I had a customer ask me a few days ago if we sold Cerlox binding supplies. The question floored me. I thought I had heard about every style and type of binding ever made. After digging around, and doing a little research, I discovered that I was not only familiar with Cerlox binding machines and supplies, I had used them for over 10 years.

To my surprise, I discovered that Cerlox (sometimes spelled Surelox or Surlox) binding is actually 19-ring comb binding. Same thing. No difference. If you ever have someone ask you to purchase or track down Cerlox binding supplies, you now know that comb binding supplies will do the trick. It’s much like calling a car an automobile and vice versa.

I can now safely say that we offer Cerlox binding supplies (found here). At ABC Office we offer a huge selection of comb binding machines, both manual and electric. Popular Cerlox brands (can’t help myself) include Fellowes, GBC, Ibico, Akiles, Tamerica, Intelli-Bind and Renz.

This style of binding is extremely popular because the supplies are cheap, readily available and can re-used over and over. It allows for pages to be added and removed and the supplies come in several different colors and diameters.

I have seen people use comb for binding cookbooks, presentations, photo albums, short stories, reports and books. Binding combs come in 11” lengths (19 rings) for letter-size paper and 297mm lengths (21 rings) for A4 paper. You can find our entire selection of Cerlox binding machines here and Cerlox biding supplies here.

You’re probably seen them at the library or on your own bookshelf at home, old tattered paperback books that are beginning to lose pages. These beat up books often end up in the garbage, deemed by the owner to be too far beyond repair. It is possible, however, to breath life back into those old paperback books. I will explain how.

The reason I am writing about rebinding paperback books is due to a conversation I had with a customer. They were looking to rebind old paperback books. They wanted to do this as part of a business. Here are the steps I explained to the customer, which you can use, to rebind a paperback book.

Paperback books are bound using a method referred to as perfect binding. Essentially the pages of the book are run through a machine that applies glue to the backside (spine) of the paper. These pages then rest on a cover that is then wrapped around the book.

Rebinding paperback books using perfect binding is cost prohibitive. This is why comb and coil have become the binding formats of choice when it comes to rebinding paperback books. The method (comb or coil) will depend on personal preference. Comb biding and coil binding are usually chosen for rebinding due to their durability. Both plastic comb and PVC coil are next to indestructible.

Paperback Rebinding Steps

1. First you’re going to want to cut off the old tattered spine of the paperback book. This is usually done by using a stack paper cutter. Stack cutters, depending on the model, can slice through ½” to 3″ of paper at a time.
2. Now that the old spine has been cut off, you will want to begin comb punching or coil punching the paper. If the cover is still good, go ahead and use it. If the front and back covers are beyond repair, you may need to replace them with cover stock.
3. Once all the holes have been punched, the new binding element may be inserted.



4. If you are using comb, use the comb opener to open the comb and insert spine through the now comb-punched pages. Now close the comb. You’re paperback book is now solid again and has a brand new comb spine.
5. If you are using coil, spin the coil through the punched holes on the paperback book and crimp off the excess coil. You now have a rebound paperback book using coil.

The end results look great. The information in those books is now accessible and easy to read again.

Be aware that I recommend using a book binding machine with disengageable (selectable) punching dies. This helps cut down on half-punched holes and will ultimately result in a better bound paperback book.

You can find our entire selection of comb binding machines here and coil binding machines here. You can find our entire selection of stack paper cutters here. Good luck! I hope you are all able to use this tips to breath new life back into your old books!

Are you looking for a book binding machine, but have absolutely no idea where to start? Welcome to the club. I’d say at least half of the customers I talk to, who need a binding machine, have no idea where to start. With so many great choices out there, I can’t say I blame you. Here are a few tips on how you can get the best binding machine.

To begin with, there are three main types of binding. These binding formats are comb, wire and coil. Sure there are a few specialized binding formats out there such as Velobind and Proclick, but they don’t even come close to touching the 90% plus market share comb, wire and coil have.

I am going to cover the pros and the cons of all three binding formats. Hopefully, after reading this guide, you will have a better idea as to which binding machine you should get.

Comb, Wire & Coil Pros & Cons

Comb - Comb binding is still probably one of the most popular binding formats used today.

• Pros – Comb binding is the most affordable binding format today. The supplies are very inexpensive. They are available in a wide variety of color, are very durable, allow the operator to add or remove pages and they can be re-used over and over.
• Cons – Some people think comb binding has a “cheap” look that isn’t adequate for professional repots and presentations. This is a matter of opinion, but something you should take into consideration.

Wire – Wire binding is one of the most popular binding formats used today for creating presentations and reports. It isn’t uncommon to even find storybooks bound in double-loop wire (aka twin-loop wire).

• Pros – Wire looks great, plain and simple. When done right, there aren’t any other “element” binding formats that look as professional. Wire comes in a variety of different colors and is available in a 2:1 (two holes per inch) and 3:1 (three holes per inch) hole pattern.
• Cons - The biggest con with wire is the durability factor. Because the double-loop wire binding elements are made from metal, they can bend. Pages cannot be added or removed with wire.

Coil – Coil binding (aka spiral binding) is one of the most popular binding formats used today for creating books, cookbooks, manuals, albums and textbooks.

• Pros – Coil is probably the most durable binding element around. Made from PVC plastic, coils come in a variety of different colors. One of the biggest benefits of coil is the ability for coil-bound books to open a full 360 degrees. Coil comes in 4:1 (four holes per inch) and 5:1 (five holes per inch) hole patterns.
• Cons – Coil binding does not allow pages to be added or removed. Coil binding has a slightly longer learning curve due to the use of coil crimping pliers.

So there you have it, the biggest pros and cons with comb, wire and coil binding. You can find our entire selection of book binding machines here. If you’re having trouble settling on any one binding format, we do offer multi-format binding machines found here. Feel free to call us at 1-800-658-8788 with any book binding questions you may have. Happy binding!

Are you on a budget and need an affordable book binding machine? Perhaps you can’t settle on one single binding format. If either of these situations apply to you, you may want to take a look at the SircleBind WB-110 comb and wire binding machine. This is my review.

SircleBind (from Sircle) has only been around for a few years, but their machines have sent ripples through the binding industry. SircleBind machines are some of the most affordable today and are compared to the quality of GBC. Most of SircleBind’s machines are feature rich when compared to similarly priced machines.

The SircleBind WB-110 is both a comb and a wire-binding machine. It includes both a 3:1 pitch (three holes per inch) punch and a 19-ring comb punch. It also includes a wire closer and a comb opener. Essentially it has everything you need, start to finish, to bind a book in wire or comb. The only thing it doesn’t include is the supplies and the paper.

This machine is capable of punching through 12 sheets of standard 20# paper. This amount will decrease with card stock, but the WB-110 can still be used to punch card stock and clear covers. Multiple punches will be required to bind a book, but the process is pretty quick.

One thing I really like about the punches on the Wb-110 is the vertical punch. Most binding machines punch paper horizontally. The vertical punch makes it easier to punch paper evenly and keep the edges properly aligned. This is all done thanks to gravity.

One of the most unusual features in the WB-110 is the wire debinding feature. While comb is easy to open up, wire isn’t. The WB-110 has a wire opener that allows you to remove the wire binding element. While the re-opened wire can’t be re-used, this is a nice feature to have if you need to re-bind a book.

The WB-110 only weighs in at 18 pounds, so it is easy to move around and can easily be placed on just about any desk or table. This machine doesn’t look half-bad either. I think it looks pretty nice sitting on a desk.

Overall I consider the SircleBind WB-110 to be a great budget binding machine. Keep in mind that the SircleBind WB-110 is designed for low and entry-level binding. This means the WB-110 is perfect for home and small business use, but should not be used for large book binding production.

You can find the SircleBind WB-110 comb and wire binding machine here. You can find our entire selection of binding machines here.

Is it possible to do custom book binding by using a comb binding machine? This is a question a customer recently presented me last week. Is it possible? Yes. I will explain exactly what you need.

In this situation, the customer wanted to bind a booklet that was only 4-inches long. The customer wanted to use comb binding because of affordability. Comb binding continues to be one of the most affordable book binding formats available today.

She told me it was for a family reunion and she wanted to include pictures, a few family recipes and other mementos. She wanted the book to be smaller because she thought it looked more unique and cute.

Here is what I recommended:

• Comb Binding Machine – I recommended that she use a comb binding machine with selectable punching pins. This makes it possible to punch holes in smaller paper without half-punched holes on the edges. In this case I recommended the Akiles EcoBind-C (found here). It fit the volume she was binding and is one of the best quality machines in its class.
• Comb Binding Supplies – I told her she would need to purchase standard 11-inch comb binding supplies and cut them down to the 4-inch size she needed. You can get two 4-inch combs out of an 11-inch comb. She was concerned it wouldn’t look good. I informed her that many people use scissors or paper cutters to cut down combs and it looks great.
• Book Binding Covers – I recommended that she use a card stock back and a clear cover. The card stock cover on the back looks classy and the clear cover on the front would make it possible to see the cover sheet on her booklet.

There you have it. It isn’t very complicated. The binding machine is the biggest investment, but ultimately will last for years, easily making up the cost when compared to outsourcing the project. Comb binding supplies are just pennies on the dollar per piece.

Do you still have questions about custom comb binding? Call us at 1-800-658-8788 to speak with one of our specialists. You are also more than welcome to post your question in a comment. Have a great day!

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!