What is Coil Binding? Spiral Bind FAQs.

What is Coil Binding?

Coil binding is a popular punch-and-bind method of document binding that uses a spiraled coil (hence the name) spun through punched pages, and then crimped in on the ends. The crimping prevents the coil from rolling out of your book once bound.

When buying coil bindings in the US, they are almost always made of plastic. Metal coil binding spines are still being manufactured outside of the US, however, they are becoming less and less popular. Plastic coil binding is the more popular solution.

Some of the best things about coil include:

• Flexibility - Because the coils are made of a flexible plastic, you can bend them every which way, and they will bounce back to their original shape.
• Durability - This leads to super durability, since the coils wont bend or warp, even with heavy use. Books bound with spiral coils will last longer than other traditional punch-and-bind solutions.
• Color Selection - There are more available colors of spiral coils than most other binding methods on the market, for more versatility. Keep reading for info on stocked colors and special-order colors.
• Binds Thick Books - With plastic coil binding you can bind extra thick books, more than most other binding methods.

Some of the downfalls of coil binding are:

• Time Consuming - Anyone who has used a punch-and-binding machine knows that it is a bit time consuming. The same goes for coil bound books. Especially if you are binding a very thick book, and you have a low-level spiral binding machine that only punches a few sheets at a time, the time it takes to coil bind can be a con on this method.
• Not Professional - Some users may not see the plastic coils as looking that professional on a finished book. My personal opinion is that it depends highly on the color you choose; the clear coil, in particular, looks great and very unobtrusive on a document. But others may not agree with me on this, and prefer a wire binding method instead.

What Coil Bind Colors are Available?

One of the great things about coil binding is the huge array of color coils available. The most popular colors are stocked in our many warehouses across the US, and several special-order coil colors can also be quickly produced for you as a custom order. These colors let you easily match the binding spine to your brand colors, or can be used to compliment your binding cover page.

Stocked Colored Coils:

Special Order Colored Coils:

How much does Coil Binding cost?

Coil binding is a mid-level price range when you compare it to similar options on the market. The cheapest way to punch and bind is plastic comb, and the most expensive is Wire-O, and spiral binding coils are right in-between. The coils themselves (consumables) range from about $6 to $110 per box, depending on the coil size. From time to time, select colors and sizes could also be on our clearance coil page for as much as 80% off. The spiral binding machines can range in price from personal-use machines at only about $165, up to fully automated equipment in the tens-of-thousands of dollars range. The machine price points are about equal to the other punching and binding methods, so the primary difference in price is in the plastic binding coils themselves.

What is the Largest Book I can Coil Bind?

The largest book that you can coil bind is about 1 ¾" thick, which is equivalent to about 440 sheets of basic copy paper, or 880 pages printed front and back. This large book size is just one of the reasons why plastic coil binding is so popular for businesses such as engineering firms that need to bind thick presentations and proposals together.

Still have questions about plastic binding coils? Call our experts at (866) 537-2244, click that live chat button on your screen, or email us at solutions@buy101.com with your questions.

About the Author • Mallory Morsa is the product expert and content specialist at Binding101, and has been a valued team member since 2008. She started her career here in customer service, moved onto sales supervisor, product management, and then onto content. She takes a hands-on approach to products, and truly gets to know how every item works before she writes about them, with a goal to give you all of the honest information you need to make a confident buying decision. She has a bachelor's degree with a focus on management and marketing, and has been a writer, photographer, and videographer for many years. In her free time, she loves to read by the pool, volunteer at the local animal shelter in the kitten nursery, and snuggle her three furbabies while she binge watches Netflix.