A tape dispenser is an object that holds a roll of tape and has a mechanism on one end to shear the tape. Dispensers vary widely based on the tape they dispense. Abundant and most common, clear tape dispensers (like those used in an office or at home) are commonly made of plastic, and may be disposable. Other dispensers are stationary and may have sophisticated features to control tape usage and improve ergonomics.
Some dispensers are small enough so that the dispenser, with the tape in it, can be taken to the point of application. The dispenser allows for a convenient cut-off and helps the operator apply (and sometimes helps rub down) the tape. It allows the tape to be taken to the point of application for operator ease.
Table Top Dispensers
Table top or desk dispensers are frequently used to hold the tape and allow the operator to pull off the desired amount, tear the tape off, and take the tape to the job.
Table top dispensers are available with electrical assists to dispense and cut pressure sensitive tape to a predetermined length. They are often used in an industrial setting to increase productivity along manufacturing or assembly lines. They eliminate the need to manually measure and cut each individual piece of tape on high volumes of product or packaging. By automating this process, automatic tape dispensers reduce material waste caused by human error. They also reduce the time needed to cut each piece of tape, therefore reducing labor costs and increasing productivity.
Semi-automatic tape dispensers are often classified into 3 categories:
* Light-duty: For light, non-industrial use
* Industrial: A sturdier dispenser meant for use over one 8 hour shift per day
* Heavy-duty: The sturdiest of automatic tape dispensers, constructed to withstand 24/7 use in back to back shifts
Due to the varying attributes of pressure sensitive tape, there are many different features of automatic tape dispensers which vary from model to model:
Adjustable Pressure Feed
Allows the user to control the amount of pressure placed on the tape when it is fed through the advancement rollers. This feature is useful for more efficient dispensing of tapes of all different thicknesses.
Modified Advancement Rollers
Depending on the type of tape being dispensed, many automatic dispensers have modified advancement rollers in order to function better with extra narrow tapes, protective film, foam tapes, etc.
Photosensor
Many dispensers come equipped with photosensors in order to detect the presence or absence of a piece of tape and facilitate advancement. Dispensers can also be equipped with dual photosensors in order to dispense two rolls of tape at once.
Creaser
Creasers are installed on tape dispensers in order to reinforce tapes that are very thin or have the tendency to curl up (tapes made of Mylar and Kapton often have this tendency).
Safety Guard Cutting Head
With a safety guard cutting head, cutting blades cannot function if a foreign object is obstructing the cutting area (fingers, tools, etc.).
Programmable Memory
With a programmable memory, users have the option of saving any number of preset lengths, depending on the dispenser, for automatic feeding and cutting.
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Thursday, May 26, 2011
Stationery 101: Envelope
An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card. Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one of three shapes: a rhombus, a short-arm cross, or a kite. These shapes allow for the creation of the envelope structure by folding the sheet sides around a central rectangular area. In this manner, a rectangle-faced enclosure is formed with an arrangement of four flaps on the reverse side.
When the folding sequence is such that the last flap to be closed is on a short side it is referred to in commercial envelope manufacture as a '"pocket"' - a format frequently employed in the packaging of small quantities of seeds. Although in principle the flaps can be held in place by securing the topmost flap at a single point (for example with a wax seal), generally they are pasted or gummed together at the overlaps. They are most commonly used for enclosing and sending mail (letters) through a prepaid-postage postal system.
Window envelopes have a hole cut in the front side that allows the paper within to be seen. They are generally arranged so that the sending address printed on the letter is visible, saving the sender from having to duplicate the address on the envelope itself. The window is normally covered with a transparent or translucent film to protect the letter inside. In some cases, shortages of materials or the need to economize resulted in envelopes that had no film covering the window.
An aerogram is related to a lettersheet, both being designed to have writing on the inside to minimize the weight. Any handmade envelope is effectively a lettersheet because prior to the folding stage it offers the opportunity for writing a message on that area of the sheet that after folding becomes the inside of the face of the envelope.
A "return envelope" is a pre-addressed, smaller envelope included as the contents of a larger envelope and can be used for courtesy reply mail, metered reply mail, or freepost (business reply mail). Some envelopes are designed to be reused as the return envelope, saving the expense of including a return envelope in the contents of the original envelope. The direct mail industry makes extensive use of return envelopes as a response mechanism.
As envelopes are made of paper, they are intrinsically amenable to embellishment with additional graphics and text over and above the necessary postal markings. This is a feature that the direct mail industry has long taken advantage of—and more recently the Mail Art movement. Custom printed envelopes has also become an increasingly popular marketing method for small business.
Most of the over 400 billion envelopes of all sizes made worldwide are machine-made.
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When the folding sequence is such that the last flap to be closed is on a short side it is referred to in commercial envelope manufacture as a '"pocket"' - a format frequently employed in the packaging of small quantities of seeds. Although in principle the flaps can be held in place by securing the topmost flap at a single point (for example with a wax seal), generally they are pasted or gummed together at the overlaps. They are most commonly used for enclosing and sending mail (letters) through a prepaid-postage postal system.
Window envelopes have a hole cut in the front side that allows the paper within to be seen. They are generally arranged so that the sending address printed on the letter is visible, saving the sender from having to duplicate the address on the envelope itself. The window is normally covered with a transparent or translucent film to protect the letter inside. In some cases, shortages of materials or the need to economize resulted in envelopes that had no film covering the window.
An aerogram is related to a lettersheet, both being designed to have writing on the inside to minimize the weight. Any handmade envelope is effectively a lettersheet because prior to the folding stage it offers the opportunity for writing a message on that area of the sheet that after folding becomes the inside of the face of the envelope.
A "return envelope" is a pre-addressed, smaller envelope included as the contents of a larger envelope and can be used for courtesy reply mail, metered reply mail, or freepost (business reply mail). Some envelopes are designed to be reused as the return envelope, saving the expense of including a return envelope in the contents of the original envelope. The direct mail industry makes extensive use of return envelopes as a response mechanism.
As envelopes are made of paper, they are intrinsically amenable to embellishment with additional graphics and text over and above the necessary postal markings. This is a feature that the direct mail industry has long taken advantage of—and more recently the Mail Art movement. Custom printed envelopes has also become an increasingly popular marketing method for small business.
Most of the over 400 billion envelopes of all sizes made worldwide are machine-made.
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Stationery 101: Hole Punch
A hole punch (hole puncher, paper puncher, holing pincer hole maker , or perforator) is a common office tool that is used to create holes in sheets of paper, often for the purpose of collecting the sheets in a binder or folder.
A typical hole punch, whether a single or multiple hole punch, has a long lever which is used to push a bladed cylinder straight through a number of sheets of paper. As the vertical travel distance of the cylinder is only a few millimeters, it can be positioned within a centimeter of the lever fulcrum. For low volume hole punches, the resulting lever need not be more than 8 cm for sufficient force.
Two paper guides are needed to line up the paper: one opposite where the paper is inserted, to set the margin distance, and one on an adjacent side.
Hole punches for industrial volumes — hundreds of sheets — feature very long lever arms, but function identically.
Another mechanism uses hollowed drills which are lowered by a screwing action into the paper. The paper is cut and forced up into the shaft of the drill to be later discarded as tightly packed columns. This method allows a small machine to cut industrial volumes of paper with little effort.
Uses of hole punches
Single hole punch
Single hole punches are often used to punch tickets, which indicates its credit has been used, and to make confetti when creating scrapbooks and other paper crafts. For applications needing a variety of hole shapes, a ticket punch may be used. A single hole punch differs from a ticket punch in having a shorter reach and no choice of hole shape.
In the United States, single hole punches are often used to punch holes through playing cards, rendering them "used." This helps cut down on cheating by eliminating any cards that may have been tainted by players. Paper drilling is also popular for this purpose.
Eyelet punch
A related office tool is the eyelet punch. This is a single-hole punch which also presses a metal fastening loop around the hole. It is used to permanently secure a few sheets of paper together which must not be separated or modified.
A similar tool, generally known as a holing pincer, is used in animal husbandry. A common application is to attach an ear tag to a livestock animal.
Multiple hole punches
Multiple hole punches typically make between one and eight holes at one time, the placement of which matches the spacing of the rings in a binder. For example the filofax system uses six holes in two groups of three.
To prepare documents for comb binding there are 19-hole punches for letter paper and 23-hole punches for A4 paper. In the United States the three-hole punch is most common. Less frequently seen is the two-hole filebinder punch.
There are office models available for the perforation of 1 to 150 sheets of paper, and industrial models for up to 470 sheets. Most multiple-hole and many single-hole punches accumulate the waste paper circles (chads) in a chamber, which must be periodically emptied in order to facilitate the continued operation of the punch.
Paper drills
Paper drills are machines similar to a drill press that use hollow drill bits to drill through stacks of paper. The hollow bit design allows the chads to be ejected during drilling. Paper drills in the United States are most commonly either single-hole or three-hole in construction.
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A typical hole punch, whether a single or multiple hole punch, has a long lever which is used to push a bladed cylinder straight through a number of sheets of paper. As the vertical travel distance of the cylinder is only a few millimeters, it can be positioned within a centimeter of the lever fulcrum. For low volume hole punches, the resulting lever need not be more than 8 cm for sufficient force.
Two paper guides are needed to line up the paper: one opposite where the paper is inserted, to set the margin distance, and one on an adjacent side.
Hole punches for industrial volumes — hundreds of sheets — feature very long lever arms, but function identically.
Another mechanism uses hollowed drills which are lowered by a screwing action into the paper. The paper is cut and forced up into the shaft of the drill to be later discarded as tightly packed columns. This method allows a small machine to cut industrial volumes of paper with little effort.
Uses of hole punches
Single hole punch
Single hole punches are often used to punch tickets, which indicates its credit has been used, and to make confetti when creating scrapbooks and other paper crafts. For applications needing a variety of hole shapes, a ticket punch may be used. A single hole punch differs from a ticket punch in having a shorter reach and no choice of hole shape.
In the United States, single hole punches are often used to punch holes through playing cards, rendering them "used." This helps cut down on cheating by eliminating any cards that may have been tainted by players. Paper drilling is also popular for this purpose.
Eyelet punch
A related office tool is the eyelet punch. This is a single-hole punch which also presses a metal fastening loop around the hole. It is used to permanently secure a few sheets of paper together which must not be separated or modified.
A similar tool, generally known as a holing pincer, is used in animal husbandry. A common application is to attach an ear tag to a livestock animal.
Multiple hole punches
Multiple hole punches typically make between one and eight holes at one time, the placement of which matches the spacing of the rings in a binder. For example the filofax system uses six holes in two groups of three.
To prepare documents for comb binding there are 19-hole punches for letter paper and 23-hole punches for A4 paper. In the United States the three-hole punch is most common. Less frequently seen is the two-hole filebinder punch.
There are office models available for the perforation of 1 to 150 sheets of paper, and industrial models for up to 470 sheets. Most multiple-hole and many single-hole punches accumulate the waste paper circles (chads) in a chamber, which must be periodically emptied in order to facilitate the continued operation of the punch.
Paper drills
Paper drills are machines similar to a drill press that use hollow drill bits to drill through stacks of paper. The hollow bit design allows the chads to be ejected during drilling. Paper drills in the United States are most commonly either single-hole or three-hole in construction.
Learn Mandarin, Kanji, and Hangul here
Free Chinese/Mandarin Resources
What is Hiragana, Katakana, or Kanji?
Guide to Korea's Hangul System
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