
While fastening documents is a menial task, it’s not an unimportant one. If your workplace uses a lot of paper, you’ll need to be sure to keep any documents organized. If you don’t, locating and re-sorting important documents can be an incredibly frustrating use of time. For this reason, you’ll want to properly secure your documents with stapling. The hows are fairly simple—we outline them here.
Are Staplers the Best Way to Fasten Documents?
In a word, yes. There are other methods, of course, including paper clips, binder clips, and even a hole punch and string. Our opinion, however, is that the staple is the unequivocal solution when it comes to keeping documents together. Paper clips can easily detach, and binder clips can obscure parts of the documents—plus, you’ll have to remove them in order to peruse several sheets. Staples, however, are simple. They’re easy, sturdy, and inexpensive.
Which Stapler to Use
This depends entirely on your environment. In a school environment, a simple desktop stapler should suffice. At times, however, you may have to staple several pages together. These could include stapling company proposals or scripts. In this case, you may choose to invest in an industrial stapler, which can fasten up to 200 pages. These come in several different sizes, so you’ll have to be sure to purchase the correct staples to accompany them.
If you’re in a situation that involves an excessive amount of stapling documents, an electrical stapler may be your best bet. The constant motions of using a manual stapler may put unnecessary stress on your wrists, so an electric stapler would be a worthy purchase in this case.
The Correct Angle
There isn’t much of a debate in the terms of the angle you should use when using a stapler. Most people agree that you ultimately get the best readability when you place your staple at a 45-degree angle on the left side of the document. Using the left side most likely won’t make a difference even if you’re left-handed.
One last thing to consider is that it’s best to place your staple about a half inch away from the edge of the paper. Any closer could cause the paper to fray. So there you have it—the correct way to staple documents. If anyone at your office asks you, you have our professional opinion to back you up.