In that past, shopping for a binding machine could prove to be extremely challenging. Many customers have seen different binding styles on the market and would like to try them out. However, since all three of the major binding styles on the market use different hole patterns, customers were forced to choose a single binding style or buy multiple binding machines . Without spending thousands of dollars customers were not able to bind documents using Plastic Combs , Twin Loop Wire and Spiral Coil . However, using theGBC C500 binding machine , consumers can now bind all three types of documents.

The difficulty in using one machine to do different types of binding is that most binding styles use different hole patterns. Plastic Comb Binding machines punch a rectangular hole pattern with 19 holes for an 11” document. Twin loop wire binding machines that bind smaller documents (up to 9/16” thick) punch a square or round hole pattern with 32 holes for an 11” document. Most color coil or spiral coil binding machines punch a 4:1 pitch hole pattern with four holes per inch (either 43 or 44 holes for an 11” document). This is why it is so difficult to use one binding machine to bind all three styles.

The GBC CombBind C500 binding machine punches both the 19 hole pattern for comb binding and the 32 hole pattern for twin loop wire binding. There are simply two punching slots on the C500, one for comb binding and one for wire binding. The GBC C500 also includes a simple twin loop wire closer for wire binding and a plastic comb opener for comb binding. This covers two of the three major binding styles leaving only spiral coil remaining.

Using the GBC CombBind C500 binding machine to bind documents with color coil simply involves buying the right supplies and a pair of coil crimping pliers. Since the C500 has the ability to punch a 3:1 pitch round hole pattern it is fully compatible with 3:1 pitch spiral coil. Although most of the spiral coil that you find on the market is 4:1 pitch (4 holes per inch), 3:1 pitch binding coil is readily available at MyBinding.com in over 25 sizes and 60 colors. You simply punch your document using the 3:1 pitch punching slot, spin the coil onto your document and use your coil crimping pliers to cut and crimp the coil so that it won’t spin off the book. Now you can use your C500 to bind documents with spiral coil.

In addition to comb binding, wire binding and coil binding the C500 is also fully compatible with the GBC ProClick binding style and the GBC ZipBind binding style. Thus, one machine can be used to bind books with five different binding styles. No other machine is more versatile and the C500 sells for less than $600.