Hole punch

ISO 838 template

The most common standard dimension and location of filing holes punched in paper is International Standard ISO 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.

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]

Konica-Minolta, the manufacturer of the popular BizHub line of office printing equipment, specifies that the holes should be 11±1 mm from the edge of the paper[2] for European 4-hole arrangements.

For US Legal size paper format (8 ¹⁄₂ by 14 inches, 220 by 360 mm) traditionally 4 holes has been used in the past and still in use today but not as common as its sibling the standard 3 holes (see below). The 4 holes are preferred due to the extra-long length of the 14-inch side of the paper where the 4 holes would be placed. Binders with 4 rings gives the paper better support in the binder. Were the documents only punched with 3 holes, this would allow sagging of the paper at the top part of the binder above the top ring. The 4 holes are positioned symmetrically with centers 3 ¹⁄₂ inches (89 mm) apart.

In regions that use the US Letter paper format (8 ¹⁄₂ by 11 inches, 220 by 280 mm); United States, Canada, and in part Mexico and the Philippines), a three-hole standard is widely used. The holes are positioned symmetrically, with the centers 4 ¹⁄₄ inches (108 mm) apart. The diameter of the holes varies between manufacturers, with typical values being ¹⁄₄ to ⁵⁄₁₆ inch (6 to 8 mm). The ​⁵⁄₁₆ value is most commonly used, as it allows for looser tolerances in both ring binder and paper punching. The distance of the hole center to the paper edge also varies, with ¹⁄₂ inch (13 mm) being a typical value. Unlike ISO 838, this 3-hole system appears to have no well-established official specification, and is a de facto standard established by custom and tradition. It can only be applied to paper formats that are at least 9 ¹⁄₂ inches (241 mm) high.

Another standard also occasionally used in the US is a "filebinder" system. Its two holes are positioned symmetrically, with the centers 2 ³⁄₄ inches (70 mm) apart.

Konica-Minolta, the manufacturer of the popular BizHub line of office printing equipment, specifies that the holes should be 9.5±1 mm from the edge of the paper[3] for both two and three-hole variants in North America.

Hole punch and holes, triohålning system

In Sweden, a four-hole national standard[4] is almost exclusively used. The centers of the holes are 21 mm, 70 mm and 21 mm apart, 10.5±0.5 mm from the edge of the paper. 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. The binder can be opened at any place while holding the papers in place, as the inner holes have guide pins from one side, the outer holes have pins from the other side.

Commonly used hole patterns for hole punches and ring binders

[5]

Single hole punches are often used to punch a ticket, which indicates it has been used, or to make confetti when creating scrapbooks and other paper crafts. For applications needing a variety of hole shapes, a ticket punch may be used. A single hole punch differs from a ticket punch 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, marking them as "used" or "canceled". This helps cut down on cheating by eliminating any cards that may have been tainted by players. Paper drilling is also popular for this purpose.

Single hole punches are widely used in the UK Civil Service where papers are punched with a single hole in the upper left, and secured using a treasury tag.

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  Common handheld single-hole punch
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  Closeup of punch with blue plastic chad collector
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  Single-hole punch for paper
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  Single-hole punch for leather, cloth, or thin plastic
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  Single-hole punch for sheet metal
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  Industrial punch for metalworking

Eyelet punch press

A related office tool is the eyelet punch. This is a single-hole punch which also crimps 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 animal.

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 filofax system uses six holes in two groups of three. In much of the world, two-hole and four-hole punches consistent with ISO 838 are the norm.

In the US, the three-hole punch is most common. Less frequently seen is the two-hole filebinder punch.

In Japan, loose leaf in A4 and JIS B5 sizes (for binders) usually has 30 and 26 holes respectively according to the standard JIS Z 8303 (section 11); which specifies holes of 6±0.5mm of diameter, with their centers every 9.5±1 mm, and a distance of 6.5±0.5 mm from the center of the holes to the edge of the paper with the additional restriction that the holes must be placed in positions symmetric to the axis across the middle of the page.[6]

To prepare documents for comb binding there are special 19-hole punches for letter paper and 23-hole punches for A4 paper. The holes are usually rectangular in shape, to accommodate the plastic binding combs. Specialized punches are also used for the similar but incompatible coil binding process.

There are office models available for the perforation of 1 to 150 sheets of paper, and industrial models for up to 470 sheets.[7] Most multiple-hole and many single-hole punches accumulate the waste paper circles (chads) in a chamber, which must be periodically emptied in order to allow the continued operation of the punch. For large stacks of paper, a process of drilling may work better than punching.

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  Two-hole (filebinder) hole punch
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  Heavy-duty and lightweight two-hole punches
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  Swedish four-hole punch
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  German four-hole punch
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  Electric hole punch
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  23-hole punch
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  A specialized 7-hole punch was used by Western Electric

Industrial paper drill

Paper drills are machines similar to a drill press that use hollow drill bits 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.