Abstract: Stacks of marginally perforated paper sheets are assembled with prefabricated C-shaped binding strips at timely spaced intervals by moving two or more stacks simultaneously to a binding station so that the perforations of their sheets form a row, moving at the same intervals a strand of coherent strips lengthwise and cutting groups of discrete strips from the leader of the strand at a severing station which is remote from the binding station, transferring successive groups from the severing station to the binding station including moving the strips of each group sideways at least once and spreading the strips of each group by moving at least some strips of the group axially and away from the neighboring strips, and inserting the strips of a group into and closing the strips of such group in the perforations of stacks of sheets at the binding station. The apparatus can make stationery articles with one-piece binders or with so-called skip binders consisting of two or more spaced-apart coaxial binders.

Abstract: A closing machine for closing wire binding elements to bind bundles of sheets in which a press means or closing bar (1) is arranged to close onto an anvil (2) to close the binding elements (6, 7) around a bundle of sheets (10), in which a magazine (12) feeds hanger elements (16) to a translating means (15) which positions the hanger elements singly in a press position (9) between the press means (1) and anvil (2); the translating means (15) is preferably moved towards the press position by means of a camming member (44) connected to the press means.