Abstract: A desk pad comprising a fibrous backing and a substantially smooth facing, the backing and facing being bonded to one another peripherally and also at some short distance inwardly from the peripheral bond, thereby to form a central zone having a pocket and a peripheral zone having a pocket, a central filler within said central pocket and comprising a compressible base and a relatively rigid topping, and a peripheral filler in said peripheral pocket and comprising a relatively rigid base and a compressible topping, whereby the peripheral zone constitutes a soft support for a writer's arm while the central zone constitutes a firm writing support, is produced by laying down said backing, superposing on said backing said peripheral filler and spaced therein said central filler, positioning thereon said facing, and applying heat and pressure to fuse said facing to said backing to form said peripheral bond and inner bond and said peripheral and central pockets.

Abstract: Reinforcement for strengthening sheets of paper and the like around binding holes. The reinforcement has a generally chevron shape with parallel opposing edges of similar length and contour. In one embodiment, the reinforcements are supplied in a precut form in which a plurality of the reinforcements are nested together along an axis with the opposing edges of adjacent ones of the reinforcements in close mating relationship with each other and no gaps or waste material between the reinforcements. In another embodiment, the reinforcements are cut in place from a sheet of adhesive backed reinforcing material and applied by a punch which also cuts the binding holes in the paper.