Stapler

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A standard office stapler

A stapler is a device that binds together sheets of paper or other materials by driving a thin metal staple through the sheets and folding over the ends to secure the paper. It is commonly found in offices or other places that process large amounts of paper.

1 Precursors to the modern stapler
2 Methods of stapling
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Precursors to the modern stapler

The first stapler in recorded history was from 18th century France. The legend says that the handmade stapling machines or fasteners were developed for King Louis XIV of France in the 1700s. Each staple was inscribed with the insignia of the royal court, as required.^[1]

The growing uses of paper in the 19th century created a demand for an efficient paper fastener.^[2] Modern paper fastening devices started with the patent of the first paper fastener on September 30, 1841 by Samuel Slocum. This crude device stuck pins on paper to fasten them.

Unfortunately, a thorough examination of Slocum's patent drawing and description would indicate that this machine was not a paper fastener at all, but a machine that stuck a number of pins to paper for the purpose of packaging them in quantity. Historically, Samuel Slocum's life's work was the development and sale of pins. His invention was solely for the purpose of marketing the pins that he manufactured.

On August 7, 1866, the Novelty Paper Fastener was patented by the Patent Novelty Mfg Co. It allowed a single staple to be loaded and was used to mainly bind papers or books, but also carpet, furniture or boxes. Staples for the fastener were manufactured by the P.N. Mfg Co. in several sizes: 3/16 inches, 1/4 inches, 3/8 inches, and 1/2 inches.

On July 24, 1866, George W. McGill was awarded U.S. Patent No. 56,587 for a small, bendable brass paper fastener, the precursor to the modern staple. On August 13, 1867, he received U.S. Patent No. 67,665 for a press to insert the fastener into paper. He showed his invention at the 1867 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, and continued to work on these and other various paper fasteners through the 1880s. On February 18, 1879, Patent No. 212,316 was given for the McGill Single-Stroke Staple Press. This device weighed over two and a half pounds and was able to load a single 1/2 inch wide wire staple at a time and drive it through several sheets of paper.

Clipless Stand Machine

In the late 1800s and up to today, a small number of devices were developed and patented that punched paper and or folded paper to fix sheets together without a physical clip. One early example is the Clipless Stand Machine (made in Newton, Iowa) that was sold from the 1880s into the 1920s (illustration at left). It created a tongue in the paper that was folded back around to hold the paper together. Bump’s New Model Paper Fastener was competing technology that worked on a similar cutting and weaving technology.

[edit] Methods of stapling

Manually operated stapler

Heavy-duty foot-activated electric stapler

Heavy duty hand-operated stapler, for up to 150 sheets

An electric stapler for everyday usage

[edit] Permanent fastening

This is by far the most frequently used method of stapling. It is used for permanently binding items by driving the staple through and bending over the staple inwards to clinch it. Clinches can be standard or flat, with the standard being slightly rounded, and flat being completely adjacent to the paper in order to stack documents more neatly.

A staple remover is a simple device that can remove staples fastened in this manner, by using a pair of interlocking curved claws that slide under the staple's bent-over ends and bend them back out.

[edit] Tacking

This method is used for fastening objects to larger objects, generally bulletin boards or walls. Some office staplers have a base that can be folded out of the way so that staples can be driven directly into an object without use of the anvil. Heavy-duty tacking with larger staples is done using a staple gun.

[edit] Pinning

This method is by far the least known and utilized use of the stapling methods. It is used to temporarily bind documents or other items, often cloth or clothing, for sewing. In order to pin, the anvil must be shifted so that the staple bends outwards instead of inwards. The staple binds the item with relative security, but can be easily removed by pulling the staple along the plane of the paper. This method varies between staplers, as some anvils need to be simply pushed forward to allow pinning, while others must be rotated. Some staplers implement pinning by bending one leg of the staple inwards, while bending the other outwards. Some modern staplers do not even include support for pinning.

[edit] Saddle Stapling

Saddle staplers have an inverted "V" shaped saddle for stapling pre-fold sheets to make booklets.

A long reach stapler is used to staple items such as booklets that require a longer reach than a normal stapler can accomplish.

A squeeze operated stapler.

[edit] Electric staplers

Electric staplers are used for a wide variety of office, reprographic and packaging applications. They offer speed and uniformity for repetitive stapling, and are often found integrated with photocopiers.

[edit] Surgery

Surgical staplers are frequently used as substitutes for sutures. These do not resemble standard staplers as they have no "jaw" or plate to bend the staple into shape. They may be used to close the skin, or during surgical anastomosis. Surgical staples are commonly preshaped into a "M". Pressing the stapler into the skin and applying pressure onto the handle bends the staple through the skin and into the fascia until the two ends almost meet in the middle forming a rectangle. Staplers are commonly used intra-operatively during bowel resections in colorectal surgery. Often these staplers have an integral knife, so as the staples are deployed the knife cuts through the bowel, maintaining the aseptic field within the abdominal cavity. The staples, made from surgical steel, are typically supplied in disposable, pre-filled, pre-sterilised cartridges.