A tidy desk and office environment helps you focus on your tasks and work efficiently. Here at Paperstone we have a useful collection of office pins, clips and bands (and other essentials) to help you stay organised. Here’s a quick guide:

Bulldog clips (metal grip clips)

Bulldog clips are also known as metal grip clips because “Bulldog” is a trade name and cannot be used by all manufacturers. However, they are essentially the same item. A Bulldog clip or metal grip clip keeps a firm grip on your papers and can be used to clip papers to a board, hence the term “clipboard”. The Bulldog design is very well known and is still popular because of its strength and durability.

Foldback clips

Foldback clips are made from metal and similar to Bulldog clips, but they are flat rather than cylindrical, and the handle can be folded back to lie flat against the document and save space. They come in many different sizes and colours. 

Drawing pins and pushpins

Drawing pins and pushpins are short, sharp pins used to fasten items- most often papers- to a wall or board for display. These pins can be inserted by hand, without the need for tools. Drawing pins are often made from brass and sometimes called “brass tacks”. They were originally used to hold drawings on drawing boards, hence the name. A slight variation is the map pin, which comes in many colours and is used to mark locations on a map. For example, it may be used to show the level of sales in geographical locations.

Paperclips

Paperclips are small, flat clips made from looped wire which can hold a few sheets of paper together. They are not as strong as bulldog clips, and tend to be smaller, but are cheap to buy and you can store a lot of them in a small container. Most paper clips are variations of the Gem design introduced in the late 19th century, characterised by a double-loop of wire. 

Thimbles

Thimbles are also known as thimblettes, and are used to protect the fingers against paper cuts, while also helping to separate papers easily when you’re thumbing through them. They are ideal for counting bank notes too if you have a lot of them to count! They resemble sewing thimbles but are made of rubber rather than metal and need to be replaced every so often. They come in several different sizes.

Rubber bands

A rubber band is a ring-shaped piece of rubber commonly used to hold two or more items together. Rubber bands vary in quality and economy versions are available. They have three basic dimensions: length, width, and thickness. Don’t forget to check the product descriptions if you need a particular size or strength of rubber band. If you’d like to find out how rubber bands are made and check out the details on how they are sized, visit Wikipedia. 

Don’t forget to check all of the product specifications when you buy office pins, clips and bands, and other desktop essentials, to make sure you get the correct size and colour you require (if applicable).