steel refinery employees, athletes  — the applications are almost limitless.

These vests are made with Banox, a reliable, fire-resistant material. These cooling vests may be used under appropriate protective apparel and are NFPA and ASTM compliant.

Our selection of cooling vests were originally designed for Black Hawk helicopter pilots. And best of all, they fit most workers and stay cool for up to four hours.

You can add a nice touch of sophistication and class to your next event with a set of crowd control posts or stanchions. These are commonly found at movie theaters, restaurants, and clubs.

The intent of a crowd control post, or public guidance system, is to move people in the right direction in an organized way. Stanchions are used in a myriad of diverse environments such as amusement parks, schools, trade shows, and business settings.

Stanchions are available in a wide variety of colors with retractable belts. You can review a wide selection of public guidance systems and related products on our Crowd Control Posts page.

Here’s one of the most unusual but useful machines we carry: The Max Bantam paper counting machine. This paper counter can take a stack of about 1,000 sheets of paper and count it right down to the last sheet with 100% accuracy.

The entire process takes mere seconds. The machine can count an amazing 2,000 sheets per minute! This is thanks to a complex series of lasers, sensors, and pneumatic equipment. No matter how many times a stack is placed in the counter, the final count is the same every time.

So who would use a $10,000 paper counting machine? Industries that typically print large quantities of literature and other material and then need to keep inventory.

Read more about the Max Bantam here: http://www.officezone.com/bantam.htm.

Here’s a little known fact about some of the office chairs that we carry. If you take a look at our Flexible Office Seating index, you’ll notice something different. These chairs were designed with church use in mind. That means they’re built to endure decades of use and abuse.

Churches typically have a modest furniture budget, that’s why their furniture has to last. Offices can take advantage of these added furniture features too. Select office chairs featured at Office Zone are hand-made from northern red oak. This is a wood typically used with church furniture because of its sturdy, long-lasting qualities. It holds up well in most environments and climates.

This selection of office chairs also includes extra padding in the seat for added comfort. Instead of one-inch foam padding, you get two inches of foam. That means you can finally sit in comfort for hours during your next thrilling staff meeting. The tough commercial-grade fabric covering the chair’s seat and back is also rated to last much longer that most office chairs.

Be sure to take a closer look at these special office chairs, with a religious flair, today.

I got a call yesterday from a customer who bought a low-volume, paper folding machine a couple of years ago. She said it was working well, but now she needed a paper folder that would fold larger sizes of paper. She had been folding standard 8-1/2″ x 11″ paper and had a new project that required 8-1/2″ x 14″ legal sized paper.

The point here is to make sure you initially purchase a paper folding machine that’s equipped with all of the features you may ever need. Most low-volume folders will not fold legal-sized documents. From a pricing starting point, the first model we recommend that can handle such a task is the Dynafold DE-102AF paper folder.

Another thing you probably haven’t considered is a paper folder’s operating speed. This is the maximum speed the motor on the paper folder is capable of running at. This typically is measured in sheets per hour. Most manufacturers will list a machine’s operating speed, but this does not mean the machine should function at this level continually — sort of like your car’s speedometer. The speedometer goes up to 120, but running your car at that speed is insane. That’s why we recommend you operate your paper folder slightly under its operating speed.

Last but not least, and we get this question a lot, be sure you get a paper folding machine that can handle the paper you want to fold. If you need to fold glossy paper, or paper with a somewhat slick surface, friction-feed paper folders are not the answer. You would need an air-feed paper folding machine.

If you learned something new here, terrific! If not, then when would you like to start your new job with us? But seriously, if you’d like to know more, feel free to post your questions, responses here in our blog and we’ll answer them as quickly as possible.

If you’ve decided to purchase a shrink wrap machine, then the next important step is to find the right kind of shrink film. There’s two basic types of shrink wrap film available: PVC and polyolefin.

People often ask, what’s the difference? PVC is the most popular and typically the least expensive shrink wrap film on the market. It’s commonly found in several product packaging applications.

Polyolefin looks similar to PVC, but is distinguished by its stretchy properties. It feels a lot like Saran Wrap. It’s known for its durability and is safe for use with food.

One unique, little-known feature of polyolefin film is the fact that it typically requires a higher temperature to get it to shrink. We have found in our own lab testing that a 220-volt chamber sealer shrink wrap machine works best.

Be sure to take a look a closer look at our shrink wrap film today.