Stapler (document container)

A loose-leaf binder (colloquially: "stapler" or "folder") is a container for punched documents . It usually consists of a sturdy piece of paper (e.g. cardboard or pressboard) or some other thin but solid material (such as plastic ), which is folded roughly in the middle. Loose-leaf binders (or file binders ) are often used in connection with a filing cabinet ( filing system ) to store loose sheets temporarily or permanently.

properties

Plastic fastener

Clip stapler with paper

Clip folders are also referred to as loose-leaf binders, which are usually made of plastic or cardboard and have a metal clip , or in the simplest way simply consist of a perforated plastic strip. There are different types of loose-leaf binders for different uses. These are:

Stapler with Z-fitting or zippel fitting or central fitting
Pendulum system stapler (stapler with Leitz fitting or Elbe fitting)
Hook-in file for horizontal filings
Filing strips
Bank statement binders and many more.

inventor

The inventor of the flat file is the Hessian municipal official Carl Gladitz. Between 1895 and 1897 he submitted several patent applications to the Imperial Patent Office .

"A folder with bendable sheet-metal edges which, by arranging resilient sliders as closely as possible on a cover strip, for the purpose of depending on the thickness of the inserts, fix the sheet-metal strips in their bent position and make loosening impossible"

- Carl Gladitz : Patent specification for a folder (DRP 84487). Patent granted on May 3, 1895 by the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin

The company Stolzenberg, Deutsche Bureau-Einrichtungsgesellschaft mbH , founded with his participation, employed up to 500 people and was Germany's leading office supplier in the 1920s. In the course of the eventful company history, there were several relocations and name changes, and in 2001 it went bankrupt.

use

There are many uses for flat binders:

In schools , pupils and teachers use loose-leaf binders to collect and organize sheets of each subject . The folder also serves to prevent the sheets from being creased.
Files are often kept in loose-leaf binders.
Printed loose-leaf binders are used as advertising media .

Manufacturer

The best-known manufacturers of flat files in Germany are the Leitz companies from Stuttgart, Hameling GmbH from Gelsenkirchen with the ELBA brand and Pelikan AG with the Herlitz brand from Berlin.