Sunday, April 14, 2013

A Brief Discussion About the Stapler

Nowadays a stapler is unquestionably a common piece of equipment for your office. It may be found in homes and classrooms as well.
A number of manufacturers have met the demands of the consumer with vast product lines. Companies like Remington as well as Swingline have innovated models that can be traced back to the early days of the initial patents. Even pop culture has embraced the stapler as with 1 episode of "The Simpsons" and the Hollywood movie "Office Space". Given the essential roll the stapler has played in our lives, there's
almost a feeling of appreciation for the past as some manufacturers have already begun to reissue vintage models.

While we may take it for granted, the stapler has a very rich and interesting history. According to oldstaplers.com, the modern-day stapler was born out of an array of gadgets throughout the 19th century beginning with King Louis the 15th. Inevitably, many inventions were patented throughout this period but it took a while for what most would consider to be the first stapler to come along, as it did with the inventor Henry R. Heyl in 1877.

From a modern-day perspective it is worth noting and perhaps a bit obvious that office equipment made before our time was built to last. We can all relate to the fact that many of the things we buy today are of poor quality. In contrast, even staplers made during periods of world conflict, were constructed with sturdy material and design.

Additionally it is worth noting that certain designs have stood the the test of time and are used in our modern day staplers. As illustrated on officemuseum.com, the Acme #1 Staple Binder, born around the turn of the 20th century was produced up until 1950. However, they bear much resemblance to a number of the heavy duty stapler class or perhaps the long arm staplers that are popular today.

Sadly but not unexpectedly, it seems the consequences of mass production and other economic forces sacrifice quality to some degree nowadays. It's possible to simply log on to the web to discover some blogger complaining about a stapler that was purchased but rendered useless because it was jammed or has malfunctioned in some other way. Then there are those who were once proud owners of functioning staplers but co-workers had stolen them because of their durable and reliable performance. It truly is unusual that the oldest technology which we all possess in our office environment is either MIA, in short supply or broken.

By current standards the earlier antique staplers might possibly be cumbersome to operate and costly to repair if broken. In today's business culture, if you broke a $15 stapler, you would go out and purchase a new one. Not the most ecologically sensitive course of action, but accepted as the practical thing to do. Indeed the times have changed.


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