Swingline Classic 1-Hole 5-Sheet Paper Puncher

Hole punches have been important office supplies for decades, but they’re also popular for craft projects. Whether you’re putting together a booklet or designing cards to attach to gifts, the right tools can make all the difference.

Traditional hole punches come in a few basic varieties. You’ll see the one-handed versions that can punch just one hole. Those have limited capacity and obviously aren’t the best option if you need to bind papers together using three holes. But the big advantage to a one-hole punch is how portable it is. It won’t consume much space in your desk drawer and you can easily carry it in a pocket or tote bag if you need to take it on the go with you.

Three-hole punches are typically made to rest on a desktop, but they are more lightweight and portable than they once were. Three-hole punches can have a higher capacity than one-hole punches, easily slicing through up to 10 pieces of paper at once.

Then there are heavy-duty paper punches. These are designed for tackling more sheets of paper at once, punching three holes into 20 pages or more. These can be tougher to manipulate unless the punch mechanism is sharp, so you’ll need to keep your fingers away from the interior of them. Some are battery-powered, allowing you to simply press a button and let the paper punch slice through the pages.

Lastly, there are the punches that are designed for crafting. These can punch holes in paper or cut out shapes that you can use in your projects. Typically, these paper punches will be found among the supplies of serious crafting hobbyists, including those who scrapbook, journal or make cards through a craft called stamping, giving hole punches new life as many offices strive to reduce paper use.

• Paper punching is all about the blade that slices through the paper. A dull, inefficient blade will mean more work for you. It might even mean you tear through the paper with an unclean cut. It’s important to look for a high-quality metal blade when shopping around for a paper punch.
• Paper punches will inevitably leave scraps of paper lying around. For that reason, manufacturers build a collection bin into most paper punches. Check to make sure your paper punch has one and that it’s easy to empty between uses.
• Electric punches can save you some work. These run on batteries and require you to only press a button to get results. The right electric punch can even handle a larger capacity than what you’d get with a manual option. The downside is you’ll need to keep batteries on hand.
• Typically, when you use a paper punch, you’re creating a hole in the paper to insert something, such as a binder ring or a ribbon. But there are hole punches that serve the opposite purpose. You can create shapes in the paper and then take those shapes and use them for your crafting projects.
• The quality of the punching mechanism isn’t the only thing that matters in a paper punch. The casing also contributes to its longevity. Make sure you choose a punch with a durable covering so that you won’t be buying a new one a few months down the road.
• It may seem like a small consideration when you’re shopping for office supplies, but if your paper punch will be on display, you’ll want to find one that’s visually appealing. You can find paper punches in a variety of colors to make sure you’re getting one that coordinates with your décor.