Hi folks,
I’ve been looking into getting my music books printed and bound with a coil for ease of use. The cost quotes I’ve received from the print shops is absurd. Alas, I am looking into printing and binding machines to do the work myself. I want to print 9x12 concert scores and 10.5x14 conductor scores, however it seems that any binding machines that come up on Google or Amazon searches seem to be limited to Letter sized or A4 paper. Surely there must be more options out there! Can any experienced members here guide me towards a company that provides equipment that can handle larger format paper (without requiring me to open up my own warehouse-sized factory!)?
My experience has been to use an “open throat” punch for sizes over letter/a4, and you can buy coils in uncut rolls for unlimited length binding.
@Marc_Cerisier that’s very interesting. Can you provide a link to show an example of that type of machine?
https://www.mybinding.com/tamerica-tpc-4600-4-1-coil-punch-bind-machine.html
Most decent machines have open throats. I linked a cheap one above that does. This is a good site to research binding machines and supplies.
I had a recent thread on professional home printing
You might consider comb binding. I personally think it works better than coil for music and comes in a larger legal format.
Hello,
I am a score editor and specialist in coil binding.
I give you a website address where you can make your choice.
Personally I chose the Akiles coilmac ECI 141+.
It’s a machine that makes oval holes to facilitate the turning of pages.
You can bind if you have the right bindings up to A3.
Moreover, all the pins are removable.
Be careful, you need to count 2000€ but the purchase is quickly paid back and it’s a lifetime investment.
Why not comb binding? For me coil has no structure so can be bendy, while comb has a spine like a book. As you mention, coil has a lot of friction due to all those holes, whereas a comb has only 19 or 24 for the larger size, and has a long history on the music stand (I was using them in professional contexts 30 years ago). Just curious as I don’t see any advantage of coil over comb. And finally they are cheap - you can get a really good one for a couple hundred.
I recall one of my musical plays was published a while back (quite a while back) and the pit orchestra score was Tabloid size (17" x 11"). Rather than use a single 17" comb, the publisher used two 5" comb bindings placed about 2" in from the top and bottom from a solid cardboard cover stock.
Two earlier copies of the score (at least one from the same publisher) used the 17" comb instead, but functionally the binding styles worked the same.
They become brittle over time and it’s easy to bump them such that the pages come out or random individual combs require rethreading. (Speaking from experience as someone who owns a comb punching machine and has been comb binding for st least 7 years.)
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Thank you all!
Akilles Coilmac 41. Its non-electric, very well-made, and I love that thing.
I also much prefer the coil to the comb and have done both for years.
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@John_Ruggero I have the CoilMac M41+ and I absolutely love it. It’s a heavy beast, but like you said it’s very well made.
Bumpity-bump. I’m doing a lot of 11x14 portrait binding so it’s time to invest in something that can bind on the 14” side. I’m looking to get a binding machine that can do legal size and doesn’t cost as much as another saxophone. The Tamerica TCC242 looks like an inexpensive comb binding option at under $300.
I really have to stay under $1000 and preferably well under that, so the Coilmac ECI 141+ is not going to be an option. Are these other CoilMacs ok with 14”? It seems like the punching length is 13” so you just leave 1/2” on each side to avoid tearing out? Are there other coil or double wire binders that can easily bind on the 14” side? Just curious what people are currently recommending.
@FredGUnn With the CoilMac M41+ that I have, you can easily punch sheets that are longer than 13 inches.
What you do is punch as much as you can (about 13 inches) and then you flip the paper over and hang the unpunched part of the sheet on the right-hand side of the machine, so all of the already-punched holes are off the machine to the right and the unpunched part is positioned where they can be punched. There’s a small vertical pin that sticks out of the machine on the right side, and when you flip the paper over for the second punch, you let that pin go into one of the already-punched holes in the paper and that perfectly aligns the paper for the next punch operation. If the hole for the now far-left edge of the paper is partially off the paper, you pull the punch lever for that hole so that it won’t punch that hole.
I’ve punched many sheets of 12 x 18 paper along the 18-inch side without any trouble.
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Oh I know. I have a decent comb binder I’ve had for 20+ years but it’s closed at 11”. Time to upgrade so considering other binding types.
Ah! I wasn’t quite clear about how that alignment works. That sounds pretty simple, thanks!
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So that’s what that pin if for! 
Ingenious. Never had to use it though. 12” is my limit.
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Thanks for the info! Just ordered the M Plus.
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Sounds great, Todd! I think you’ll really like it. I’ve had mine for years, and when I got it I bought a ton of coils from MyBinding.com — some that were long enough to bind 12 x 18 pages. I still have a bazillion of them since I only occasionally use them. I’m not sure if MyBinding.com still has coils long enough for 18 inches, but since you only need up to 14 inches I’m sure you’ll be able to find something out there. Good luck, and let us know how you get on with your new M Plus.
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