If you are looking for a highly secure and professional binding system then perhaps Velobind is right for you. Many attorneys, government agencies and financial service organizations choose Velobind for its unmatched tamper resistance, strong bind and professional appearance. However, before you decide whether Velobind is right for your office there are a few things that you might want to know. Here are four things that you might want to consider before you Purchase a Velobind System.

1. There are really three different types of Velobind that are commonly used. The most common type is 11 pin or Hot Knife Velobind. Hot knife binding systems take the Velobind strips and literally rivet the plastic pins in place providing a highly secure and permanent bind. This is the most popular type of Velobind binding however it requires a special hot knife binding machine that starts at about $1000.

The second type is called Surebind. Surebind works just like hot knife Velobind but uses 10 pins instead of 11. The machines used for Surebinding are very similar to the machines used for hot knife Velobind and the finished product looks very similar (the strip is a little bit wider with Surebind). Surebind was originally designed for use with the plastic comb binding hole pattern for higher productivity.

The Third type of Velobind binding is four pin reclosable binding. The four pin strips can be used with either four hole punched Velobind paper or with 11 pin punched paper. This system looks very similar to hot knife Velobind but is not permanent or secure. In fact, it is designed to be reclosable so that users can easily edit their documents using a Velobind four pin debinder tool. With four pin Velobind binding the excess portion of the binding pin simply snaps into the back of the strip on the back of the document (with hot knife systems the pin is cut off and melted in place)

2. Although Velobind is very secure and offers a highly professional look, it is only available for standard sized documents. Hot knife Velobind strips are available for letter, legal and half letter sized documents while reclosable strips are only available for letter sized documents. If you plan on binding documents that are longer than 14 inches or are a non standard size Velobind will not be a good choice. Half letter size strips can be used to bind 8.5? x 5.5? documents or to bind letter or legal size documents in landscape orientation.

3. One of the greatest strengths of Velobind is that it is extremely secure. However, this can also be a challenge for organizations that need to frequently edit their documents. To edit a document bound with hot knife Velobind you need to use a special debinding tool to actually cut the binding strip off the edge of your document. You then have to use a new strip to rebind your document. Obviously this is not ideal for documents that are going to need to be updated, changed or photocopied.

4. Velobind is not considered a lay flat binding style. This means that when you open the document it will not lay flat on a table or desk. This means that documents bound with Velobind do not lend themselves to photocopying. However, the tight bind does give the documents a more professional look that is similar to a perfect bound book. If your company needs a document that will lay flat when it is opened then Velobind is probably not the best option.

These are four simple things that are helpful to know before you decide to purchase a Velobind binding system. Hopefully with this information you are able to better decide whether Velobind is the right binding style for your office or organization.