Hole punch

A hole punch can also refer to similar tools for other materials, such as leather, cloth, or sheets of plastic or metal.

The punch head is typically a cylinder, with a flat end called the face.

The handle functions as a lever, decreasing the amount of force the operator needs to apply.

For low-volume hole punches, the resulting lever handle need not be more than 8 centimetres (3.1 in) long for sufficient force.

Hole punches for larger volumes of paper (hundreds of sheets) feature longer lever arms, but function similarly.

Commonly, one or more punch heads are mounted in independent fittings, which can slide along a rail.

There may be positions where a punch head will not make contact with the activating handle, allowing holes to be "turned off".

A single-hole punch makes a single hole per activation, usually at an arbitrary position (i.e., without alignment guides).

This is a single-hole punch which also crimps a metal fastening loop around the hole, similar to a rivet.

Multiple-hole punches typically place a pattern of holes along one edge of sheets of paper, allowing the pages to be bound together.

A book-like cover is fitted with retaining rings matching the pattern of the punched holes.

Comb binding typically punches 19 or 23 rectangular holes (for letter and A4 paper sizes, respectively).

This is seen in discbound notebook systems, where loose leaves are bound together using plastic discs.

For more information on loose leaf systems, see Loose leaf.The origins of the hole punch date back to Germany; Friedrich Soennecken filed his patent on 14 November 1886, for his Papierlocher für Sammelmappen, a multiple-hole punch and office supply product.

[3] The first record for a single-hole puncher—a ticket punch—was published in 1885, when Benjamin Smith helped create a spring-loaded hole puncher that had a receptacle to collect the chads.

A printed document with a margin of 20–25 mm will accommodate ISO 838 filing holes.

Unlike ISO 838, there appears to be no well-established official specification for ANSI paper hole patterns, and instead they are de facto standards, established by custom and tradition.

The 5⁄16 value is most commonly used, as it allows for looser tolerances in both ring binder and paper punching.

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.