A hole punch (known also as a hole puncher, paper puncher, holing pincer, or rarely perforator) is a common office tool that is used to create holes in sheets of paper, often for the purpose of collecting the sheets in a binder or folder.

The origins of the hole punch date back to Germany, where two early patents for a device designed to "punch holes in paper" have since been discovered. ^[1] Friedrich Soennecken made his patent on November 14, 1886 for his Papierlocher für Sammelmappen.

A typical hole punch, whether a single or multiple hole punch, has a long lever which is used to push a bladed cylinder straight through a number of sheets of paper. As the vertical travel distance of the cylinder is only a few millimeters, it can be positioned within a centimeter of the lever fulcrum. For low volume hole punches, the resulting lever need not be more than 8 cm for sufficient force.

Two paper guides are needed to line up the paper: one opposite where the paper is inserted, to set the margin distance, and one on an adjacent side.

Hole punches for industrial volumes — hundreds of sheets — feature very long lever arms, but function identically.

Another mechanism uses hollowed drills which are lowered by a screwing action into the paper. The paper is cut and forced up into the shaft of the drill to be later discarded as tightly packed columns. This method allows a small machine to cut industrial volumes of paper with little effort.

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Comb binding is one of many ways to bind pages together into a book. This method utilizes round plastic spines with 19 rings (for US Letter size) or 21 rings (for A4 size) and a hole puncher that makes rectangular holes. Comb binding is sometimes referred to as GBC or Ibico binding since GBC manufactures a lot of binding machines and supplies.

Binding Process

To bind a document, the user first punches holes in the paper with a specialized hole punch. Pages must be punched a few at a time with most of these machines. If hard covers are desired, they must be punched as well. In bulk applications, a paper drilling machine may be used.

Then the user chooses a spine size that will match the document. Standard sizes are 3/16 inch (for 10 sheets of 20# paper) up to 2 inches (for 425 sheets). Spine lengths are generally 11 inches to match the length of letter-size paper.

The rings on the spine open and insert into the holes in the page, then rest against the body of the spine, resulting in a closure that can be opened again for making changes to the book.

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We offer printed brochures in several different sizes and folded several different ways. The following guide explains the different folds we offer and what you need to know about folding before laying out your folded brochure design.

Single Fold Brochure

A single fold brochure is made by folding a printed page in half. After folding it consists of four panels, two on the front and two on the back. 

Tri-Fold Brochure

A tri-fold brochure is made by folding a printed page in thirds. After folding it consists of six panels, three on the front and three on the back. 

Double Parallel Brochure

A double parallel brochure is made by folding a page in half and then folding each folded page in half again in the same direction. After folding it consists of eight panels, four on the front and four on the back. The last two panels need to be slightly narrower than the outer panels so that they fit inside when folded. 

A Double Gate Fold brochure is made by folding the ends of a page inward so that they meet in the middle and then folding the folded page in half in the same direction. After folding it consists of eight panels, four on the front and four on the back. The panels on each end need to be slightly narrower than the outer panels so they will fit inside the others when folded. 

Accordion Fold Brochure

An accordion fold brochure is made by folding a page in equal parts in front of and behind itself. After folding it consists of six panels, three on the front and three on the back.

A french fold brochure is made by folding a page in half in one direction and then folding the folded page in half again in the opposite dimension. After folding it consists of eight panels, four on the front and four on the back. 

A laminate is a material that can be constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. The process of creating a laminate is lamination, which in common parlance refers to the placing of something between layers of plastic and glueing them with heat and/or pressure, usually with an adhesive. However, in electrical engineering, lamination is a construction technique used to reduce unwanted heating effects due to eddy currents in components, such as the magnetic cores of transformers.

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Some of the different types of thermally activated binding include:

1. Perfect binding is often used, and gives a result similar to paperback books. National Geographic is one example of this type. Paperback or soft cover books are also normally bound using perfect binding. They usually consist of various sections with a cover made from heavier paper, glued together at the spine with a strong flexible glue. The sections are rough-cut in the back to make them absorb the hot glue. The other three sides are then face trimmed. This is what allows the magazine or paperback book to be opened. Mass market paperbacks (pulp paperbacks) are small (16mo size), cheaply made and often fall apart after much handling or several years. Trade paperbacks are more sturdily made, usually larger, and more expensive.
2. Thermal Binding uses a one piece cover with glue down the spine to quickly and easily bind documents without the need for punching. Individuals usually purchase "thermal covers" or "therm-a-bind covers" which are usually made to fit a standard size sheet of paper and come with a glue channel down the spine. The paper is placed in the cover, heated in a machine (basically a griddle), and when the glue cools, it adheres the paper to the spine. Thermal glue strips can also be purchased separately for individuals that wish to use customized/original covers. However, creating documents using thermal binding glue strips can be a tedious process which requires a scoring device and a large format printer.
3. A cardboard article looks like a hardbound book at first sight, but it is really a paperback with hard covers. Many books that are sold as hardcover are actually of this type. The Modern Library series is an example. This type of document is usually bound with thermal adhesive glue using a perfect binding machine.
4. Tape Binding refers to a system that wraps and glues a piece of tape around the base of the document. A tape binding machine such as the Powis Parker Fastback or Standard Accubind system will usually be used to complete the binding process and to activate the thermal adhesive on the glue strip. However, some users also refer to Tape Binding as the process of adding a colored tape to the edge of a mechanically fastened (stapled or stitched) document.
5. Unibind is a variety of thermal binding that uses a special steel channel with resin rather than glue inside of it to give it a more sturdy bind to hold the pages in place. Unibind can be used to bind soft covered documents with a look that is similar to perfect binding. It can also be used for binding hardcover books and photo books. Like Thermal Binding, unibind usually requires you to purchase a one piece coverset to bind your documents. However, Unibind also offers SteelBack spines that allow you to use your own covers in the binding process. The majority of Unibinds covers can be printed on as well to give documents a unique finish. (Unibind is also the name of a International binding company)

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A saddle stitch is appropriate for small booklets and, in general, for volumes with only a few pages. Most magazines that are not glued are saddle stitched: that is, they are held together by staples that run through the gutter. Once the pages are aligned and in the right order, this type of binding is quite straight forward. Staplers with extremely long jaws, designed specifically for saddle stitching, are available in office supply stores. Some photocopiers produce saddle-stitched volumes automatically. 

If neither of these options is readily available, an improvised saddle stitch can be accomplished by using an ordinary stapler in "tacking" mode. This usually requires swinging the anvil away from the bottom, or detatching the lower jaw of the stapler. The working surface should be reasonably soft and durable, such as carpeting or a cork board. Staples can be driven through the centerline of the pages to be bound, and then bent down individually using the cap of a pen.

Saddle stitching can also be done to the individual codex, using a needle and thread, as part of the process of binding them together into a larger book.

Shrink wrap is commonly used as an overwrap on many types of packaging, including cartons, boxes, beverage cans and pallet loads. A variety of products may be enclosed in shrink wrap to stabilize the products, unitize them, keep them clean or add tamper resistance. It can be the primary covering for some foods such as cheese and meats. It is also used to cover boats after manufacture and for winter storage. Heat-shrink tubing is used to seal electric wiring.

Shrink bands are applied over parts of packages for tamper resistance or labels. It can also combine two packages or parts.

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Due to the normally high solids content of UV coating/varnish the surface of the cured film can be extremely reflective and glossy. 80 text and heavier weights of paper can be UV coated, however, cover weights are preferred. UV can be used on smooth, uncoated papers.

UV can be applied by flooding the page. This coating application can deepen the color of the printed area. Drying is virtually instantaneous when exposed to the correct level of UV light so projects can move quickly into the bindery. Like the other coatings, consult the bindery for projects requiring gluing. Using a strippable coating blanket can eliminate glue issues. New, Innovative coating blanket solutions have been developed recently that allow for this to be done.

A printed page with UV coating applied can be very shiny or flattened to a matte finish. A good example of UV coated paper is photo paper sold for home printing projects. UV coatings that are not fully cured can have a slightly sticky feeling. 

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