Long arm stapelers

[Amy]

I got a $25 amazon gift card for christmas, and was thinking about getting a long arm stapeler. This one (http://www.amazon.com/Stapler-Standard-Staples-SPR01316-Category/dp...) popped up, but according to the reviews it's not good for anything over, say, fifteen pages.

How many pages would you guys recommend? Most of my zines are about 24 pages (12 sheets) but I don't want to buy one that I will just need to upgrade in a few months.

[tim scannell]

right...go to more stores...be more diligent...and for
God's sake...don't steal from small businesses....or
big 'uns either....it's DISGUSTING!! which is the POINT
YOU KNOW I WAS MAKING.

Amy said:

Okay. You know what? I'm not even going to argue this one. it's clear that you are convinced you're right, and there's no point in saying that I go to thrift stores and have never seen one because you're not going to listen anyway.

[Amy]

She was joking!! No one was seriously considering stealing one, for chrissakes.

[Blake]

The Swingline link that Nicole posted works more-or-less like a regular stapler. The top arm has the main stapler piece and it goes over the paper that you want to staple. The bottom of the stapler rests on a table and this is where you place your paper to be stapled on top of. Once the paper is in place, press down on the top stapler piece and in goes the staple--just like that.

This really does work like a regular stapler--it's just able to handle larger paper sizes.

Amy said:

OK. Er, how does it work? Does the stapeler part go on top of the paper or something?

[Erica S.]

Save the asides, ellipsis boy.

I have the Swingline and it works great for me, but I've never made anything over eight pages thick. I use regular staples, also. I think it cost me $15 at the time and I've had it for a decade.

Also, many copy stores have a long-arm stapler in the self-serve area along with the cutting boards, bins of colored paper, etc. If you're only doing a short run and don't want to invest in a stapler now, that would work. Of course, then you have to put up with questions about what you're doing and requests to read your zine. But maybe you haven't tired of that yet. :)

tim scannell said:

an obamavoter!! stealing from those who
earn and giving it to those who don't

[Derek Neuland]

I still haven't used it (i just got it) but it supposedly handles up to 30 pages with no problem

Amy said:

Ouch. Expensive. nice, though... how many pages does it do?

Derek Neuland said:

i got this one for christmas and i love it! http://www.amazon.com/PaperPro-1610-Long-Reach-Stapler/dp/B0015ZZ3R...

[James N. Dawson]

The one you linked to for $8 looks like a steal. I'm not sure if you could get a better price at a thrift shop (but then I'm not an expert on that). I think that one'd be your best deal.

Operating a long-reach stapler is hard to explain, but it's very intuitive once you've got one if front of you. If I could figure it out, you could.

Why are you hesitating to just get the $8 one on your link? (Again, I could be not understanding something).

[tim scannell]

hap...P...U...like..., ... : trés KOOL! \./ :)

Erica S. said:

Save the asides, ellipsis boy.

I have the Swingline and it works great for me, but I've never made anything over eight pages thick. I use regular staples, also. I think it cost me $15 at the time and I've had it for a decade.

Also, many copy stores have a long-arm stapler in the self-serve area along with the cutting boards, bins of colored paper, etc. If you're only doing a short run and don't want to invest in a stapler now, that would work. Of course, then you have to put up with questions about what you're doing and requests to read your zine. But maybe you haven't tired of that yet. :)

tim scannell said:

an obamavoter!! stealing from those who
earn and giving it to those who don't

[Amy]

Yeah. I was excited that it was so cheap... and then I realized that it has $8 shipping. Before it as $12 with $3 shipping, but now it's "on sale".

James N. Dawson said:

The one you linked to for $8 looks like a steal. I'm not sure if you could get a better price at a thrift shop (but then I'm not an expert on that). I think that one'd be your best deal.

Operating a long-reach stapler is hard to explain, but it's very intuitive once you've got one if front of you. If I could figure it out, you could.

Why are you hesitating to just get the $8 one on your link? (Again, I could be not understanding something).

[Monstress Zine]

even with $8 shipping that's a good deal. i've had a long arm stapler for almost 10 years now and i love it.

[Amy]

They are useful.

[Dan 10things]

star blanket river child said:

if you'd rather go a cheaper way- I couldn't afford a long armed, so I just got one that flips open. staple it against something that it'll go into but not stick in (like cardboard or styrofoam) pull it out, and close the staples with some pliers or a pen or even just your hand. takes a few extra seconds, but works like a charm.

This works in a pinch for a small number of zines, but it's pretty much mandatory to by a long reach stapler if you are a zine publisher. The Swingline ones are great and usually under $30, don't hesitate about buying one. Mine is like 15 years old and has put together at least 15,000 individual zines and still works great!

[Catherine Elms]

Long-arm staplers are the shit, I love mine. Definitely a good investment. I've got a 20-sheet one, which is probably more than I'll ever need for zines, but I know you can get 25 ones for roughly the same price. Here's mine (Amazon.co.uk, sorry): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Long-Arm-Stapler-Sheet/dp/B000I6PNMG/....

The way it works is this: imagine a regular stapler with the top half (where the staples lie) mounted on a long flat arm of metal, which then connects to the base at the other end, and the base stretches to meet the underneath of the stapler's teeth (the base on mine is around 16 inches long). So you can fit A4 pages under the stapler easily (say for example, you wanted to staple a halved piece of A3 paper together like a magazine, this would be handy) because the pages fit under the metal arm and don't interfere with the stapler bit at the other end. Does that make sense?

If you're after a cheaper effective way of assembling zines, my friend sews hers together using black thread and a needle. As long as you sew it from top to bottom and tie a knot at each end, then it'll hold everything together beautifully. :)