When it comes to binding your documents you have
a lot of options. You can go the punch-and-bind route and bind your
work with plastic combs, wire spines, or color coils. You can go the
low-tech route and use either staples or a three-ring binder. Luckily, thermal binding is easy as long as you
know what to do. Here's how you do it:
When it comes to binding your documents you
have a lot of options. You can go the punch-and-bind route and bind your
work with plastic combs, wire spines, or color coils. You can go the
low-tech route and use either staples or a three-ring binder. Or you can
go all out and use a thermal binding machine if you want to make your
document look great. Luckily, thermal binding is easy as long as you
know what to do. Here's how you do it:
First,
you'll want to proofread and print out your document. Proofreading your
work is really important because it can be difficult to edit it after
it's been bound with a thermal binding machine. It will also make your
work more professional because it will be free of typos and grammatical
errors.
You now need to select the
thermal binding case you're going to be using. There are hardcover and
paperback cases available, and they can usually bind documents that are
up to 500 pages long. Hardcover cases will definitely make your work
stand out and they can often be customized by offset printing and
foil-stamping.
Now you can turn on
your thermal binding machine and let it heat up. Most machines need to
heat up for a few minutes before you can start using them. When the
device is ready to go, a light may go on or you might hear a beep. When
that happens, place your document in thermal binding cover, and make
sure all of the pages are in contact with the glue in the spine. Then
place it in the machine and run it through a binding cycle. This
shouldn't take longer than a couple of minutes.
When
your document has been bound, remove it from the machine tap it against
a hard surface, such as the edge of your desk. This helps the pages
settle so they won't fall out. If you used a hardcover case, you should
consider placing the document in a crimper which helps secure the
binding. Whatever you do, be sure to let the book cool off for a while
before you use it. This ensures that your book won't fall apart and it
can be referred to again and again.
Finally,
if you have multiple books to bind, just repeat the process as
necessary. Depending on how large your machine's throat is, you may be
able to bind more than one document at once which will really help you
save time.
As you can see,
it's pretty easy to create great-looking documents with a thermal
binding machine. It doesn't really take very long either so it's a
terrific method to use when you need to binding a lot of documents in a
short amount of time. The one thing you should keep in mind is that each
thermal binding machine is different, so consult the instruction manual
to see if there are any specific instructions for your device. Good
luck with your projects and happy binding!
Jeff McRitchie is the Vice-President of Marketing for MyBinding.com.
He regularly writes articles, reviews, and blog posts on topics related
to bookbinding, laminating, paper shredding, and office equipment. More
than 2,500 of his reviews have been published in thousands of locations
on the Internet. If you're looking for information about thermal binding machines, his articles are a great place to start.
