We are always looking at new ways to help educate our customers and help them learn more about the office equipment they are purchasing. Over the past few years we added several product category guides to our Web site loaded with information. You can find those guides by going here:
http://www.abcoffice.com/product_guide.htm.

We have just added three new “How To” guides to our Web site. The “How To” guides are different than the older guides because the offer more detailed information on specific products. The three new guides just added to ABC Office are the How To Comb Bind, How To Wire Bind and How To VeloBind.

Each guide includes detailed information on how to use the binding machines including step-by-step details and also includes links to video demonstrations of the products. You can find the three current “How To” guides here:

How To Comb Bind

How To Wire Bind

How To VeloBind

We plan on adding many more “How To” guides to our Web site over the coming weeks and months. Be sure to come back and check out our new guides!

I have worked with binding machines and office equipment for the last five years. I have worked with a variety of entry-level office equipment. As with just about anything, some models of binding machines are more durable and last longer than others. This is to be expected with entry-level office equipment vs. high-end office equipment.

A few months ago we brought in some of the newer Akiles binding machines from our warehouse to our showroom floor. We brought in about three different wire binding machines, two coil and one comb. I decided to shoot a few video demos to help give customers a better idea as to how they work. After a few
weeks of shooting videos and training people I discovered that these binding machines aren’t your usual run of the mill products.

The first thing I noticed is how heavy they are. They aren’t so heavy you can’t more them, but they are heavy
enough to let you know they are built well. Because they are made out of metal, they are very durable. For the cost, I would definitely go with an Akiles WireMac, CoilMac or MegaBind over any plastic comparable models. The punching was very clean and setting the machines up was even easier. The booklets I bound on all the machines looked very professional.

I would highly recommend viewing these products and checking out the broadband video demos available on several of the models. I am in the process of getting broadband demos available for the MegaBind comb binding machines. All these machines are made by Akiles. You can request a live video demo on all these models and receive one-on-one training from one of our sales associates. You can find these new binding machines by going here:

MegaBind (Comb Binding)

MegaBind 1E (Comb Binding)

WireMac (Wire Binding)

WireMac Duo (Wire Binding)

WireMac E (Wire Binding)

CoilMac ECI (Coil Binding)

CoilMac EPI (Coil Binding)

Softbound books are by far the most popular form of binding for reading books. They surpass the popularity of hardbound books. Have you ever wondered how softbound books are created? Maybe not, but I’ll introduce you to some of the equipment used to do this.

Softbound or softback books are created using a binding process called perfect binding. The binding process is a very easy concept. Perfect binders take a stack of papers, apply glue to the spine and attach a cover. The machine may be a bit of an investment at first, but the actual price of binding the books is rather inexpensive. Machines vary in complexity. Some perfect binding machines require more manual work, where others are almost fully automatic.

Stop by and have a look at our perfect binding machines. Call (800-658-8788) one of our sales associates if you have any questions.

Although many would have thought we would now be living in a paperless age, paper is still very widely used. People like to have something tangible when reading a story, the news or a report. Many people don’t like reading from a computer, although you are probably doing so now. It is very easy to circle something with your pen or highlighting parts of an article with your marker.

Because paper is so widely used, binding machines are growing in popularity. Because binding machines have come down in price, in-house binding is no longer a novelty. There are now several methods of binding that you can use, depending on your preference and taste. Creating a report, a booklet or a news article is now easier than ever. But it didn’t always used to be so easy.

Binding machines are a new convenience, with respect to the history of binding. In the days of the pyramids, the Egyptians wrote on papyrus rolls and chiseled words into stone. Animal skins were widely used in western Asia, due to their durability and abundance. Sumerians and Hittites used clay tablets to do their writing. The Romans used wax tablets for quick and easy note taking.

During the middle ages, books were uniquely bound with wooden boards as covers. Wooden boards made these books very heavy and awkward to use. These covers were often decorated with silk, leather and velvet. Bookbinding’s primary purpose was to preserve historical records and documents. Most people were not able to read what was written.

Even during the 20th century, binding machines were large and not available to everybody. It cost a lot to bind things, and you needed access to a publisher. The closest most people got to binding their own reports and documents was by use of a hole punch or a stapler.

Present day, there are now a wide variety of binding machines available to the public. Comb, wire and coil binding machines have become the most popular methods of in-house binding. You can learn more about different styles of binding machines here.

Copy centers must make a good profit binding documents for their customers. I remember when I was in college, not long ago, and had to get my reports bound for class. The end result looked good, but it cost me several dollars to have the report finished. I wasn’t very particular as to the method of binding either. I just wanted to make sure the pages stayed in place and didn’t fall apart when the professor got it.

Now that I work in the office automation equipment industry, I realize what goes into binding a document or report. I had no idea back then how many different methods of binding exist today. I didn’t realize how easy binding really is and that I could do it myself. Many businesses, and students for that matter, do not realize that binding can be done in-house at a fraction of the cost at a copy center.

There are a wide variety of binding machines to choose from. The most popular binding machines are comb, wire and coil. These machines are small, compact and can be used just about anywhere. Many schools use comb-binding machines, because the combs are re-usable and inexpensive. Businesses and professional organizations will use all three. You can see all the binding machines available for in-house binding here.

Another important part of making a bound document look professional is the front and back cover. These covers are usually made of card stock. Several card stocks are available, with different colors and textures. It is usually a good idea to get a binding cover that matches the binding element that you will be using to bind the document. Clear covers are another popular report cover. The clear cover protects your document and allows the reader to see the cover sheet underneath. You can see all our binding covers here.

For more information on binding machines and how they work, take a look at our binding guide.