So what are the most common fold types used today? Can you expect your folding machine to create them all? I will go over some of the most common folds used by paper folders and answer a few common paper folder questions. Let’s start with the most common fold types.

The two most common fold types used today are the letter fold and accordion fold. These two fold styles are also commonly called the C fold (letter) and Z fold (accordion). Both of these fold types are used for sending mailers and letters. The letter fold (C fold) is the most common.

The next most common fold is the half fold, sometimes referred to as the single or “V” fold. This basically involves folding a single sheet of paper in half. This is commonly used for creating programs for concerts, plays and other events.

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Single (Half, V) fold

Letter (C) fold

Z (Accordion) fold

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A few other less common, but standard folds, are the double parallel fold, French fold (aka cross fold), half accordion fold (aka engineering fold) and gate fold. You will see an example of theses folds below.

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Double Parallel fold	Cross Fold (French, Right) fold	Half Accordion (Fold-out, Engineering) fold
Gate fold

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Most paper folders can create the folds mentioned, with the French fold probably being the exception. While the French fold is pretty common with paper folders, not all are capable of creating it.

Can paper folders create custom folds? Most paper folders will give you the option of tweaking the fold plates and creating your own custom folds.

You may view our entire line of paper folding machines here. We also have a very informative paper folding guide found here.

Signature capture pads are found almost everywhere now. They are used in retail stores at the checkout, in the pharmacy for signing for a prescription or even in an office for digitally signing legal documents. These digital capture pads are also widely used to ad signatures to photo ID cards and security badges.

One observation you may have made when using these devices is that some work much better than others. Quality amongst signature capture pads varies wildly among makes and models. Sometimes people are simply using the wrong capture pad for the wrong job. We sell a wide variety of digital signature capture pads from Topaz.

Here are a few things you may want to keep in mind when shopping around for a signature capture pad.

Visual Display – Some signature capture pads only capture the signature, but do not give you a visual representation in “e-ink.” Most signature capture pads will give you some sort of e-ink display.

Backlit Screen – Not all signature capture pads are backlit. If you plan on using a signature capture pad in a dark or low-lit room, be sure you get a model that is backlit.

Number of Signatures – Signature capture pads are rated for a certain number of signatures. The SigLite 1X5 is an example of a model that is rated for 10,000 signatures. The SignatureGemLCD 1×5 is an example of a model that is rated for 250,000+ signatures.

Signing Area - How big an area do you need? If you only need a signature, a 1×5 pad will be more than efficient. If you need to display additional text, menu options or wording, a pad with taller dimensions will be required.

Developer Software Tool Kits – Most signature capture pads we sell from Topaz will work with programs designed to be used with signature capture pads. We offer software development tools for free that can be used to integrate our Topaz pads with software or databases. You can find these developer software tools here.

We offer a huge selection of Topaz brand digital signature capture pads. You can find our entire selection of these signature pads here.

If you have ever dealt with static electricity in paper, you know how annoying it can be. It causes sheets of paper to stick together and can cause problems / jams when collating paper, folding paper, printing on paper and much more. Is there a good way to get rid of static electricity in paper?

There are a couple of things you can do. One of the best things you can do is use a paper jogger that is designed to cut down on static electricity. Most modern paper joggers will gather the electrical charge and ground it out, all while jogging and squaring up paper. This is one of my preferred ways of cutting down on static charge in paper. You can find our paper joggers here.

Another option for cutting down on jam-causing static electricity is using a static eliminator spray on your collator, folding machine or copier. Static eliminator is sprayed on rubber rollers and other machine components, which dramatically cut down on static electricity. You can find our static eliminator spray here.

Good luck cutting down on static electricity. Do you have some additional ideas that have worked for you? Post them here in a comment!

Terms like Spiral-O, Wire-O and wire comb are all used to describe what is more commonly known as wire binding. With all these terms floating around, it’s no wonder so many people get confused. I will try and break down exactly why these terms exist and what they mean.

First off, there are three different types of wire binding supplies. These are 3:1, 2:1 and 19-ring pitches. Basically these three formats are different hole patterns. The hole spacing on 3:1 is three holes per inch, 2:1 is two holes per inch and 19-ring is 19 holes along an 11-inch sheet of paper.

Both 3:1 and 2:1 pitch holes can be round or square, although round is far more common. Nineteen-ring holes are always rectangular in shape.  The format you use depends on the look you prefer and the amount of sheets you need to bind.

These are some of the terms used to describe the different wire binding hole formats:

• Spiral-O – This is another term used for 19-ring wire binding. Nineteen-ring wire hole patters are the same as comb binding.
• Wire-O – This is a trademarked term commonly used to describe 3:1 pitch wire, although many retailers will use it for 2:1 pitch wire as well.
• Wire Comb – This is a term used to describe wire (19-ring) that has the same hole pattern as comb binding.
• Double Loop Binding – A generic term used for all wire binding.
• Twin Loop binding – Another generic term used for all wire binding.

Wire binding looks great. It holds up well and is available in a variety of colors. You may find our entire selection of wire binding supplies here.

You’ve probably seen them, homemade cookbooks that are passed around amongst friends and family. These cookbooks often contain some of the tastiest recipes and are a great way to keep popular recipes in the family. These homemade cookbooks are often printed right from a computer and later bound. What is the best way to bind a cookbook?

Of the three most common binding machine formats (coil, wire & comb), coil binding is by far the best method for binding cookbooks. Why is this? Coil (aka Spiral) binding is very durable and can be stacked next to other cookbooks without being damaged.

Unlike comb or wire bound documents, coil binding allows the reader to flip pages a complete 360 degrees. Coils are also available in multiple colors, allowing you to customize the look of the cookbook.  Be aware that coil machines & supplies come in different hole patterns (pitches). I personally like 4:1 pitch hole patters for cookbooks.

My recommendations for a coil-bound cookbook are as follows:

• A 4:1 pitch coil binding machine (5:1 pitch can be used) found here.
• Coil binding spirals (4:1 pitch) found here. A 5:1 pitch coil may be used if you have a 5:1 pitch machine.
• A clear cover for the front page. This will protect the book, but allow you to still see the front page. You may find our clear binding covers here.
• A card stock sheet to protect the back pages. You may find our card stock report covers here.

Most cookbook binding jobs aren’t going to be huge. If you are only binding 1-50 books, a manual coil-binding machine should be more than adequate. Read step-by-step instructions on how to use a coil binding machine here.

Have an additional question about binding a cookbook? Post a comment and I will answer it!

So you have a job that needs to be punched, but don’t quite have the budget for a paper drill? You could always try using a three-hole punch, but that will probably take you the rest of your life. Standard hole punches just don’t cut it (pardon the pun) when it comes to punching hundreds of sheets of paper.

In comes the industrial FP-1 single-hole paper punch. This manually operated single-hole punch is capable of punching through a stack of 300 sheets of paper in one pass. Because of the way the handle is designed, and the gears are positioned, it doesn’t take nearly as much manual effort to use as you might expect.

What if you need to three-hole punch a lot of paper? Simply punch one hole at a time. Punching one hole only takes a matter of seconds. Once one hole is punched, the stack can be slid and another hole may be punched.

The punch itself only weighs about 14 pounds, which means it can be easily moved from one area to another. Four different punching dies are available; depending on the diameter of hole you need for your job.

You may find the General Graphic FP-1 single-hole punch here.

Several customers have recently asked me which one of our corner rounders is the best. This question isn’t too hard for me to answer as I have been handling, using and selling corner rounders for 10 years. To start with, I can tell you hands down that Lassco and Akiles are by far the two most superior corner rounder manufacturers out there. Lassco is well known for its Cornerounder® line.

The corner rounder you use will ultimately depend on how many sheets you need to round, what you will be cutting and where you need to use it. Corner rounders come in desktop, floor model, manual, electric and pneumatic designs. For most corner rounding jobs, I would highly recommend the following models:

Top 5 Best Corner Rounders

1. Lassco CR-20 Cornerounder
2. Akiles Diamond-1 Corner Rounder
3. Lassco CR-50B Cornerounder
4. Lassco CR-50XP Pneumatic Cornerounder
5. Akiles Diamond-5 Industrial Corner Rounder

You may find our entire selection of corner rounders here.