Buying guide: 2 hole punches
A hole punch is a helpful desktop tool which expands your filing capacities greatly. A typical hole punch has a lever which pushes bladed cylinders through multiple sheets of paper.
Standard hole punches have 80mm of space between the holes, and a hole size of 6mm. This is known as the ISO 838 template. Standard 2 hole punches are the most popular punch purchased in the UK.
Most 2 hole punches come with a paper guide. This allows you to adjust the punch for repeated punching of paper according to its size. The guides normally have pre-set positions for the standard sizes A4, A5,A6, American Quarto, and foolscap. If necessary, you can set the guide to a custom position between the parameters of the standard set sizes.
Do you need a heavy duty 2 hole punch?
When buying a 2 hole punch, consider how robust it needs to be. Will you be punching many sheets of paper? If you want to punch thick documents you need a strong, heavy duty punch. And if you’ll be using the punch frequently then heavy duty is best to prevent strain on the operator.
Don’t buy a punch and use it on maximum capacity all of the time- it’s much better to choose a higher spec punch and use it on medium capacity.
Finally, when looking at 2 hole punches you might also want to think about ease of storage, portability and appearance, and whether you want your punch to match other desktop accessories.