Hole punch
Encyclopedia
Office supplies
Office supplies is the generic term that refers to all supplies regularly used in offices by businesses and other organizations, from private citizens to governments, who work with the collection, refinement, and output of information .The term includes small, expendable, daily use items such as...
that is used to create holes in sheets of paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
, often for the purpose of collecting the sheets in a binder
Ring binder
Ring binders are folders in which punched pieces of paper may be held by means of clamps running through the holes in the paper...
or folder.
The origins of the hole punch date back to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
via Matthias Theel, where two early patents for a device designed to "punch holes in paper" have since been discovered. Friedrich Soennecken
Friedrich Soennecken
Friedrich Soennecken , was an entrepreneur and inventor. He was the founder of Soennecken, a German office supplier....
made his patent on November 14, 1886, for his Papierlocher für Sammelmappen.
Mechanism
Lever
In physics, a lever is a rigid object that is used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to either multiply the mechanical force that can be applied to another object or resistance force , or multiply the distance and speed at which the opposite end of the rigid object travels.This leverage...
which is used to push a bladed cylinder straight through a number of sheets of paper. As the vertical
Vertical direction
In astronomy, geography, geometry and related sciences and contexts, a direction passing by a given point is said to be vertical if it is locally aligned with the gradient of the gravity field, i.e., with the direction of the gravitational force at that point...
travel distance of the cylinder is only a few millimeters, it can be positioned within a centimeter of the lever fulcrum. For low volume hole punches, the resulting lever need not be more than 8 cm for sufficient force.
Two paper guides are needed to line up the paper: one opposite where the paper is inserted, to set the margin distance, and one on an adjacent side.
Hole punches for industrial volumes — hundreds of sheets — feature very long lever arms, but function identically.
Another mechanism uses hollowed drills which are lowered by a screwing action into the paper. The paper is cut and forced up into the shaft of the drill to be later discarded as tightly packed columns. This method allows a small machine to cut industrial volumes of paper with little effort.
Standards
ISO 838
The most common standard for the dimensions and location of filing holes punched in paper is International Standard ISOInternational Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
838. Two holes with a diameter of 6±0.5 mm are punched into the paper. The centers of these holes are 80±0.5 mm apart and have a distance of 12±1 mm to the nearest edge of the paper. The holes are located symmetrically in relation to the axis of the sheet or document.
Any paper format that is at least 100 mm high (e.g., ISO A7 and larger) can be filed using this system. A printed document with a margin of 20–25 mm will accommodate ISO 838 filing holes.
4-hole extension ("888")
A four-hole extension is also commonly used. The two middle holes are punched in accordance with ISO 838, and so paper punched with the four holes can be filed in binders that are consistent with ISO 838. The two additional holes are located 80 mm above and below these. The use of two additional holes provides more stability. This extension is sometimes referred to as the "888" system, because of the three 8-cm gaps between the holes. Some 2-hole punches have an "888" marking on their paper guide, to assist punching all four holes into A4 paper.1 Hole Punch
According to Shaugho Punchers Inc., the ideal 1 Hole Punch places the centre of the hole punched at 1.0 cm in from the left of a page and 4.0 cm down from the top of a page. According to Killeen Co., the punched hole should between 0.9 cm and 1.1 cm from the left hand side of a page and between 3.9 cm and 4.1 cm from the top of a page.3-hole system
In regions that use the U.S. "Letter" paper format (8.5" x 11" or 216×279 mm; United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and in part Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
), a three-hole standard is widely used. The holes are positioned symmetrically, with the centres 108 mm (4-1/4 in) apart. The diameter of the holes varies between manufacturers, with typical values being 6–8 mm (1/4 to 5/16 inch). (The 5/16 value is most commonly used, as it allows for more variation in both ring binder and paper punching.) The distance of the hole center to the paper edge also varies, with 12 mm (1/2 inch) being a typical value. Unlike ISO 838, this 3-hole system appears to have no well-established exact specification. It can only be applied to paper formats that are at least 240 mm high.
2-hole filebinder
Another standard also occasionally used in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is a filebinder system. Its two holes are positioned symmetrically, with the centres 70 mm (2-3/4 inch) apart.
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, a four-hole national standard is almost exclusively used. The centres of the holes are 21mm, 70mm and 21 mm apart. The guides help keep the paper in a straight line.
The official name of this four-hole system is triohålning since it was adapted to the "Trio binder" which was awarded Swedish patent in 1890. The binder's inventor Andreas Tengwall supposedly named it after a consortium consisting of himself and two companions, i.e., a trio.
Single hole punches
Ticket (admission)
A ticket is a voucher that indicates that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has...
, which indicates its credit has been used, and to make confetti
Confetti
Confetti is a multitude of pieces of paper, mylar or metallic material which is usually thrown at parades and celebrations, especially weddings . Confetti is made in a variety of colors, and commercially available confetti is available in imaginative shapes...
when creating scrapbook
Scrapbook
Scrapbook can refer to:* Scrapbooking, the process of making a scrapbook* Scrapbook , a Mac OS application* Scrapbook , a Switchblade Symphony album* Scrapbook * ScrapBook, a Firefox extension...
s and other paper crafts. For applications needing a variety of hole shapes, a ticket punch
Ticket punch
A ticket punch is a hand tool for permanently marking admission tickets and similar items of paper or card stock. It makes a perforation and a corresponding chad. A ticket punch resembles a hole punch, differing in that the ticket punch has a longer jaw and the option of having a distinctive...
may be used. A single hole punch differs from a ticket punch
Ticket punch
A ticket punch is a hand tool for permanently marking admission tickets and similar items of paper or card stock. It makes a perforation and a corresponding chad. A ticket punch resembles a hole punch, differing in that the ticket punch has a longer jaw and the option of having a distinctive...
in having a shorter reach and no choice of hole shape.
In the United States, single hole punches are often used to punch holes through playing cards, rendering them "used." This helps cut down on cheating by eliminating any cards that may have been tainted by players. Paper drilling
Paper drilling
Paper drilling is a technique used in trade binderies for providing large quantities of paper with round holes. The paper can be processed as loose leafs and in brochures . The holes usually serve for storage , sometimes for decorative purposes.- Terminology :Paper drilling describes a technology...
is also popular for this purpose.
Eyelet punch
A related office tool is the eyelet punch. This is a single-hole punch which also presses a metal fastening loop around the hole. It is used to permanently secure a few sheets of paper together which must not be separated or modified.A similar tool, generally known as a holing pincer, is used in animal husbandry. A common application is to attach an ear tag to a livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
animal.
Multiple hole punches
Multiple hole punches typically make between one and eight holes at one time, the placement of which matches the spacing of the rings in a binder. For example the filofaxFilofax
Filofax is a company based in the UK that produces a range of well known personal organizer wallets. The organizers are traditionally leather bound and have a six-ring loose-leaf binder system. The design originated at Lefax, a United States company based in Philadelphia who exported products into...
system uses six holes in two groups of three.
To prepare documents for comb binding
Comb binding
Comb binding is one of many ways to bind pages together into a book. This method utilizes round plastic spines with 19 rings or 21 rings and a hole puncher that makes rectangular holes...
there are 19-hole punches for letter paper and 23-hole punches for A4 paper.
With a few exceptions, two-hole and four-hole punches consistent with ISO 838 are the norm.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
the three-hole punch is most common. Less frequently seen is the two-hole filebinder punch.
There are office models available for the perforation of 1 to 150 sheets of paper, and industrial models for up to 470 sheets. Most multiple-hole and many single-hole punches accumulate the waste paper circles (chads
Chad (paper)
Chad refers to paper fragments created when holes are made in a paper, card or similar synthetic materials, typically computer punched tape or punched cards. Sometimes chad has been used as a mass noun or as a countable noun, and the plural is commonly either "chad" or "chads"...
) in a chamber, which must be periodically emptied in order to facilitate the continued operation of the punch.
Paper drills
Paper drills are machines similar to a drill press that use hollow drill bitDrill bit
Drill bits are cutting tools used to create cylindrical holes. Bits are held in a tool called a drill, which rotates them and provides torque and axial force to create the hole. Specialized bits are also available for non-cylindrical-shaped holes....
s to drill through stacks of paper. The hollow bit design allows the chads to be ejected during drilling. Paper drills in the United States are most commonly either single-hole or three-hole in construction.
See also
- Needle punch
- Punched cardPunched cardA punched card, punch card, IBM card, or Hollerith card is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions...
- Punched tapePunched tapePunched tape or paper tape is an obsolete form of data storage, consisting of a long strip of paper in which holes are punched to store data...
- PerforationPerforationA perforation is a small hole in a thin material or web. There is usually more than one perforation in an organized fashion, where all of the holes are called a perforation...
- Ticket punchTicket punchA ticket punch is a hand tool for permanently marking admission tickets and similar items of paper or card stock. It makes a perforation and a corresponding chad. A ticket punch resembles a hole punch, differing in that the ticket punch has a longer jaw and the option of having a distinctive...