Spiral coil binding is one of the most popular binding styles used today. It offers a contemporary look and feel with some great features such as full three hundred and sixty degree rotation. However, binding documents with spiral coil can be a little bit tricky, especially if you have never done it before. This article will provide you with six simple tips for binding your documents with spiral coil. Here they are.

1. There are several different hole patterns used for spiral coil binding. The most common hole pattern is 4:1 pitch (four holes per inch). However, spiral coil spines are also available in 5:1 pitch (five holes per inch) and in 3:1 pitch (three holes per inch). More than 90% of users choose a 4:1 pitch machine since the supplies are easier to find and less expensive. However, it is also important to note that some 4:1 pitch punches use a 43 hole pattern while others use a 44 hole pattern. If you decide to order pre punched covers or need to match a hole pattern from an existing document you will need to count the holes to make sure that you end up with the appropriate number of holes.

2. Using oversized covers with your coil binding machine is not recommended. In fact, many coil binding machines are not capable of handling oversized covers. When you try to punch an oversized cover with a coil binding machine the holes may not line up with the paper that you have punched or you may end up with extra holes.

3. Most coil binding machines do not have fully disengageable dies. This means that you can not choose to stop a single pin from punching. This makes it difficult to bind odd sized books and documents with your machine. Most coil binding machines are capable of binding letter and half letter sized documents. If you are going to need to bind smaller or larger documents, it is recommended that you choose a machine with fully or partially disengageable dies.

4. Once you have the holes punched in your document you will need to spin the coil onto the spine of your book. Start by taking the spiral coil and spinning through the first few holes of the document by hand. If you have a machine with a spiral coil inserter on it, you can use the roller from your inserter to spin the element the rest of the way onto the document. However, be careful that you don’t spin the book right off the other side. If you don’t have an electric inserter, you will need to simply spin the coil onto the book by hand.

5. The final step in finishing a book bound with spiral coil is to crimp the ends of the coil so that the spiral doesn’t spin back off the book. Special coil crimping pliers are used to cut off the excess coil and bend over the end in a single step. It is possible to achieve the same results using a pair of needle nosed pliers but it is much more difficult and will require multiple steps. If you do have a pair of crimping pliers it is important to remember two things. The red dot should always face the ceiling and the spine of the book should always face towards you.

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