HOLE PUNCHER HISTORY : 131st ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED BY GOOGLE

Over a century after its invention, the paper hole punch has become a staple of offices and schools worldwide, offering a simple organizational tool to keep stray documents in check.

From its humble beginnings 131 years ago, the tool became a necessary part of everyday life for most — thought its future as a necessary tool in the supply room is, perhaps, now in question with the increasingly undeniable dominance of the digital world in modern society.

To celebrate the tool’s 131st anniversary — an anniversary that it is disputed — Google has dreamed up a Doodle, alongside a bizarrely romantic (by some standards) description of the mundane motions office workers methodically repeat whilst hoping to avoid paper cuts. That ode to the paper punch can be read right here, if you’re curious.

A hole punch (also known as a hole puncher) is a common office tool that is used to create holes in sheets of paper, often for the purpose of collecting the sheets in a binder or folder. A leather punch, of different construction from one designed for paper, is used for leather goods, cloth, or thin plastic sheeting. Hole punch tools are also made for use on sheet metal, such as aluminum siding or metal air ducts.

A typical hole punch, whether a single or multiple hole punch, has a long lever which is used to push a bladed cylinder straight through a number of sheets of paper. As the vertical travel distance of the cylinder is only a few millimeters, it can be positioned within a centimeter of the lever fulcrum. For low volume hole punches, the resulting lever need not be more than 8 centimeters (3.1 in) for sufficient force.

Two paper guides are needed to line up the paper: one opposite where the paper is inserted, to set the margin distance, and one on an adjacent side.

Hole punches for industrial volumes (hundreds of sheets) feature very long lever arms, but function identically.

Another mechanism uses hollowed drills which are lowered by a screwing action into the paper. The paper is cut and forced up into the shaft of the drill to be later discarded as tightly packed columns of waste paper. This method allows a small machine to cut industrial volumes of paper with little effort.

The most common standard for the dimensions 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.

For US Legal Size paper format [8½ by 14 inches (215 by 356 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 14-inch side of the paper where the 4 holes would be placed. Binders with 4 rings give 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 3.5 inches (89 mm) apart.

In regions that use the US Letter paper format [8½ by 11 inches (215 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 4.25 inches (108 mm) apart. The diameter of the holes varies between manufacturers, with typical values being ¹⁄₄to ⁵⁄₁₆ inch (6.4 to 7.9 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 9.5 inches (240 mm) high.

Another standard also occasionally used in the US is a "file binder" system. Its two holes are positioned symmetrically, with the centers 2.75 inches (70 mm) apart.