Are you having trouble settling on either comb or wire binding? Do you feel that you have reports, presentations or books that could benefit from both binding styles? If you are torn, or are having trouble making a decision, you should consider the Akiles WireMac-Combo. This book binding machine can be used to bind books using comb or wire. I have used this machine and this is my review.

Akiles is known for making some of the best binding machines out there. Having used over a dozen different models of Akiles machines myself, I can tell you that I personally like using them over GBC, Fellowes and many other brands. The build quality is simply some of the best I have ever seen in an office machine. The WireMac-Combo falls right in line with this tradition.

The WireMac-Combo is literally made from all-metal construction. Everything from the outer shell of the machine to the inner guts to the handles are made from metal. There are a few wood and plastic trim pieces, but I would say that at least 90% of the machine is made from metal. That really means something in a world where plastic seems to be replacing metal. Head to head, metal always wins over plastic.

The WireMac wire binding machine and the Akiles MegaBind are two great machines. The WireMac-Combo takes these two machines and smashes them into one unit. The end result is pure engineering genius. The WireMac-Combo has to separate and unique punching dies. One die punches paper in a 19-ring plastic comb hole pattern and the other punches paper using a 2:1 pitch or a 3:1 pitch hole pattern (depending on the version of the WireMac-Comb you go with).

Two separate punches mean you never have to worry about swapping out dies. Everything is right there in one machine. The WireMac-Combo also includes a manually operated wire close and a manually operated plastic comb opener / closer. While this may sound very complicated, and the picture of the machine may seem intimidating, it is actually pretty easy to use. Just remember, while there are 4 different handles on the machine, you will only ever use 2 of them when binding a book. Two of the handles are for wire and the other 2 are for comb.

The WireMac-Combo doesn’t just bind books using twin loop wire or plastic comb. It also includes a wide range of “luxury” features. This includes an adjustable margin depth (for the punches) and independent disengageable dies. This allows you to turn of individual punching pins, making custom book binding easy. This feature essentially cuts out the dreaded “half punched” hole. The base of the punching dies also feature a printed diagram showing you where the holes will be punched.

The WireMac-Combo also includes gauges, diagrams and tools that ensure proper binding. This includes a wire closing gauge that keeps the closer from under or over closing the wire.

This machine is excellent for use in an office or copy center. While a robust machine (20.5″ x 27″ x 20″), it will easily sit on most desks or tables. It is a little heavy, weighing in at 64 pounds, it can still be easily moved around by a couple of people.

Having used this machine, I would like to personally vouch for its quality and longevity. This machine is built to last and will easily hold up to daily use. Simply put, our customers love this machine.

You can find the Akiles WireMac-Combo wire and comb binding machine here and our entire selection of book binding machines here. Please do not hesitate to call us at 1-800-658-8788 with any questions.

If’ you’re binding children’s books, you probably want to use a format that is durable, tough and resilient. My 3-year-old son was recently given a book that was bound in twin-loop wire. As you might imagine, that book isn’t in such good shape anymore. When it comes to children’s books, a lot more needs to be taken into consideration than just looks. I will cover in this article the best binding machines you will want to use for binding kid’s books.

If you will be binding a child’s book using a binding element (i.e. Wire, Coil or Comb), you need something that is tough, can take an impact and will cut down on page tearing. The two most resilient binding formats are comb and coil. I’ll explain why I would personally use these binding styles for a kid’s book.

The one format I would never use is twin loop wire, unless you’re binding a teenager’s book. Wire, to put it simple, bends and looses its form when stepped on, thrown on the ground, stacked on with other books or is thrown in a backpack.  I have seen some books bound in thick-gauge twin loop wire. The thicker gauge stuff seems to hold up much better than your standard gauge twin loop wire.

As mentioned earlier, I would use comb or coil for a children’s book. Let me explain the benefits and the disadvantages of both.

COMB BINDING – This is my second choice for binding kid’s books. This format is made from tough plastic and will rarely break or bend. Comb binding supplies are cheap, costing very little for a box of 100 elements. Comb is also available in dozens of colors, making it a colorful choice for binding children’s books. The individual comb fingers are wide, providing added support to pages, making them tougher to accidentally rip out.

The biggest con to comb binding is the fact that combs can be re-opened, even without a machine. It is tough to do, and extremely unlikely to happen, but it is possible. I still don’t think this should count out comb binding.

Because you may be binding books smaller than 8 ½” x 11″, I would recommend that you use comb binder with selectable punching pins.

These are some comb binding machines I recommend for binding kid’s books:

• Intelli-Bind IB500 Comb Binding Machine
• Akiles EcoBind-C Plastic Comb Binding Machine
• Akiles AlphaBind-CM Comb Binding Machine

COIL BINDING – Coil binding is my first choice for binding kid’s books. Binding coils are made out of extremely durable PVC plastic. These coils won’t bend or break and can withstand the unforgiving wrath of a child. Binding coils are colorful, which kids like, and can be used to bind thick or thin books.

I personally recommend using 4:1 pitch coil for children’s books (4 holes per inch) as the wide hole pattern makes the pages harder to tear out. A 5:1 pitch hole pattern (5 holes per inch) have the holes too close together for kids, making the pages much easier to tear out.
As you will probably bind books in a wide range of sizes, I recommend using a coil-binding machine with disengagable punching pins and an electric coil inserter.

These are some coil binding machines I recommend for binding children’s books:

• Intelli-Bind IC310 Coil Binding Machine
• Akiles CoilMac-ER Spiral Binding Machine
• Akiles CoilMac-ECI Coil Binding Machine

Hopefully these recommendations help you in your book binding endeavors. We have decades of experience with book binding machines, so please feel free to call us at 1-800-658-8788 with any questions. You can find our entire selection of binding machines here.

When you bind a booklet, presentation or report, you typically expect that book to hold up for some time…right? You certainly don’t want paper ripping out as you turn pages. If your comb, coil or wire bound document is experiencing pages tearing out, premature wear, pages binding or overall difficulty in using a book bound in these formats, you’ll want to read this guide.

Comb, wire and coil binding are all three very distinct binding formats, but they all suffer from similar issues when a book is bound incorrectly. While binding a book is extremely easy to do, there are a few minor settings, if left ignored, can result in a complete failure of a binding job. Here are the two most common issues:

Pages Keep Tearing Out: If you have pages that seem to be tearing out of your book, you are probably experiencing issues with your margin depth, which is how far holes are punched into the paper. As a general rule, you want to punch holes deeper into the paper when binding thicker books. Thinner books can have the holes punched closer to the edge. If you punch holes close to the edge, while binding a thicker book, pages will eventually begin to tear out.

Many modern binding machines have a margin depth selector that will allow you to adjust how far into the paper the holes are punched based on the thickness of the book. Akiles machines are especially easy to use when it comes to adjusting the margin depth.

Unfortunately not all binding machines have a margin depth adjustment. If this is the case, you will either need to deal with the occasional page ripping out, bind thinner books or upgrade to a different machine.

Here are three great binding machines that feature an adjustable margin depth:

• Comb: Intelli-Bind IB500 Comb Binder
• Wire: Akiles WireMac Wire Binding Machine
• Coil: Intelli-Bind IC310 Coil Binder

Paper Binds When Turning Pages: If you’re experiencing issues turning the pages in your bound document, the guilty culprit is the binding element itself. What you are probably doing is using a binding comb, wire or coil that is too small for the paper you are binding. What you need to do is use a slightly larger diameter binding element.

Many binding machines now include a diameter selection guide. If you’re binding machine doesn’t have this feature, you can get a good idea on the diameter you need by looking at our supplies pages. Our binding supply pages feature the diameter and how many sheets it can bind.

Binding Supplies

• Comb Binding Supplies
• Wire Binding Supplies
• Coil Binding Supplies

Hopefully this guide helps you out and helps cut down on frustrations. If you are still experiencing issues with your binding machine, please feel free to give our Service Department a call at 1-800-658-8788 x129. If for any reason you need a new machine, you can find our entire selection of binding machines here.

Are you binding a cookbook, an instruction manual or perhaps even a photo album? One book binding format you should consider using is coil binding. Coil binding, often referred to as spiral binding, is the fastest growing binding format today. There are many reasons for this and I would like to cover all the pros and cons. I would also like to show you, with a video, how a coil binding machine works.

Coil binding is a format that uses tiny coils that look a lot like springs (found here). Other than the fact that coil binding coils are made from PVC plastic, they look almost identical to the spirals used in traditional spiral notebooks. PVC coils are available in different diameters, based on the thickness of the book you are binding, and come in a wide range of colors.

I personally think that coil binding looks very professional. I have personally used coil binding to bind instructional booklets and I have in my possession several cookbooks (family and neighborhood) that are bound in coil. Coil binding machines are affordable and can even be used at home. Popular brands include Akiles, Intelli-Bind and Tamerica.

I would like to now go over the pros:

• Durability – Because coil-binding elements are made from PVC plastic, they are extremely durable. The hold up well with continued use, easily survive being dropped and can even be stepped on without suffering any damage. Durability alone is a huge reason to consider using coil binding.
• Color – I have already mentioned this earlier, but coil binding comes in a variety of different colors. Popular colors include red, white, brown, green, blue, black and clear.  Custom colors are also available.
• Page Turns – A book bound in coil is extremely easy to use. The round holds, combined with round-shaped elements, make page turns extremely easy. Pages can be wrapped around a full 360 degrees and pages lay extremely flat.
• Speed – Binding a book with coil is extremely easy, especially if you have a machine that has an electric coil inserter. Simply punch the holes, insert the coils and crimp off the excess coil.

These are what I would consider to be the cons:

• Modifications – You cannot add or remove pages to a coil bound document without cutting off the end of the coil and spinning the coil back out. The coil cannot be re-used. If you are removing or adding pages, a new coil would have to be used. On the bright side, this makes coil binding semi tamper proof.
• Stability – Because coils are floppy and unstable, they don’t provide a lot of added stability to a book like comb or Velobind does. Your books stability is dependent entirely on the pages being bound. This isn’t a huge deal for most people.

Here is a video demo of a coil binding machine in use:

In conclusion, coil binding is one of my favorite formats. It looks good, is functional and can be used for binding books as simple as a cookbook or as professional as a business proposal. You will find coil binding machines in schools, churches, homes and businesses.

You can find our entire selection of coil binding machines here. Please feel free to call us at 1-800-658-8788 with any questions.

Coil binding looks good. It’s classy, can be used to bind a wide range of documents and is extremely functional. Coil binding (aka Spiral Binding) is available in two different hole patterns. These are 4:1 pitch (four holes per inch) and 5:1 pitch (five holes per inch). Four-to-one pitch coil is the most popular format used. Why is this? I’ll explain.

Let me go into a few more details about specifically what the differences are between 4:1 pitch and 5:1 pitch coil. I’ll start off with 4:1 pitch coil.

4:1 Pitch Coils (0.25″) – When used on 11″ paper, you typically end up with a total of 43 to 44 holes, depending on how the punching die is aligned. Outside the United States, this pattern is referred to as a 6mm hole pattern. Supplies are available in diameters ranging from ¼” (6mm) up to 1 ¼” (32mm). Some larger diameter coils are available, but less common.

5:1 Pitch Coils - This hole pattern produces about 54-55 holes along the 11″ side of a sheet of paper. Outside the United States this is known as a 5mm hole pattern. Supplies are available in diameters ranging from ¼” (6mm) up to 13/16″ (20mm). While some larger diameter coils are available, they are generally not used or recommended due to the tight hole alignment of the 5:1 pitch pattern.

So why is 4:1 pitch more popular? The 4:1 pitch hole pattern is more widely used because it can be used to bind more paper. The wider gap in the holes makes it possible to bind thicker books without the pages binding together (easier page turns).

Which hole pattern should you use? The hole pattern you use will depend on personal preference and functionality. If you like the tighter hole pattern, and are aware of the 13/16″ diameter limitation, you may want to consider a 5:1 pitch pattern. If you are unsure and don’t have a preference, 4:1 pitch is more versatile and more common.

Oval or Round? – Akiles, one of the best-known manufacturers of coil binding machines, recently released a 4:1 Plus pitch hole pattern (0.248″). These holes are oval in shape. The advantage to the oval shape is that coil supplies are supposed to more easily spin through the holes. While they may be easier for coil insertion, you probably won’t notice a huge difference.

Metal or PVC? While you can buy spiral notebooks that are bound using metal coils, in-house coil binding is done by using spiral PVC coils. PVC coils are now the most prominent and widely used supply used for coil binding. PVC coils are popular because they are available in a wide range of colors, are extremely durable and are easier for use with a spiral binding machine.

I hope this helps clarify coil binding for you. If you still have questions, please feel free to call one of our book binding specialist at 1-800-658-8788.

You can find our entire selection of coil binding machines here and our entire selection of coil binding supplies here.

If you like to bind books, or need to quickly bind presentations and reports on the go, you probably need a portable book binding machine. While there are a lot of binding machines available, few of them can be easily picked up and moved from one location to another. This article will cover some of the most portable book binding machines available.

One important thing to be aware of, when shopping for a probable binding machine, is to realize that most portable machines are designed for light use or occasional use. I would put that at about 10-20 books a day. This is more than adequate if you are binding reports and presentations on the go. Portable binding machines are also almost always manually operated, with electric machines being too heavy to easily carry in a bag or move around.

I am going to list the top 10 best portable book binding machines. This list will include the three most common bookbinding formats; these being comb, wire and coil.

Top 10 Best Portable Book Binding Machines (Listed Alphabetically)

1. Akiles iCoil 41 Coil Binding Machine
2. Akiles iCoil 41 Plus Coil Binding Machine
3. Akiles iWire 21 Wire Binding Machine
4. Akiles iWire 31 Wire Binding Machine
5. Fellowes Star Comb Binding Machine
6. Fellowes Starlet Comb Binding Machine
7. Intelli-Bind IC110 Coil Binding Machine
8. Intelli-Bind IB150 Comb Binding Machine
9. SircleBind CB-60 Comb Binding Machine
10. SircleBind WR-60 Wire Binding Machine

These book binding machines are all lightweight and very portable. Many of them even include handles that fold up for added portability and convenience. The Akiles line of iWire and iCoil machines are especially nice as they fold completely up and include everything you need (minus supplies) to get up and going.

You can find our entire selection of book binding machines here.

I have spoken with many people who were looking for a binding machine, but had one small (yet very important) requirement. They wanted to be able to add or remove pages from their bound document later down the road. While this can be done, the binding style you use will be the ultimate determining factor on your post-binding modification capabilities.

So which book binding styles and formats are easiest and hardest for debinding? I am going to cover comb, wire, coil, Velobind and thermal binding and their debinding properties. Hopefully this will help you in your decision to buy a book binding machine.

Binding Machine Debind Capabilities

Comb Binding – Comb binding may be one of the best debind binding formats. This is because the plastic combs used in comb binding can easily be re-opened and closed over and over again. The spines themselves can easily be removed from old documents and be re-applied to new documents.

Wire Binding – Wire binding is probably one of the least friendly debind binding formats. Wire that has been closed can be removed, but it will be completely ruined in the process. Wire can then be re-applied to the document, but it will require a new binding element.

Coil Binding – Coil binding elements (aka spirals) are very easy to remove from documents, but cannot be re-used. Simply snip off the end of the coil and spin it back out of the holes. A new coil can then be re-inserted through the holes. I have personally had to do this myself after discovering that my bound document needed a few additional pages.

Velobinding – The Velobind process produces a very permanent bind. While there are some Velobind debind tools available, the process can potentially destroy the document. I’ll explain.

I’ll use the GBC VeloBind System Three as an example. This machine has a built-in debind feature. You essentially place your bound document in the machine and it will re-warm the 11 sealed posts and make them soft, allowing the back strip to be pulled off. The only problem is that the ends of the posts, after the back strip is removed, end up in a “mushroom” positing that can tear up the Velobind punched holes as the posts are removed. I have seen it work and fail. I don’t recommend Velobind if you intend to remove or re-add pages later down the road.

Thermal Binding – Thermal binding uses hot glue that literally soaks into paper to keep it attached to the spine. As a result, the pages cannot be removed without tearing them out. You’re best result for re-binding thermally bound documents is to cut off the spine by using a stack cutter. Those pages can later be re-bound, although they’ll be about 1/8″ to ¼” shorter in width. My verdict on thermal binding and debinding: Possible? Yes. Practical? No.

In conclusion, comb binding is probably going to be your best bet for adding and removing pages. Hopefully these tips will help you find the right binding machine. As you can see, some binding machines have better debind capabilities than other machines. You can find our entire selection of book binding machines here.

If you still have some questions that are not addressed in this article, please feel free to call 1-800-658-8788 for more advice and information. Our Customer Service Associates are extremely knowledgeable and courteous.

When shopping around for a coil binding machine, you more than likely want to get the best machine for your money. While we would all like a fully automated machine, budgets often do not allow for such luxuries. One great compromise is a semi-automated coil binding machine with an electric coil inserter. One such machine is the Akiles CoilMac-ECI 4:1 coil binding machine. I recently had a chance to play around with one.

If I were to come up with a top 5 best coil binding machines list, the CoilMac-ECI would easily be one of the top two models. To begin with, the CoilMac-ECI is a solid coil binding machine. It is made from durable metal construction. While the punching is manually done, coil insertion is done via an electric coil inserter that spins coils through punched holes.

The coil inserter on the CoilMac-ECI isn’t a puny or scaled back. It runs almost the entire width of the machine, powered by a powerful motor. Many cheaper machines with inserters use low-quality motors. Everything used to build the CoilMac-ECI appears to be of the highest grade quality.

The CoilMac-ECI is now also available in a “Plus” version. The CoilMac-ECI Plus is pretty much the same machine as the standard CoilMac-ECI with the only differences being that the “Plus” punches oval holes instead of round holes and features disengaging punching pins on all the punching dies. Both machines are of equal quality.

As mentioned earlier, I had a chance to use the CoilMac-ECI. We ended up shooting a video of it, which you can find here:

As you can see, the end results look extremely professional. You can use the Akiles CoilMac-ECI to bind booklets, cookbooks, reports, presentations and much more. It is an extremely versatile machine. It literally only takes a few minutes, from start to finish, to complete a booklet.

I recommend this machine for use in schools, churches and businesses. Having sold these machines for years, I can vouch for the fact that the CoilMac-ECI has an excellent track record. You won’t be disappointed.

You can find the Akiles CoilMac-ECI coil binding machine here and our entire selection of coil binding machines here.

Most coil binding machines look the same. This isn’t a bad thing, although quality does vary from one model to another. What most people want in a coil binding machine is simplicity, durability and quality. You get all three of these features in the new Intelli-Bind IC21E electric coil binding machine from Intelli-Zone. This is my review.

Intelli-Bind is a well-known brand of book binding machines, comparable to Tamerica and Akiles in functionality and quality. They currently make coil, comb and wire binding machines. Intelli-Bind is most known for its value. You can get a lot of machine for very little money.

The Intelli-Bind IC21E is a very unique coil binding machine, much different in appearance and use than comparable machines. To begin with, it doesn’t look like a binding machine. Having used this machine myself, I have to say that it almost looks closer in appearance to a printer. Simply put, it blends in well with existing office equipment.

The IC21E is an extremely compact and unobtrusive machine. Most binding machines feature a horizontal punch accompanied by a handle. If equipped, disengageable dies are usually exposed and in the open. The IC21E has a paper punch that literally folds up when not in use. When folded up, the disengageable dies are also covered. When ready, the punch opening can be pulled down and binding can begin. Not only is this design sleek, it helps keep dust out of critical machine components.

This binding machine features an electric punch that can handle up to 20 sheets of paper at a time. Because it is electric, punching capacity doesn’t depend on the strength of the operator. Simply insert your paper and press the punch button. In a few seconds, the paper will be punched and you can move along to the next stack of paper.

The electric punch punches paper in a 4:1 pitch hole pattern. This hole pattern is the most common used today, with supplies readily available. This equals out to 4 holes per inch of paper. Each of the 46 punching pins can be individually disabled, allowing for precise and professional custom book sizes. This also helps cut down on half-punched holes.  The finished results look great.

The punch on the Intelli-Bind IC21E can be easily adjusted to accommodate various book thicknesses. This is due in large part to the adjustable margin depth. A dial, located on the right side of the machine, makes margin depth adjustments extremely easy. Directly below the margin depth dial is the waste paper tray.

Once paper has been punched, coils can quickly be inserted through the holes by means of a built-in electric coil inserter. Simply manually feed the coil through the first 3-4 holes and let the inserter do the rest. The inserter spins coils through the holes in just seconds. Once inserted, excess coil can quickly be cut and crimped.

From start to finish, books can be bound on the IC21E in just minutes. It can bind books ranging in thickness from about ¼” up to 1 ¼”. It is versatile, practical and bet of all it’s affordable. I highly recommend this machine for medium-volume coil binding operations.

You can find the Intelli-Bind IC21E electric coil binding machine here and our entire selection of coil binding machines here.

I’ve been asked a few times what my favorite book binding format is. While this isn’t the opinion of ABC Office as a company, I do have a preferred binding format that I really like to use for my own booklets. That format is coil binding. Here are a few reasons why I like coil bound books.

I have to say that my top reason for my coil binding preference is the durability of the format. Modern coil binding machines use PVC coils. These coils are almost indestructible. When you’ve tucked bound reports in backpacks, shoved them in piles of books or thrown them in the back of a car, you truly begin to respect coil binding.

The second reason I really like coil bound books is the color selection. You can get PVC coils in just about any color you want. Common coil colors include red, blue, black, white, brown and much more. This great color selection allows coils to easily blend and match with binding covers.

The third reason I like coil is accessibility. Coil bound books are probably the easiest when it comes to page turns. The pages slide along the smooth coil spines without any issues. I think pages are easier to turn that comb or wire and are much easier to turn than VeloBind. Coil bound pages can also wrap around an entire 360 degrees, which is awesome for manuals, instructional booklets, cookbooks and more.

The fourth reason I like coil is speed. Binding books with coil is extremely fast, especially when done on a machine that includes an electric coil inserter. Simply punch your paper, insert the coil and crimp off the ends. I can personally bind a ¼” thick booklet in less than a minute with coil.

Manufacturers, like Akiles and Intelli-Zone, make some solid coil binding machines. A reliable machine is a huge plus, and with coil binding, quality machines are plentiful. You can find our entire selection of coil binding machines here.

Do you have questions about coil binding? Feel free to speak with one of our coil binding specialists by calling 1-800-658-8788.