In the digital age, small businesses still need bound documents. Brochures that promote your company, handouts for trade shows and a well-crafted business plan all require a clean, professional look on high quality stock with a durable binding. By creating these collateral pieces DIY, you can save money. Here are some tips for selecting a binding machine that will work best for your business needs.

Don’t Skimp on Binding Capacity

When shopping for your binding machine, your frugal self may lean to a smaller, personal machine. These types of machines are typically used for household projects and may not meet your professional binding demands. True, these types of machines are less expensive, but ultimately you lose time (which is money) considering the number of documents you may need to bind for a project in the future.

Choose a binding machine with a binding capacity of 120-150 pages or more for business applications. Your initial binding project may not require that many pages,  but a binding machine, like all your office equipment, is an investment in the future of your business. Anticipate bigger binding projects that will require thicker documents. While the average presentations for client meetings with numerous pages.  Though the  average length of a business plan is only about 20 pages, there will still be company brochures, product catalogs or legal service agreements in your company’s future that will definitely exceed the capacity of smaller machines. Be sure your machine has the versatility to scale with your business, handling both small and large binding projects as your business grows.

Upgrade Your Punch Capacity

Like increased binding capacity, higher punch capacity makes binding more productive. Punching more pages at once, eliminates the need to punch documents in sections, which will need to be collated later for binding. Look for a binding machine with a capacity of 20 sheets or more. Though there will be instances when you may need to produce smaller documents, you need to invest in a machine that is capable to ramp up to greater demands. You don’t want to be slowed down as you approach a critical deadline.

Centering and Alignment Guides Save Time and Frustration

Ensuring each punched document is centered can be difficult without a guide. Be sure to select a binding machine with an enhanced accuracy edge guide so you minimize the waste of mis-punched decks.

Selecting A Versatile Binding Type

Comb binding is the most commonly used for most small businesses. Combs are both affordable and durable and come in a variety of colors to make an impressive presentation. Comb binding is also extremely versatile, as the comb can be opened up after binding is complete, so pages in a report can be removed, added or switched up–a great feature that helps with last minute changes to a client-facing doc.

Utilizing Binding Cover Colors for Organization

Defining certain color themes for certain documents you present helps keep your most commonly used bound documents easily organized. When your sales reports are always represented by olive covers and your leave behinds are always blue,  your access to essential collateral pieces becomes faster and easier. Also consider matching the color of the comb binding with the cover for a completely color-coordinated look to key company show pieces.

Learn more about binding for your business.