Officemate Binder Clips Assorted Set

Tape handles most paper, but some sheets fight back — heavy cardstock that won’t lie down, curled pad pages, or stock too delicate to peel tape off cleanly. That’s where a tin of assorted binder clips earns its place on the bench. They clamp paper to the edge of your mat or a backing board with firm, even pressure, holding flat exactly where tape struggles, and they cost almost nothing.

The flatness problem they solve

Curl and cockle are the enemy of consistent line weight, because they change the distance between pen and paper. A strong clip biting down on a heavy or curled sheet pulls it flat against the bed in a way low-tack tape simply can’t — tape sticks, but it doesn’t pull. Clamp the corners or edges of a stubborn sheet and the curl disappears for the length of the plot. They’re also the gentle option for delicate or expensive paper you’d rather not stress with adhesive at all.

Pick the right size

This is why the assorted set beats a box of one size. Small clips give a light, precise hold on thin sheets without denting them; large clips deliver the muscle to flatten thick cardstock or several sheets and a backing board at once. Match the clip to the job: just enough force to hold flat, never so much that you crease the paper.

Watch the handles

The one real catch is height. Binder-clip handles stand up tall, and a moving plotter gantry will happily crash into one mid-plot. Fold the wire handles down flat against the paper once the clip is set, or pull them off entirely — the clip grips fine without them. Keep clamps clear of the actual drawing area and the pen’s travel path, and these little steel clamps will quietly save plots for years.